Lethal Weapon 4 . Newcity Chicago . 07-20-98

Lethal Weapon 4

DIRECTED BY: Richard Donner

REVIEWED: 07-20-98

For a crew so used to doing everything "on three," it's amazing how well the "Lethal Weapon" team fares the fourth time out. This is perfect summer entertainment, eliciting laughs of joy followed by hoots of release as the "Lethal Weapon" ensemble runs, guns and funs its way through a crisply plotted, expertly executed thriller. And even though that ensemble has grown almost impossibly large - now including Chris Rock as a young cop with a secret - it works together as smoothly as a Detroit assembly line turning out hot new convertibles. Borrowing a few plot points from "To Live and Die in L.A." (with a car chase nearly as exciting as that film's centerpiece) and "Lethal Weapon 2" ("Diplomatic immunity!") - and gaining an energy boost from villain Jet Li and his bag of Hong Kong action tricks - the latest installment of "Riggs and Murtaugh's Excellent Adventures" is somehow greater than the sum of its stock parts. Danny Glover and Rene Russo bring the story's humanity to the forefront, while Mel Gibson has an onscreen mid-life crisis. And Rock, with what must be improvised lines, nearly steals the show from the stuntmen. The thrill-a-minute pace flags only when the veteran team mugs a little too hard in a dentist's office. But then, this series made its mark as the cinematic equivalent of laughing gas.

--Frank Sennett

Full Length Reviews
Lethal Weapon 4
Lethal Weapon 4

Capsule Reviews
Lethal Weapon 4
Lethal Weapon 4
Lethal Weapon 4

Other Films by Richard Donner
Assassins
Conspiracy Theory

Film Vault Suggested Links
Money Train
Money Talks
Chill Factor

Rate this Film
If you don't want to vote on a film yet, and would like to know how others voted, leave the rating selection as "Vote Here" and then click the Cast Vote button.