Review of Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) by Wesley M — 20 Jul 2010

This is familiar series with a familiar premise, familiar actors and a familiar plot. The third outing in the series still hits all the right notes but loses points for hitting a few too many of the wrong ones.

To get those out of the way, there's Pesci. He goes from being a flat, comic character in LW2 to being a full blown supporting role. The need for levity in this series is important but having Pesci on screen as often as he is was just pointless, as he wears out his welcome quickly but refuses to go away. The fact that he has little bearing on the plot also weighs the flick down.

Much of the humor in this one is forced and awkwardly placed, where in the first one the jokes were natural and funny, this one has some jokes that seemed inserted with a long term goal but are executed as throwaway gags. Too many of them are cringe-worthy. The writing takes a hit too, as the dialogue is replaced with a lot of sappy, melodramatic speeches that are said without real conviction.

With that said, the underlying formula works very well. Gibson was born to play the role of mildly psychotic cop Riggs (which was probably less a good acting job as it was channeling his natural psychosis) and Glover is his standard "too old for this" Murtaugh, as they go up against the worst criminals LA has to offer. Their banter is still great and their chemistry is as volatile as ever. as usual they really sell the movie. Their relationship deepens even more in this one, and by now any familiar viewers will feel that these two are old friends.

The villain in this piece is truly vile, and as usual they are unapologetic and serve only as a goal for our heroes to achieve, usually by killing many people and destroying many things. Riggs gets a female counterpart who is more than just a pretty face, and she justifies herself well. The normal dark undercurrent is here in full force, and Riggs is once again given motivation to go wild on the bad guys.

Everything is just a little bit weaker this time around, excepting the Glover/Gibson dynamic. Its well worth the time to watch it, but be warned, Pesci lies ahead.