Directed by Richard Donner

Reviewed 7/10/98 by Robert L. Thompson

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WE'RE GETTIN' TOO OLD FOR THIS!

Well, almost all of the old cast is back for this fourth go 'round of the Lethal Weapon cop / buddy / comedy / action series, and everyone may be getting older, but they are definitely getting funnier. Lethal Weapon 4 has several knee-pounding hilarious scenes in it. The action sequences are good and there are plenty of them, but the comedy portion is the best feature of this film.

Mel Gibson as Martin Riggs and Danny Glover as Roger Murtaugh display their usual charisma and make a good team - as cop partners and as movie stars. Rene Russo reprises her character from the previous movie as a tough female cop, but in this one she is very pregnant and working in Internal Affairs; She has a few good scenes and one good fight, but I would have liked to see her in more of the scenes.

Joe Peschi returns as Leo Getz- But now he has a badge and a gun- (he somehow got licensed as a Private Investigator) -- Well, he had a gun until Riggs tossed it over the side of Roger's boat in the opening scene. Leo spends the rest of the movie practicing his "surveillance techniques" by following Riggs and Murtaugh as they try to figure out who was smuggling Chinese people as slave labor and why they were doing it. Peschi's character is just as hyperactive and talkative as before, but in one scene just before the end of the movie, he amazed me by putting a lump in my throat, and by darn near bringing a tear to my eye- something that is not easy to do.

Chris Rock is new to the team, playing a young cop who seems to worship Murtaugh- Well, I was going to tell you why, but decided not to spoil it. While he was OK, I don't believe that there will be any Academy Award nominations for him in this one.

I liked the action scenes, and the drama in the first Lethal Weapon movie better: (Mel's fight with Garey Busey and the melee scene in the factory were two of the best movie fight scenes ever-), LETHAL WEAPON 4 does not have quite as powerful fight scenes, but one of the bad guys (Jet Li- a big star from Hong Kong, Fairly new to US audiences) is amazing, kind of like an evil offspring of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan., But the new film is probably more enjoyable overall, if a bit less intense.

Were it not for a whole lot of profanity and a few violent and bloody scenes I would heartily recommend this as a movie that the whole family would enjoy. There is no nudity- (although we do get to see Danny Glover in his Boxers with little hearts all over them, flapping his arms like a chicken).

There are movies to avoid, movies to wait for TV or video, Movies only worth the price of a matinee ticket: LETHAL WEAPON 4 is worth paying full ticket price. I had a great time.