Tag: lethal weapon

Not too old for this shit. “Lethal Weapon 4” (1998)

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directed by Richard Donner
© 1998 Warner Bros. Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

And we’ve reached the end. But it doesn’t mean we won’t learn something new today. Yet, firstly, let’s find out what happens to our beloved Riggs-Murtaugh couple. If you haven’t seen the previous parts, I’m sorry for the upcoming spoilers, but it’s impossible to avoid them. So as you know, Riggs is now in some sort of a relationship with Cole, who will have his baby. They are both thinking of getting married, but none of them wants to admit it first, so they are just living like friends with benefits and a baby on the way. And what would be even funnier? Obviously, Murtaugh is also expecting a baby, but it would be too silly to make him and his wife have another baby. Instead, it’s his daughter Rianne (Tracie Wolfe) who is pregnant. However, Murtaugh doesn’t know who’s the father and it’s better to keep it this way. Enough with the private drama, Riggs and Murtaugh get promoted to captains and they need to deal with the problem of Chinese immigrants smuggling. They will be cooperating with our lovely Leo and one more officer, detective Lee Butters (Chris Rock), who will become more than just their colleague from work… You will see. Anyway, surprisingly, I don’t think this part is that bad. I know that some people were against continuing the story this way, making the ladies pregnant, the main characters becoming more familymen than officers etc. Still, I think they finished the series in an acceptable way. This part is still funny, there’s action, there’s thrill, there’s Joe Pesci making a fool of himself – what else do we need? And the ending is actually adorable, so I’m totally satisfied. The lesson that you may get today is that everyone should know when to leave the stage… or in this case, the screen. I’m more than glad that there’s no 5th part, because that would probably be too much. In 2016 they made a series based on “Lethal Weapon” films, starring Clayne Crawford and Damon Wayans. The TV series isn’t as much popular as the films, but it has good ratings, so if you want, feel free to check it out. As much as I like Damon Wayans and Thomas Lennon (who plays Leo Getz in the series), I’ll pass. For me “Lethal Weapon” film series is a symbol of the 80/90s and it should stay in the 20th century.

My rating: 7,5/10
S.

I’m chaos and he’s mayhem. “Lethal Weapon 3” (1992)

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directed by Richard Donner
© 1992 Warner Bros. All Rights Reserved.

How to write a popular action film series – lesson 3. On the first lesson we learned that we need two different characters (different race is a big plus), they need to have something big to solve and there should be several gags. On the second lesson, we learned that it’s good to make some changes, because watching two men doing almost the same as in the first part would be boring. That is why we need an additional character, who would make some trouble, and we need some different case which would provide us with a meaningful message. Today, on the third lesson, we will learn what to do to keep such series attractive. More fighting? Can be. More jokes? Can be. Changing one of the character’s hair colour? Pointless, but can be. But what we really need is… a woman, ladies and gentlemen. Although, it cannot be just any woman. Maybe before it was popular to have female characters who were supposed to be pretty and needed to be taken care of. Not anymore. Now we need a woman who will make a bigger show than all those three men in the previous parts. Obviously, the third film starts with a new case, but this time our beloved couple Riggs-Murtaugh need to cooperate with Sergeant Lorna Cole (Rene Russo). And she’s not a stereotypical housewife. Oh no. This lady knows how to deal with bad guys. Personally, I don’t like adding such characters just to make it more watchable (Russo used to be a model, I guess you may understand why men were crazy about her back then). However, not only she’s gorgeous, but I also liked her from the very beginning. She wasn’t overacting or pretending what an overly strong woman she is. Not at all. She was simply doing her job, just like other officers, no matter if they were men or women. I appreciate such characters. And I’m a huge fan of this scene where Cole and Riggs are showing their scars and bullet wounds to each other. Probably the most acceptable flirting scene in the history of action films. Oh and don’t get mad at me for spoiling this one, Riggs’ a handsome single, Cole’s a gorgeous single, don’t pretend you didn’t see it coming. Fun fact before watching: the director, Richard Donner, is an animal-rights activist and he made sure to place several stickers and posters about that in the film, so watch closely. And applause for Mr. Donner. Seems like you can be an activist in a bit different way.

My rating: 7/10
S.

We’re back! We’re bad! You’re black! I’m mad! “Lethal Weapon 2” (1989)

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directed by Richard Donner
© 1989 Warner Bros. All Rights Reserved.

I guess the title of today’s post is a perfect description of what you can expect from the second part of this adorable series. Obviously, if you haven’t seen the first part, I would recommend you watching everything in the right order. Still, if any of the other parts happen to be shown on TV, don’t hesitate to watch them. Each part is a separate story, so you should enjoy them anyway. Yet, there might be some jokes you won’t get because you don’t know everything about the characters, but, other than that, it’s not a problem. So this part starts with our buddies catching some strange guys shipping South African currency, pretty much illegally. However, they are asked not to get involved in this case and take care of something else instead. Or rather someone else. Leo Getz (Joe Pesci) is a federal witness and a huge pain in the ass, honestly speaking. This character is to bring some “fresh air” to the Riggs-Murtaugh couple. So as in the first part they were making mistakes because they couldn’t communicate well with each other, in the second film they already know how to work together, but have this little annoying guy getting them all in trouble. Personally, I adore the character of Leo, so I hope you won’t hate him much either. He’s like Donkey in “Shrek” – maybe he’s not the brightest, but you’ll remember him forever. I would say I liked the second part a bit more than the first one because there were more ridiculous situations to laugh at. Oh and this part touches the topic of racial discrimination in a very specific way. It seems to be just a background topic, but, in fact, you can see the message very clearly. So good job. Generally they are mad, black and back and that’s why you should watch this part.

My rating: 7.5/10
S.

Have you ever met anybody you didn’t kill? “Lethal Weapon” (1987)

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directed by Richard Donner
© 1987 Warner Bros. All Rights Reserved.

If you asked me about some action film that’s perfect for the weekend, I would say “Lethal Weapon” right away. I remember when I was younger, this film was played very often on TV. So for the first time I probably watched it after one Sunday lunch, sitting on the sofa and eating some cake my grandma had prepared. Good times. Anyway, this production is, in my opinion, a fantastic example how to make popular and rather good action films. I mean, the story is very simple, but the producers remembered about some bullet points while making it. First of all, we have two main characters who are totally different, but they need to work together. Sergeant Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) is a 50-year-old family man, proud father and husband. He’s a very down-to-earth person, always following the orders and respecting the law. One day he’s partnered with Sergeant Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson), who’s, as I’ve already told you, totally different from Roger. Martin is a great officer, however, he’s been having suicidal thoughts ever since his wife was killed in a car accident some years ago. That is why he’s a bit of a mad man. First bullet point, checked. Another thing is that it would be great to have some racial mix, that’s why Roger is black and Martin is white. I’m not being sarcastic, that’s just a very good move and a very rational one, in my opinion. Let’s have some colours on the screen! Checked! Those two need to have something to do, so there’s the case of an unexplained suicide of a young woman, which isn’t that obvious and easy to solve. Checked. And not to make it boring, let’s add a lot of situational jokes and sarcasm. Checked! And voilà, you have a perfect recipe for a Sunday action film. I think we see the results clearly. Personally, I adore such productions as “Lethal Weapon”, because they bring good memories back. They are simple, but decent and funny. What else do we want on Sunday? Fun fact: if you decide to watch it, try to observe the way the actors are fighting. It’s quite impressive, because the actors were taught Capoeira, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Jailhouse rock. If you have no idea what those names mean, shortly, they are different martial arts techniques. Huge respect for the producers and actors for taking it that seriously.

My rating: 7/10
S.