Lethal Weapon 4


Lorna: "What happened?"
Riggs: "What happened? Gunfights, explosions, sharks. The usual."
Lorna: "You were out fishing. I mean, does trouble just go looking for you?"
Riggs: "Well, it seems to know pretty much where I am most of the time."



release year: 1998
genre:  action
viewing setting: home Bluray 11/22/21 and 3/17/16 and home DVD 6/10/13 and 5/2/03

synopsis: Riggs and Murtagh must deal with family as well as criminal issues.

impressions: This was more like a "one last time" movie than something meant to be new or fresh. It will make no sense to one who hasn't seen the other three, and it won't be any fun for someone who didn't see and enjoy the other three. It had some good action (courtesy of Jet Li) and some funny lines and scenes, but I'm fairly sure that the series needed to end by this point. They've tapped out all the real action, and shown us repeatedly how the main characters are all getting too old for this stuff. There were two chases here (one on foot in streets and rooftops, the other a car chase featuring a mobile home on a trailer) and also the world's unluckiest bad guy: he survives his car being hit by a train, only to be pushed onto the other tracks and hit by THAT train next.

body count: 32 (5 by Riggs, 5 by Murtaugh, 1 by Lorna, 1 by Butters, 4 by Jet Li, and 16 by others)

asses kicked by Riggs: 2

asses kicked by Lorna: 1

asses kicked by Murtaugh: 1

asses kicked by Jet Li: 6

acting: Good - all of these people are very comfortable in these roles and with each other, and it shows. Chris Rock is the new addition, as a brash young cop named Butters, and I found him mostly annoying (though the way Riggs and Murtaugh kept intentionally mangling his last name throughout the movie was funny.)

final word: Suitable curtain call to a great series.

back to the main review page