Word: murtaugh
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After a quick action sequence and a bit of exposition, the meat of the movie begins with Los Angeles Police Department vets Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) horsing around on Murtaugh's boat with their Leodmouth near-friend Leo Getz (Joe Pesci). Not 10 seconds after Riggs lobs Leo's pistol into the waves in jest, a massive freighter narrowly misses the puny fishing boat. Murtaugh and Riggs lose no time; a speedy flash of badge (very impressive from a distance, no doubt), leads the two cops, with minimal aid from Leo, to a shootout that...
...usual, partners Riggs and Murtaugh have found themselves a few nefarious bad guys. Dogged investigation and Murtaugh's offer of shelter to a few of the refugees mire the duo and their families deep in the machinations of the fearsome Chinese Triad gang. Busting the Triad's multifaceted criminal empire proves to be a tall order for the aging cops, who turn an old catch phrase of Murtaugh's into a new mantra now that running and fighting are taking a heavy toll on wellworn joints: "We're not too old for this shit...
...devious Triad crime that challenges Murtaugh and Riggs so is, happily, exceptionally amenable to pyrotechnical screen displays. The film delivers all the broken glass and gas explosions your heart could desire. Action sequences max out on adrenaline, like one on the freeway where Riggs fights a thug in a moving prefab home, gets dragged behind an oblivious truck and then manages to jump back into the waiting car of Murtaugh, who promptly drives through a glass-walled building. Orange fireballs are more common than not on these streets of LA, and there is no fun in arresting someone...
...from Lethal Weapon 3, and the partners' past actions color every scene at LAPD head quarters. But never does the movie rest on the laurels of its predecessors. Many jokes are funny for the uninitiated even as they take on added resonance for those who have followed Riggs and Murtaugh through the years, and no jokes exclude those who are not die-hard fans. Old characters and running gags are neatly integrated into a compelling plot. The movie could easily stand on its own, without support from the Lethal Weapon name...
...there. Russo, looking remarkably unpregnant for someone who gives birth at the end of the movie, is sweet. Jet Li is magnificently creepy as a strong-and-silent, impeccably elegant villain. Alone among the principal supporting actors, Chris Rock, normally so funny, fails to fit his role as Murtaugh's young cop son-in-law. His edgy, larger than life comic persona makes Rock look like he is intruding on someone else's shtick...