Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)
The Cast
Mel Gibson ... Martin Riggs
Danny Glover ... Roger Murtaugh
Joe Pesci ... Leo Getz
Rene Russo ... Lorna Cole
Stuart Wilson ... Jack Travis
Steve Kahan ... Captain Ed Murphy
Darlene Love ... Trish Murtaugh
Traci Wolfe ... Rianne Murtaugh
Damon Hines ... Nick Murtaugh
Nick Chinlund ... Hatchett
Delores Hall ... Delores
Mary Ellen Trainor ... Dr. Stephanie Woods
Mark Pellegrino ... Billy Phelps
If the Lethal Weapon movie franchise were a TV series, this film would probably be referred to as when it "jumped the shark". True, the exact definition doesn't perfectly apply, but the spirit of the phrase most certainly does. Original writer Shane Black did not return for this movie, leaving the story in the hands of Robert Mark Kamen and the late Jeffrey Boam. Depending on your personal views, that's either a good thing or a terrible idea altogether. I lean towards the latter opinion in case you were wondering. Director Richard Donner and the principal cast all return for this third part in the Lethal Weapon series, one that I'm sure Shane Black is glad he had no hand in.
Here's how interesting the movie was to me: I had to repeatedly double-check the Wiki page for the movie to make sure I got all the plot details correctly. Once again, trouble seems to find Riggs (Gibson) and Murtaugh (Glover), as one of the criminals they captured in an attempted armored car robbery is somehow tied to all of the illegal firearms being used in crimes around L.A. lately. Seems that all those firearms were previously seized by the LAPD, so Internal Affairs is very interested in who is supplying the criminals with the weapons, leading a member of IA, Lorna Cole (Russo), to start working with Riggs and Murtaugh in tracking down the culprit. This synopsis is needlessly confusing, and just so you know, Leo Getz (Pesci) is back for no real reason, other than to be a real estate agent and somehow connected to the culprit as well.
At this point you can take all the things about the first two Lethal Weapon movies that you didn't like and cram them together and you've kinda got the third movie. You can also dumb down the characters a bit, make the humour a tad broader, and the action much more ridiculous and over-the-top. The characters don't act in their previously established manners and you're left with an overwhelmingly feeling of averageness. It's generally better than your typical brainless action movie, but only due to the strength of the actors and their characters. The only notable addition to the cast is Rene Russo as the IA officer that is basically the female version of Riggs, who of course falls head over heels for her.
There's not too much more I can think to write about this movie. It was just so average and pretty much a big letdown for the franchise in terms of quality. It did push some new storylines in terms of character development, but there was never any assurances that there would be a Lethal Weapon 4 so it was done in a half-assed predictable fashion. Some might say ham-fisted as well, but that's kind of mean-spirited. Anyways, even if there wasn't a fourth Lethal Weapon movie made, this film would still go down as the weakest in the franchise.
2.5 / 5