Has any movie franchise sunk as far and as rapidly as the Lethal Weapon series did with Part 3? The original film and its first sequel always had an element of comedy to go with the gritty action, but in this third instalment the humour is brought to the fore (and the nastiness toned down); the result is absolutely cringe-worthy, as tough cops Riggs and Murtaugh (Mel Gibson and Danny Glover) are regularly turned into incompetent clowns for the amusement of a younger demographic.
From the opening scene in which Riggs stupidly attempts to diffuse a bomb with disastrous results, to the end credits sequence in which Riggs, clearly having not learnt his lesson, considers diffusing yet another bomb, Lethal Weapon 3 is an embarrassment to the action genre. Jeffery Boam, who did such a good job with Part 2, completely screws up here, his plot being predictable and dull and the characters frequently acting against type just for laughs. Worse still, Boam brings back shifty Leo Getz (Joe Pesci), making him even more obnoxious and irritating than before.
Once again, Riggs is given a love interest—internal affairs cop Lorna Cole (Rene Russo)—but this chapter being a tamer affair aimed at the whole family, she doesn't get a sex scene (thankfully sparing the viewer yet another Mel Gibson ass shot) and doesn't wind up swimming with the fishes like poor old Patsy Kensit's Rika; instead, Lorna joins in with the crime-fighting fun, proving to be as handy with her fists and guns as the guys. All of this nonsense is accompanied by the series' terrible signature sax and guitar score, which only goes to make matters even more intolerable.
From the opening scene in which Riggs stupidly attempts to diffuse a bomb with disastrous results, to the end credits sequence in which Riggs, clearly having not learnt his lesson, considers diffusing yet another bomb, Lethal Weapon 3 is an embarrassment to the action genre. Jeffery Boam, who did such a good job with Part 2, completely screws up here, his plot being predictable and dull and the characters frequently acting against type just for laughs. Worse still, Boam brings back shifty Leo Getz (Joe Pesci), making him even more obnoxious and irritating than before.
Once again, Riggs is given a love interest—internal affairs cop Lorna Cole (Rene Russo)—but this chapter being a tamer affair aimed at the whole family, she doesn't get a sex scene (thankfully sparing the viewer yet another Mel Gibson ass shot) and doesn't wind up swimming with the fishes like poor old Patsy Kensit's Rika; instead, Lorna joins in with the crime-fighting fun, proving to be as handy with her fists and guns as the guys. All of this nonsense is accompanied by the series' terrible signature sax and guitar score, which only goes to make matters even more intolerable.