Quickly we fast forward roughly 9 months and Riggs and Murtaugh seem to
follow trouble everywhere. Or does trouble follow them? Irregardless,
we know from the early installments in the series that there will be a
lot of explosions, gunfire, fights, and comedy in this film. And
director Richard Donner does not disappoint us as he delivers Lethal Action
and Lethal Humor, I loved it as you need it all to get Lethal Weapon
4.
For those of you who have seen
any of the earlier installments in the series, this film breaks very little
new ground in character development. It does however introduce us
to two new characters. Lee Butters (Chris Rock) is part of the new
guard that is inhabiting the LAPD these days. He is aggressive, serious
about police work, and college educated. 
The
other new edition to the Lethal Weapon cast is Jet Li as the master
criminal Wah Sing Ku. Rock and Li are a great edition to the already
stellar cast that comes back from Lethal 3. In fact Detective
Lee Butters plays a quite integral role in Murtaugh's life, more than Roger
ever wanted.
Let me preface my review by saying,
I love this series. I've been enamored with the series since shortly
after Lethal 1 came to video. In fact it is one of the few
franchises that have seen the numbers increase from film to film.
That said, of course I had high expectations going into the film.
I found myself laughing and cheering all the way through this film.
I will grant you that most critics will look at this film and immediately
discount it to C-ish range. But I say this, I had fun! Gibson
and Glover together as a team are a perfect match in these roles.
The know how to play off of each other and make the audience laugh 
and
get into their characters. Remember, I said long ago, it's not whether
or not the film is a monstrous achievement cinematically, but did I enjoy
my time spent in the theater. The answer in this case is an unequivocal
YES.
Critics will assault Lethal
for not developing their characters more. But I say this, we know
Riggs and Murtaugh. We know all of their ins and outs and yet Richard
Donner and Joel Silver find a couple more small pieces of the puzzle to
give to us. Other critics will probably assault Lethal on
its predictability and stereotypes, but my response is this is what we
have come to expect from this series. The Lethal Weapon series
has really perfected the buddy cop role. And they have always found
a way to incorporate new pieces to the puzzle to make the big picture even
better. In Lethal Weapon 4 we are treated to the addition of martial arts
superstar Jet Li, who is just an incredible villain and shows us some martial
arts moves that just blew me away. Secondly, and probably just as
importantly Donner and Silver have added Chris Rock to the picture.
Rock brings his normal vulgar mouth to the screen, but just has you rolling
on the floor laughing at times. Gibson, Glover, Russo, and Pesci
are their 
typical
solid actors and seem to welcome the new blood to the franchise.
Another fun aspect of the Lethal Weapon series has been the fact
that you see those 4 accomplished actors (Gibson, Glover, Russo, and Pesci)
looking like they are just having fun. This not an intense film that
revolves on their every word as did movies like Braveheart and Goodfellas.
This is a film that they could have fun with and it shows.
This film delivers Lethal Action and Lethal Humor. Pure Lethal fun, I loved it, and yes I am biased because I've liked all the rest of the series (though that didn't stop me from giving bad grades to Speed 2 and Batman and Robin). I say give this one a chance and it shouldn't disappoint. And make sure you stay for the credits as they feature photos from the crew of the film, a nice touch I say. No this film isn't a cinematic masterpiece, but not all films can be. Some films are great just taking us on that ride that escapes us from the real world.
Grade: A
Parents
Guide: The R rating on Lethal Weapon 4 is deserved.
There is a large number of violent scenes in the film and the language
can be described as raw at the very least. Anywhere you find Chris
Rock you usually find a film that carries with it a large amount of vulgarities
and Lethal Weapon 4 is no exception. The explosions start
from the beginning and are just a sample of what is to come. Kids
will want to see it but you must be aware that the "F" word is a very frequent
visitor especially to the dialogue of Rock and Pesci. Nudity is virtually
non-existent in this film so that is at least one thing you don't have
to worry about. Previewing this film to see if the language and violence
is too much would be advised.