Lethal Weapon 4
Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo, Chris Rock
Grade: B-
My review of the latest installment in the massively popular Lethal Weapon series may be a little biased, for I have not seen the previous three films in the franchise. Still, despite its flaws, Lethal Weapon 4 had enough fun and energy crammed into its two hour running time to motivate me to go rent the three prequals.
As I quickly learned, the Lethal Weapon series is not about plot as much as it is about quirky, breathless action sequences, and the chemistry of its stars. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, as the aging, bickering cop partners, each give good, likable performances that helps elevate the action to a higher level. And, while Gibson and Glover may have enough chemistry to keep the whole movie afloat, each of the supporting cast offers it’s own little controbution into the fun. Joe Pesci is delightfully annoying and the PI who is always buzzing around the heads of the main characters. His character is given some pointless, yet very funny, tyraids against cellular telephones with a rookie cop, played by rising star Chris Rock. And then, there’s Rene Russo, who steps in as Mel Gibson’s pregnant girlfriend. Her contribution to the film is... well, a woman’s touch.
There is some irony to be found in Lethal Weapon 4. Despite all the efforts of the big name stars (Gibson, Glover, Pesci, Russo, Rock, etc.) it’s relative new comer Jet Li who steals the show. Mr. Li plays the cool-as-a-cucumber villain, displaying some awe-inspriring martial arts moves that should have you saying "wow". There isn’t much dialogue for his role, but this up and coming actor can say more with his eyes that any other actor can say with a two page monologue.
The plot this time out involves a powerful Chinese figure trying to sneak his family into America. To pay the men who helped sneak his family across (Jet Li), he has to manufacture fake Chinese money. Why does Jet Li need this fake money? Well, you see, he needs to pay a new group of "terrorists" a fee for sneaking his family into America. More is at stake when we realize that the familty of this martial arts master is actually a ring of crimelords, who have something along the lines of national domination on their minds. Or, I don’t know, something along those lines.
That’s pretty much it as far as plot goes. Gibson and Glover, along with newcomer Chris Rock, race from one hysterical situation to one incredible action sequence to the next. Meanwhile, Russo pigs out on Chinese food (stereotypically cooked up by a family of Chinese immigrants that Danny Glover takes under his wing), and, once in a while, unleashes some karate moves on some nasty thugs. But, where the plot fails, the individual scenes succeed, some of them on a grand level. There’s one scene where a whole group of characters end up inhaling laughing gas (so does the audience from the sound of things). And then, a few minutes later, there’s a pretty awesome car chase down the freeway that, somehow or another, ends up in the center of an office building.
These, however, are the film’s high points. Lethal Weapon 4, despite its fast paced formula, does not escape without flaw. Each individual scene may be just fine, but the overal mix of Jim Carrey comedy one second, and Jerry Bruckheimer action the next leads to a generally uneven motion picture. Moreover, I didn’t really see the point of many of the characters. Joe Pesci does literally nothing for the entire movie, and seems to be signed back on only for star power (or, perhaps, so Warner Bros could use their "the gang’s all here" tagline).
But, when you’re in the theater, you don’t care about the last scene or the next scene. You’re totally wrapped up, not in the film, but in the moment, which, I guess, is not a bad thing for a motion picture that consists only of several, loosely connected, yet marvelous moments.