Review of Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) by Hugh J — 06 Jan 2009

I fucking loved it. I realize everyone loves the first two movies the best but for me, it's 2 and 4. I think a large part of that is because I saw the movies one after the other so it was easier to see the progression.

I saw the four movies as more of a whole as opposed to seeing them as individual films. So, in a way, this felt like a series finale to a great TV show. And my God, does it deliver. The opening scene was great, the villains were fucking awesome (Jet Li like a MUH-fucka!), the dialogue was laugh-out-loud hilarious and the numerous homages and callbacks to the previous films were an excellent touch.

Plus Rianne got her long hair back and looked gorgeous, Riggs had a new haircut but still looked badass and they stopped trying to make Leo hip and just let him be Leo. Joe Pesci is fucking awesome simply because this character is so different from his other characters.

I've always known him as a badass who'd fuck up guys twice his size but here, he lets Gibson and Glover be the badasses. Also, knowing that this was Pesci's last movie (fuck 'The Good Shepherd'), that fucking froggy speech was a helluva way to go out.

I almost teared up since it was not only well-written and well-acted, it reminded me of the scene in LW3 and just brought a tremendous close to the series. The scenes at the hospital can be the epilogue for all I care cause this movie ended at the graveyard for me.

I also dug the addition of Chris Rock, who's funny as a motherfucker and actually sold me as a cop. He didn't have to do much action but I dug his presence in the film. I liked that they brought back everyone, too, including Rene Russo, who doesn't get to do much here but still had her moments.

Finally, the reason I love this movie more than the first one was because of the final fight between Riggs, Murtaugh and Jet Li. I know everyone loves the fight between Riggs and Joshua in the first one but I fucking loved this fight more.

Everything about it was perfect. The way it was shot with the rain pouring down, the conversation Riggs and Murtaugh had when they decided to fight Jet Li, Riggs pushing Murtaugh back before attacking first, the way the two of them caught Jet Li in mid-kick together and pushed him down, the callback to Riggs' dislocated shoulder and my favourite shot in the whole film where Riggs and Murtaugh walk towards Jet Li, cross over and switch sides and then lightning just flashes as the two of them stand in front of Jet Li knowing they're in for a fucking fight.

As a huge fan of 'Angel' and it's series finale, it just reminded me of the last scene in 'Not Fade Away' and put the whole 'Lethal Weapon' series in perspective for me. Just an excellent fucking ending to a fun, enjoyable and memorable series of films.

I fucking loved it.