Lethal Weapon 3

Plot In A Paragraph: Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Glover) pursue a former L.A.P.D. lieutenant turned ruthless arms dealer, during the six days prior to Murtaugh's retirement.

There is a massive drop in quality from the first two movies, and I think it is not helped by a lame villain. Rene Russo is a good addition to the cast though. This is a much watered down Lethal Weapon movie compared to the first two movies, and for this Zoner, Lethal Weapon 3 is the low point of the franchise for me. The lack of Shane Black is obvious. They up the comedy even more this time, and it falls a bit flat for me. The humour in the first two was great, this has a female security guard chasing Murtaugh around whilst Riggs is tricking him into kicking water coolers over.

Riggs is an absolute jerk at times in this one!! Gone is the man overcome with grief, looking for a reason to get through the day and is dangerously unpredictable as a result. Instead we get someone who eats raw onions and dog biscuits, threatens Jaywalkers with his gun, beats up movie directors, knocks out handcuffed suspects and makes random guesses on what Wire to cut on a bomb!! And that's without mention his treatment of his best friend and partner Murtaugh.

He constantly berates him about retiring despite it being the sensible option. Especially since he can't dress himself without accidentally setting off his gun. Riggs repeatedly put him in unnecessary danger. Surely Riggs should want his best friend safe at home with his family, out of danger. But no, he is incredibly selfish!!

Joe Pesci who I loved in the last one, is awful here. There is no reason for him to be here and he's just irritating.

Does the movie director Riggs assaults remind anyone of Steven Spielberg??

Lethal Weapon 3 grossed $144 million to finish the 4th highest grossing movie of 1992.

Our friends Los Angeles policemen Martin Riggs(Mel Gibson) and and his methodical pal Roger Murtaugh(Danny Glover now are patrolling through the streets after a botcher explosion caused into a building. Roger is about to retire when they encounter themselves into a dangerous case. A previous police named Leo(Stuart Wilson) turned into criminal kingpin and heinous weapons smuggling. Meanwhile Martin falls in love with a tough police(Rene Russo) from Internal Affairs.

This fast paced picture packs noisy supercharged action scenes ,thrills, loud pursuits, lot of violence and murders.The wacky police Gibson, always on the edge, and his partner the gentle and good father Glover again give nice performances with special chemistry between the two actors. They go after and run afoul a nasty villain well played by Stuart Wilson, including to Joe Pesci as likable swindler. Furthermore appear as secondaries Mark Pellegrino, Nick Chunlund,Alan Scarfe and unbilled , the director's wife and also producer: Lauren Shuler Donner as a nurse and the director Stephen T. Kay as a filmmaker. Colorful cinematography by equally director Jan De Bont and atmospheric musical score by Michael Kamen , accompanied by catching song by Eric Clapton. Richard Donner directs with fair-play and the result is quite entertaining. Acceptable and passable movie for enthusiastic of the series won't be disappointed. It's followed by the last chapter 'Lethal weapon 4' with same players adding to Jet Li and Chris Rock.

The first 'Lethal Weapon' wasn't perfect, but it is still a very good film and important to the development of the buddy-cop film as well as being one of the best examples. Its first sequel is almost as good, if just missing out on being on the same level or surpassing it.

'Lethal Weapon 3' is fun enough, and there is plenty to enjoy, but after the impressive first two films it was somewhat of a let-down. It didn't feel as fresh and had a ran out of ideas feel sometimes. Its weak link is the story, which does have some exciting moments and some good scenes but the first two films were much more focused and tight in plotting, here the story does meander in places and parts drag. Some of the dialogue is a lot of fun, some of it is repetitive and convoluted with a little too much emphasis at times on humour.

After being such a delight in the second film, Joe Pesci returns and one was hoping he would be a welcome presence. Sadly count me in as one of the people who found him underused, his character merely being a plot device and Pesci being irritating this time round (the first time ever he's had that effect on me). Was mixed on the villain, Stuart Wilson does enjoy himself immensely and does bring a sinister edge to easily the best acted head villain in comparison to the first two films where the henchmen were more memorable and better played. The character himself was a little sketchy in development however and he could have been used more.

However, the way 'Lethal Weapon 3' is shot and designed screams slick and stylish while Richard Donner once again directs with an assured hand. The score is atmospheric and groovy.

Parts of the script doe entertain hugely and crackle in wit and tension.

Once again, the action is slick and bursts with excitement and tension, with terrific stunts and the sheer scale of them being worthy of huge admiration. It is very easy to see why the chalk and cheese chemistry of the polar opposite characters of Riggs and Murtaugh became so popular, very rarely in a buddy-cop film has this kind of chemistry been so entertaining and perfectly pitched.

Mel Gibson continues to excel in a performance as witty and intense has before. Danny Glover gives Murtaugh the right amount of spirit, subtlety and no-nonsense attitude. Rene Russo brings some much needed freshness and gives a strong performance.

In summary, fun but the magic is not quite there for me. Not one of the best sequels there is, but hardly a disgrace and nowhere near among the worst. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Even though this is in my opinion the weakest out of the Lethal Weapon series, that of course doesn't mean that this movie isn't fun and entertaining to watch.

It suffers from the same minor flaws as the previous 2 Lethal Weapon movies. The story is incredibly simple, standard action material. It's totally uninteresting and also told in a totally uninteresting way. Also the villain is yet again heavily underused. But it's true that none of the Lethal Weapon movies have ever relied on its story. Instead the movie heavily relies on its two main character; Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh. And when you have two such characters like Riggs and Murtaugh, who have such an amazing chemistry together, you just don't need much else to make a good and entertaining movie.

Unfortunately the movie does nowhere live up to its fantastic and memorable beginning. Everything that happens after the opening sequence isn't really that interesting or memorable. The movie doesn't always have the right pace and the way the story is presented make it seem even less interesting than it is on paper.

The movie is filled with some great characters next besides to the two main leads. Joe Pesci returns as Leo Getz and Rene Russo joins the team as a woman who knows how to take care of herself. The villain is this time played by the always great Stuart Wilson. It however is unfortunate that all of these characters are given too little screen time, especially Joe Pesci and Stuart Wilson. All of the Lethal Weapon movies always had great villains, that were also at the same time always heavily underused. Same goes for Wilson in this particular case, who's talent is practically wasted.

But luckily the movie is still of course a perfectly entertaining one. This is absolutely thanks to Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, who still have the magic chemistry together, after already 2 Lethal Weapon movies. The two of them provide some great and hilarious moments together, that alone is reason enough why this movie is a good and enjoyable one to watch.

Maybe not as good- but certainly just as entertaining as all of the other Lethal Weapon movies.

7/10

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'Lethal Weapon 3' has the best opening sequence of all 'Lethal Weapon'-movies, although the opening of the fourth installment comes close. Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) try to disable a bomb and what happens in the end can probably only happen in a movie like this. It is hilarious and spectacular anyway.

The movie starts eight days before Murtaugh's retirement. He and Riggs must find an ex-cop named Jack Travis (Stuart Wilson). He steals weapons and ammunition from the police. At first they thought it was an inside job so Lorna Cole (Rene Russo) from Internal Affairs is put on the case. She is the perfect match for Riggs, beautiful but tough. We also meet Leo Getz (Joe Pesci) again. He kind of helps them with this case and again he is very good for the comedy.

This is a fine installment although things get more and more familiar. Still, as long as it is spectacular and funny that doesn't really matter. The fun Gibson, Glover and director Richard Donner must have making this movie is clearly visible on the screen.