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.
Archetypal buddy cops Riggs and Murtaugh are back for another round of high-stakes action, this time setting their collective sights on bringing down a former Los Angeles police lieutenant turned black market weapons dealer. Lorna Cole joins as the beautiful yet hardnosed internal affairs sergeant who catches Riggs's eye.Written by
yusufpiskin
For the film's spectacular climax, the filmmakers found an abandoned housing tract just outside of Lancaster, California. A victim of the Savings and Loan crisis, the property had been untouched for over two years. Twelve out of the fifty-six houses in the tract became a dramatic inferno for the scene. To meet E.P.A. standards, each house had to be stripped of all insulation, paper, wiring, plumbing, and anything plastic. In addition to administering a heavy dose of flame retardant to each house, propane gas lines were used in each of the twelve houses. This allowed the creation of a fire that would not burn wood, and one that could be lit, and re-lit, as needed for each take. Oddly enough, the fire sequences proved to be a welcome heat source during the night shooting, as it took place in January, where the desert temperatures dipped down to as low as eleven degrees Fahrenheit. See more »
Goofs
In the final shootout scene when Riggs checks Lorna's vest(s), you can clearly see entire rounds of ammunition protruding from her vest, including shell casings (primers visible) - there should only be projectiles. See more »
Quotes
Roger Murtaugh:
Seven days to retirement, I'm busted down to patrolman.
Martin Riggs:
I should have cut the red wire.
Roger Murtaugh:
You did cut the red wire.
Martin Riggs:
No, I didn't, I cut the blue wire.
Roger Murtaugh:
That's what I meant. We should have waited for the bomb squad!
Martin Riggs:
Am I gonna have to listen to this every day?
Roger Murtaugh:
Every day until I retire.
Martin Riggs:
Well, that'll be a week too long for me.
Roger Murtaugh:
My feet are killing me...
Martin Riggs:
Yeah, your feet are killing me, too.
[...] See more »
Crazy Credits
During the credits you can hear that another bomb has been discovered. When Martin and Roger show up in their car, they have this discussion again whether or not to go in. Just as they stop at the building, the whole building explodes and you can hear Martin saying, while backing up the car, "I hope nobody saw us". 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 »
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.
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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.