Russo and Gibson get turned on by their scars.

This time around, Murtaugh is now a week away from retiring from the force. Rianne is now a working actress, and his house is up for sale. Riggs meanwhile, has suddenly become a stupid jerk.

The first scene is of Riggs and Murtaugh outside a deserted building, with explosives inside. The bomb squad is on the way, but Riggs decides they can take care of the bomb themselves. The two go inside, with Riggs making jokes the whole time. Lethal weapon 2 established that Riggs was no longer suicidal, yet this film threatens both character's life for no apparent reason other than to have the two of them get to run out of a building as it explodes.

For acting immature, they are both busted down to patrol officers. Here Riggs acts like a complete asshole by harassing a guy for j-walking. He even pulls his gun out on him and threatens to shoot him. Sure, he is joking, but the guy does not know that.

This scene also introduces us to a plot device that gets old very quickly. Just after scaring the j-walker, they just happen to be standing within sight of a robbery. At another point, Murtaugh and Riggs get shot at by some gang bangers they just happened to stumble on as they were making a drug deal. One of the gang members turns out to coincidentally be one of Murtaugh's son's friends.

Pesci was one of the brightest spot in Lethal Weapon 2. He is back, but it does not make any sense. He is now a realtor selling Murtaugh's house. The guy laundered and stole large amounts of money, but Murtaugh, a veteran cop, still trusts him to sell his home?

Lethal weapon 3 has plenty of action, but the characters are no longer likable. Murtaugh now seems dumb. He hired Getz. He has no connection with his son. He allows Riggs to endanger him. Riggs is now too obnoxious to root for. In one scene he just happens to find himself near where Rianne is filming a scene. Riggs overreacts and gets Rianne fired. He then physically assaults the director. Riggs is kind of an asshole in this film.

Lethal Weapon 3 keeps some of the traditions going. This time the social statement is about youth violence. Murtaugh kills a young gang banger, and later a baby faced cop gets shot. "There's kids out there, babies, no brains, but they got automatic weapons!" The WTF moment is when Riggs makes friends with the guard dog.

The best thing about this movie is the addition of Russo as a tough Internal Affairs officer. The scene where she and Gibson compare scars is classic. The rest of Lethal Weapon 3 though, is pretty much just mindless action and absurd coincidences.

Did you enjoy Eric's review? +5 -0

Mel Gibson, Danny Glover and Joe Pesci in Lethal Weapon 3.

This morning I was in the mood for a mindless comedy/action flick. Lethal Weapon 3 certainly fits that bill. The third installment in this successful buddy/cop franchise from the 80s and 90s is not a completely horrible way to spend a few hours. But it’s nowhere near as entertaining as it thinks it is. Riggs and Murtaugh exhibit their usual easy camaraderie but – in the tradition of the first two movies – it has several WTF moments as well as throwing in some out-of-place melodrama.

I pretty much agree with everything Eric wrote. I disagree only with his statement that Murtaugh has no connection with his son. Sure his son is at the age where he's exploring his independence but there is a very nice scene between the young man and his father where Murtaugh advises his son on shaving technique. Once again the scenes at the Murtaugh house are some of the best in the movie.

As this was 1992 the violent gangbanging culture in Los Angeles was at its peak. This leads to the out-of-place melodrama I mentioned when Murtaugh, Riggs and Lorna attend the funeral of the young thug - and former friend of Murtaugh’s son - that Roger shot defending himself and Riggs. The father of the dead boy misplaces the blame by telling Murtaugh that if he wants to make up for killing his son he should find the man that put the gun into his son’s hands. As if his son had no choice or personal responsibility in turning to a violent life of crime that led to his own death at the hands of a cop.

Eric already mentioned the WTF moments. The entire opening bomb sequence for example, which serves no purpose other than showing a building being blown-up. When Martin and Roger get forced to walk a beat as uniformed cops any semblance of reality goes out the window. Would they really bother to demote a cop like Murtaugh a week before he retires? And it does seem as if everywhere these cops go a crime occurs. Leo Getz as Murtaugh’s real estate agent is a lame excuse to include Pesci in the story.

The central case revolves around a corrupt former cop peddling illegal weapons. Russo’s Lorna Cole joins the boys in bringing him down. She’s a bad-ass martial-arts-trained cop that - in yet another WTF scene - fights half-a-dozen bad guys while Riggs and Murtaugh look on. For anyone old enough to remember them, Lethal Weapon 3 provides some mild nostalgia for the early 90s. It also manages a few decent action scenes but methinks they went to the well one time too many. Oops, make that two times too many since they made a fourth installment in 1998.
 

Did you enjoy Patrick's review? +5 -0