Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh pursue a former LAPD officer who uses his knowledge of police procedure and policies to steal and sell confiscated guns and ammunition to local street gangs.
With personal crises and age weighing in on them, LAPD officers Riggs and Murtaugh must contend with deadly Chinese triads that are trying to free their former leaders out of prison and onto American soil.
A man obsessed with conspiracy theories becomes a target after one of his theories turns out to be true. Unfortunately, in order to save himself, he has to figure out which theory it is.
John McClane and a Harlem store owner are targeted by German terrorist Simon Gruber in New York City, where he plans to rob the Federal Reserve Building.
Director:
John McTiernan
Stars:
Bruce Willis,
Jeremy Irons,
Samuel L. Jackson
Martin Riggs finally meets his match in the form of Lorna Cole, a beautiful but tough policewoman. Together with Roger Murtaugh, his partner, the three attempt to expose a crooked former policeman and his huge arms racket. The crooked cop (Jack Travis) thwarts them at every turn, mainly by killing anyone who is about to talk, but Murtaugh has personal problems of his own as his family are brought into the equation.Written by
Graeme Roy <gsr@cbmamiga.demon.co.uk>
During the opening scene implosion, you can see a news van with the number 9 on it. Even though the movie is set in Los Angeles, this is a news truck for WFTV Channel 9 Orlando, where the implosion was filmed. See more »
Goofs
The sling on Leo's arm switches arms while he's showing it off to Briggs and Mertaugh. See more »
Quotes
[In an attempt to disable a car bomb, Riggs accidentally cuts the wrong wire, causing the bomb's time to accelerate]
Martin Riggs:
[smiling]
Hey, Rog?
Roger Murtaugh:
Yeah?
Martin Riggs:
[suddenly alarmed; about the cat on the car roof]
GRAB THAT CAT!
Roger Murtaugh:
[also alarmed]
AGH!
See more »
Crazy Credits
The credits thank the city of St. Petersburg, Florida, where the last bomb explosion was filmed and the hotel Soreno destroyed, but they misspell the name of the city 'St. Petersberg'. See more »
Alternate Versions
The USA Director's Cut (Unrated) has about 3-4 minutes of never-before-seen extra footage including the following scenes: Trish forces Roger to wear body armor; Rianne visits Riggs, who's watching the Stooges with Sam and the Rottweiler, at his trailer, to which McGee the carpenter added the sundeck seen in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) ; Riggs, Murtaugh, and Lorna threaten to run over Tyrone's head with a car if he didn't give up Travis. See more »
The most popular team of detectives in cinematic history is back again, making the streets of Los Angeles safe and secure for the citizens at large in `Lethal Weapon 3,' directed by Richard Donner and once again starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. This time the action literally starts with a bang (a big one) when Riggs (Gibson) and Murtaugh (Glover) answer a call and, suffice to say, Riggs can't wait for the bomb squad to arrive. It makes for a spectacular opening scene, but it's just a warm up for what follows. Some bad things are going down in the City of Angels, perhaps not unusual for L.A., but someone is putting automatic weapons and armor piercing bullets (called `Cop Killers' as they can penetrate a bullet proof vest) on the streets, which is really bad news for police officers in general, and especially for those in particular areas of the city. Riggs and Murtaugh are on the case, but it quickly escalates, and because of certain untoward circumstances soon falls into the hands of Internal Affairs. Which brings Officer Lorna Cole (Rene Russo) into the picture. And sparks begin to fly. The first two installments of this series are hard to beat, but as they say, the third time's a charm; and Donner must have had the shaman working with him on this one, because he pulled off quite a feat-- making a third that ranks right up there with the first two. He seems to have found the perfect balance with this one; the main characters are in place and established, Leo Getz (Joe Pesci) is back, and the addition of Russo is the icing on the cake. The story is good, there's plenty of great action and some sensational stunts, and the humor has been toned down a notch, which increases the level of intensity of the drama. In short, Donner measures out all of the right elements to perfection and makes it all gel together for the complete package. And what a package it is. By now, Gibson IS Riggs, from the inside out; still somewhat on the edge, but not quite as volatile. And Glover could play Murtaugh in his sleep; which may sound like easy street for an actor, but it takes real professionals to maintain the credibility of characters they know so well (it would be so easy to phone it in and let the details slip at this point), and these two have what it takes. Their chemistry remains intact, and they've put polish on an act that was already shining. The real chemistry this time, however, is between Gibson and Russo, who click from the beginning, starting with their first scene together. Russo sparkles as Lorna, putting some real style and spunk into her; there's just enough edginess to her to make her believable as a no-nonsense I.A. investigator, and it makes her the perfect match for Gibson's Riggs. There's a terrific scene between them, in which they compare battle scars, that fits their characters so well and so credibly underscores the development of their relationship. it's a memorable scene, and a good example of how well the script, by Jeffrey Boam and Robert Mark Kamen, was written. The supporting cast includes Darlene Love (Trish), Traci Wolfe (Rianne), Stuart Wilson (Jack Travis), Steve Kahan (Capt. Murphy), Damon Hines (Nick), Ebonie Smith (Carrie) and Gregory Millar (Tyrone). In the world of the Cinema, it's a rare thing when a sequel matches up to the original, and when the third does, it's a real triumph; and `Lethal Weapon 3' is just that, a triumph. It's a quality action/drama that exemplifies why this series is so popular. Simply put, it's a good movie on it's own, and part of a great series; so don't stop now, `Lethal Weapon 4' is ready and waiting for you. I rate his one 10/10.
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The most popular team of detectives in cinematic history is back again, making the streets of Los Angeles safe and secure for the citizens at large in `Lethal Weapon 3,' directed by Richard Donner and once again starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. This time the action literally starts with a bang (a big one) when Riggs (Gibson) and Murtaugh (Glover) answer a call and, suffice to say, Riggs can't wait for the bomb squad to arrive. It makes for a spectacular opening scene, but it's just a warm up for what follows. Some bad things are going down in the City of Angels, perhaps not unusual for L.A., but someone is putting automatic weapons and armor piercing bullets (called `Cop Killers' as they can penetrate a bullet proof vest) on the streets, which is really bad news for police officers in general, and especially for those in particular areas of the city. Riggs and Murtaugh are on the case, but it quickly escalates, and because of certain untoward circumstances soon falls into the hands of Internal Affairs. Which brings Officer Lorna Cole (Rene Russo) into the picture. And sparks begin to fly. The first two installments of this series are hard to beat, but as they say, the third time's a charm; and Donner must have had the shaman working with him on this one, because he pulled off quite a feat-- making a third that ranks right up there with the first two. He seems to have found the perfect balance with this one; the main characters are in place and established, Leo Getz (Joe Pesci) is back, and the addition of Russo is the icing on the cake. The story is good, there's plenty of great action and some sensational stunts, and the humor has been toned down a notch, which increases the level of intensity of the drama. In short, Donner measures out all of the right elements to perfection and makes it all gel together for the complete package. And what a package it is. By now, Gibson IS Riggs, from the inside out; still somewhat on the edge, but not quite as volatile. And Glover could play Murtaugh in his sleep; which may sound like easy street for an actor, but it takes real professionals to maintain the credibility of characters they know so well (it would be so easy to phone it in and let the details slip at this point), and these two have what it takes. Their chemistry remains intact, and they've put polish on an act that was already shining. The real chemistry this time, however, is between Gibson and Russo, who click from the beginning, starting with their first scene together. Russo sparkles as Lorna, putting some real style and spunk into her; there's just enough edginess to her to make her believable as a no-nonsense I.A. investigator, and it makes her the perfect match for Gibson's Riggs. There's a terrific scene between them, in which they compare battle scars, that fits their characters so well and so credibly underscores the development of their relationship. it's a memorable scene, and a good example of how well the script, by Jeffrey Boam and Robert Mark Kamen, was written. The supporting cast includes Darlene Love (Trish), Traci Wolfe (Rianne), Stuart Wilson (Jack Travis), Steve Kahan (Capt. Murphy), Damon Hines (Nick), Ebonie Smith (Carrie) and Gregory Millar (Tyrone). In the world of the Cinema, it's a rare thing when a sequel matches up to the original, and when the third does, it's a real triumph; and `Lethal Weapon 3' is just that, a triumph. It's a quality action/drama that exemplifies why this series is so popular. Simply put, it's a good movie on it's own, and part of a great series; so don't stop now, `Lethal Weapon 4' is ready and waiting for you. I rate his one 10/10.