Lethal Weapon 3

The public get what they want.

In this third instalment of the popular Lethal Weapon series, Murtaugh is counting down the days till he finally hangs up his badge, but he and Riggs run into an ex-cop who is dealing in special cop-killing bullets.

In total there were four Lethal Weapon films, regardless of quality (they declined in quality with each release) each film made gargantuan amounts of money. Who could blame those involved for milking it for all it was worth if the paying public demanded it eh? Made for $35 million, part 3 went on to make Worldwide $321 million, thus ensuring that a part 4 was inevitable. But is Lethal Weapon 3 actually any good? Was the loyal paying public rewarded for their time?.

Well yes, chances are that if you were already a fan of the series then this does deliver all you wanted and hoped for. Director Richard Donner and his team of writers shrewdly cottoned on to the basic fact that the ante had to be raised. It's a pretty light plot in truth, but enter more explosions, more action and make Riggs more comically reckless than usual, well it's a successful formula - even if Riggs and Murtaugh are now in essence just a comedy double act (one man love sequence not withstanding that is). Into the mix comes karate-kicking Internal Affairs female sergeant Lorna Cole (a more than agreeable turn from Rene Russo), who simultaneously gives Riggs more scope for gags and a love interest, and love him or hate him, Joe Pesci again pops in with mirth as the whiny Leo Getz. Stuart Wilson gets to play the bad guy with relish, and just to show it's not all about slam bangery and japes, the film also boasts having an affecting strand about kids with guns on the streets - and of course the scum who put those guns into those hands.

It's all very simple and disposable in the world of the popcorn actioner, and yeah, it's not as good as what came before it in the series, but it's still an entertaining viewing for the series fans regardless. 7/10

**_More fun and dynamic police action with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover_**

Riggs & Murtaugh (Gibson and Glover) team-up with a kick-axx internal affairs officer (Rene Russo) to take down an ex-cop (Stuart Wilson) who’s smuggling confiscated guns to L.A. gangs. Joe Pesci is also on hand.

"Lethal Weapon 3" (1992) is more-of-the-same in the successful series helmed by Richard Donner. Like the first two, it’s an over-the-top cop thriller with amusing camaraderie and rapid-fire banter. You have to roll with the outrageousness in order to enjoy it, just as you do with similar cop thrillers, like "The Gauntlet" (1977), although that one’s superior, as are the Dirty Harry flicks IMHO.

Of the first three, I marginally prefer the second one (1989), but this one is entertaining enough.

The film runs 1 hour, 58 minutes, and was shot in the greater Los Angeles area with some stuff done in Florida (like the building blowing up at the end, which was shot in St. Petersburg).

GRADE: B-

With barely more than a week to go until “Murtaugh” (Danny Glover) retires, he and his now uniformed (and pony-tailed) partner “Riggs” (Mel Gibson) thwart an armoured car robbery and arrest the culprit. Before he can be rigorously interrogated, though, his brains get splattered against the walls of the interview room and our intrepid duo are charged by “Murphy” (Steve Kazan) to work with the IAD detective “Lorna” (Rene Russo) and track down the perpetrator. It takes them all of five minutes to work out that they have to track down rogue “Lt. Travis” (Stuart Wilson) who is involved in a nefarious gun-running enterprise. Finding him might have got a little easier when realtor “Getz” (Joe Pesci) reckons he has seem him somewhere so that starts them on a trail of the usual pyrotechnics, shoot ‘em ups and car chases which, along the way, sees “Murtaugh” enter a depth of despair that only his pal can drag him from as “Travis” has now made everything just a little bit more personal. It is at it’s best when it is just Gibson and Glover, the pithy script and some wise-cracking but I found the burgeoning romance between “Riggs” and “Lorna” a bit of a drag and the only highlight from the downright annoying Pesci is on his head. It’s a solid story well executed by a director who keeps the pace moving whilst letting the two stars clearly have some high-octane fun. I reckon it is the weakest of the three so far, but it’s still watchable escapism.