jet li's american introduction - and it's as a villain

I'll be honest that it was Jet Li that made me want to see this movie, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it ever since. While I have not seen the first 3 Lethal Weapons (yet) I had no problem understanding this 4th (and hopefully not last) film. It's obvious there is a serious connection between the Riggs and Murtaugh charcaters, and both Mel Gibson and Danny Glover have fluid chemistry together with these roles. Joe Pesci adds his usual humor, and Chris Rock was a nice addition with the humor in this film as well. But it was Jet Li that stood out the most for me - not bad for a villain who barely stands 5'5" or so.

Letahl Weapon 4 begins loud and stays in high gear till the end. Whether it is the constant humor, fun character relations, or surprsingly entertaining martial arts action, I just never got bored. Its not the funniest movie I have ever seen and it doesn't have the best action, but its one of the better films I have seen with a great mix of everything.

As mentioned, this is Jet Li's first American film and it's no wonder he has become a success since. Its funny to see how the camera is used in such angles at times to make Li appear a little taller, but a few times you can see just how short he is compared to everyone else. Not that it really matters, just one look into his eyes and you can see the villain shine. He adds great martial arts action to the film, but I liked how the fights stayed real for the most part. There are no long fight scenes, but even Li gets beat up a little by Riggs and Murtaugh (though he fought both of them at once).

Even if you have not seen the other Lethal Weapon movies like myself, I think you will enjoy this just fine. This is a great buddy film, but probably just about anyone will enjoy it with a little mix of everything.

Mel,Danny,Joe,Richard and Rene reunite!

Again Martin Riggs(Mel Gibson) and Captain Roger Murtaugh(Danny Glover) are doing their dirty police work in this third and most recent sequel to 1987's Warner Bros. action-packed film LETHAL WEAPON. Now Martin and Lorna(Rene Russo) are husband and wife. Roger still has his wife Trish(Darlene Love) and their children(some are now young adults). Oscar-winner Joe Pesci returns as the annoying Leo Getz("Anything you need,Leo gets!"). Saturday Night Live veteran Chris Rock(BOOMERANG) and Jet Li join the cast in this installment. Eric Clapton brings another great song in this soundtrack,PILGRIM,from his 1998 album of the same title. And again,Richard Donner directed this film. I guess he woudn't have allowed anyone else to. This film was theatrically released on July 10,1998 and was just as successful as the three predecessors. Possibly,Gibson and Glover will reteam for future films,with or without Donner or anyone else aforementioned. I heard a rumor over a decade ago,that a fifth LW film was in the works along with this film. But I think it was in 1997 when this film was made. Maybe it was over a decade ago,that this film's script was written. If Gibson and Glover haven't yet received stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame,they should now.

Very good,but flawed in several areas

3 1/2 stars.

Being a huge fan of both comedy and action films,I love seeing films that have both action and comedy in them being made and released. And despite how dark the first "Lethal Weapon" film was,the humor in LW2 and LW3 alllowed the idea of the fourth LW film being an action/comedy film to be a great idea. Not only was the idea to bring back Mel Gibson,Danny Glover,Joe Pesci,and Rene Russo for what has become the last LW film a excellent,the addition of Chris Rock was both smart and creative,while it was a pretty cool idea at the same time. Having Jet Li play the villian here was a nice touch,especially since Li now shares the honor with Gary Busey of being one of the two famous actors who share the honor of being one of the only two famous actors playing lead villains out of the LW series,for the LW film that Busey was in (LW1),and for the LW film that Li is in (LW4).

The story is well developed,and is sort of a direct follow-up to the first LW film,with leftovers and flashback information from both LW2 and LW3. A combination of the story for the first LW film and the story for the second LW film,this film finds Mel Gibson reprising his role as Martin Riggs,and Danny Glover reprising his role as Roger Murtaugh. In this installment of the LW films,not only do you find both Riggs and Murtaugh going through personal struggles in their own lives (Riggs being engaged to Rene Russo's character of Lorna Cole and Cole being pregnant,with Riggs not feeling like the time is right for him to be a father,while you find Murtaugh being worried about his daughter Rianne making him a grandfather,and what resulted in Rianne doing just that for Murtaugh),they have another tough assignment to deal with. That tough assignment is to bring down a murderous Chinese group by the name of The Triads,lead by a man named Wah Sing Ku (Jet Li's character)who bring illegal Chinese immigrants into America to begin new lives under slavery.
This becomes difficult for Riggs and Murtaugh not only because of the level of the assignment,but also due to Riggs and Murtaugh being so busy in their own lives during this period of time,and an official new member to their "team" of Riggs,Murtaugh,and Joe Pesci's Leo Getz. That official new member turns out to be a younger and more recent officer of the LAPD,Detective Lee Butters (Chris Rock),who finds himself having problems with Murtaugh that,once you discover them,will make you laugh and realize how far the producers of this movie expanded the first three LW films for this film itself.

As I already said,this movie is very good,but flawed in some areas,so let me address all of that. While it was nice to see Richard Donner and the producers of this film turn this film into an action/comedy with LW2,LW3,and even some of LW1 having signs of comedy to them,a problem results in this script due to that. The humor in this film works,but is usually tied into the movie story and results in less action,something that hurts this film a little bit. Don't get me wrong--the jokes here are good,but are still nowhere close to Chris Rock's humor outside of this film and Joe Pesci's humor in the first two "Home Alone" films. Also,the action in here is the weakest out of all of the action scenes from the first three LW films. This time,the action here is more martial arts than the original style of action from the first three LW films,making the movie a little bit hard to follow and deteriorating it from some--but not all--of its potential. For the last LW film,you would surely think that the action would be more real and more towards the style of the action that was used in the first three LW films--something that every film needs for its sequels.

There are some really good scenes in this movie though,which pulls this movie off. Not only do Mel Gibson and Danny Glover do a good job at bringing out the original personalities of Riggs and Murtaugh in this movie (a good sign,considering the fact that Gibson and Glover were a lot younger when they made the first three LW films,compared to Gibson and Glover both getting older during LW4's filming),Chris Rock is a good supplement to Gibson,Glover,and Joe Pesci. Rock being in this film allows this film to have more chemistry and humor in it,which works on behalf of Rock's scenes with not only Joe Pesci,but also the scenes that find how Rock's character of Butters is like around Murtaugh and to see how Butters,Riggs,Murtaugh,and Getz all work together as a team in this movie.
There is also a lot of energy that is brought out in this movie,which keeps it on a somewhat similiar level that the first three LW films were set on. The drama here,which is brought out very well by the script (most notably the graveyard scene with Gibson and Pesci at the end of the movie),does a good job at letting the producers of this movie make it more serious and more funny then the previous LW films,at the same time.

The "Behind The Scenes" feauture that appears at the end of this VHS is good,and a good substitute for the fact that as of this writing,LW4 has not been issued as a director's cut (something that the first three LW films got). It is also worth adding that a lot of good music from older bands/musicians (Van Halen,Eric Clapton,etc.)appear here,and prove themselves to be excellent supplements to this movie.

Overall,while this film could have been better,it still does a good job at living up to the standards that it was intended for,and is worth watching after you have watched LW1,LW2,and LW3 in order. Hopefully,this will be issued as a director's cut like the other three LW films were. I would say that this film does a good,worthwhile,and interesting way and job at ending the series of "Lethal Weapon" films.