United States, 1992 U.S. Release Date: 5/15/1992 Runtime: 121 min. MPAA Classification: R Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cast: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo, Stuart Wilson, Patsy Kensit, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe, Damon Hines
Director: Richard Donner Screenplay: Jeffrey Boam and Robert Mark Kamen Cinematography: Stephen Goldblatt Original Score: Eric Clapton, Michael Kamen, David Sanborn, and Elton John Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Mel Gibson and Danny Glover team up, have some laughs, and shoot drug dealers in 1987’s “Lethal Weapon.” In the sequel, they return to kill dozens of evil racist South Africans, and hang around with Joe Pesci. With the expected third entry of this franchise that of course made producers Joel Silver and Richard Donner even wealthier as AIDS-ridden kids in Africa continue to starve, does it continue the winning chemistry of the two previous pictures?
“Return of the Jedi,” “Return of the King,” “X3,” and other 2nd sequels were under whelming movies compared to the considerable quality success of all of those series, and “Lethal Weapon 3” is the elected-Treasurer of this Hollywood reject club.
So why for this lukewarm picture? For one thing, you don’t’ have a Gary Busey-type taking a generic part and worth watching. Nor do you have easy-to-hate-without-regret bad guys. What do we have instead of a cool actor or some credible enemies? Jack and Shit, and the latter is the villain in this movie.
Really, I’ve seen this film several times on cable TV over the years, and I swear to Crom that I still can’t recall who the actual baddie is, or his actual evil scheme. Movies with weak villains are almost always a waste of time. Unless that is, you liked that “Fantastic Four” picture.
I mean, Donner tries to make this movie worthwhile. It has the obligatory car chases, gun shoot-outs, male heterosexual melodrama, and everything else expected in a modern Hollywood action film. Yet I could care less. Though I admit, the whole motorcycle sequence with Gibson almost pressured me to crack a really stupid joke in relation to his recent DUI arrest, but mediocrity alone can’t inspire me enough to even bother.
Still, the filmmakers did try to introduce a romantic counterpart for Gibson in Russo, who is not only a drop-dead gorgeous, rough and tumble tomboy, but she also digs the “Three Stooges.”
While watching this scar-comparing scene between Gibson and Russo, it made me think. How many women like this actually exist? I mean I support girl power, equal rights, and all that stuff, but save for Hollywood, where are these women? Look, if there are truly Stooge-fan girls out there, you have the right to write me hate mail. Go ahead, I deserve it if they really exist.
On the rebuttal, in a movie where two cops are the cause of one building’s destruction (basis for an actual hilarious scene, the only one worth a bullet in this film) and then on the scene on a second explosion (watch the credits), yet don’t get fired by the city; why even bother?
Despite my amateurish critique, “Lethal Weapon 3” isn’t a bad film. It’s just such a one-time dispensable form of entertainment, much like a wad of toilet paper. It works its purpose in life, but you don’t want to bother with that particular bit of paper again.
