Customer Reviews

Lethal Weapon 4 [VHS]

5 star:		(89)
4 star:		(52)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(21)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

An explosive beginning once again kicks off the action for our favorite team of Los Angeles Detectives, Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh, in Richard Donner's "Lethal Weapon 4," starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. In this fourth installment of the popular action/drama series, the pair are confronted with a murderous Chinese Triad with links to Hong Kong, that deals in counterfeiting and the smuggling of illegals into the country, where their new lives become nothing more than virtual slavery. It's a subject that touches a nerve with Murtaugh (Glover), which brings about an irrational decision when he thinks he can help. But not to worry; Riggs (Gibson) is there to back him up, and together they take on one of their most formidable opponents yet, Wah Sing Ku (Jet Li), head of the Triad, who happens to be in the process of discharging a personal agenda from which he will not be deterred. And making matters all the more complicated, Riggs and Murtaugh each have personal issues of their own to deal with: Murtaugh with his daughter, Rianne (Traci Wolfe), and Riggs with Lorna Cole (Rene Russo), the first woman with whom he's had a long standing relationship since the death of his wife. With three highly successful "Lethal" outings under their belts, it would have been easy for director Donner and his stars to phone this one in, make a few bucks and move on. But not these guys; Refusing to rest on their laurels, they deliver yet another exceptional, action-packed movie that maintains the quality and consistency of the first three. Gibson and Glover manage to take their characters to yet another level, keeping it all fresh and refusing to cruise through the comfort zone on auto pilot. Russo, as well, turns in another winning performance; she and Gibson really click together, rivaling the kind of chemistry Bogie and Bacall brought to the screen. Their relationship is extremely well developed and handled with skill by Donner, as is the entire story; it all moves ahead quickly and is never allowed to slow down or meander, which keeps the emotional level and tension high throughout the film. The action is possibly the best of any of the series, with some sequences so good they deserve comparison to John Woo's best. Jet Li is absolutely dynamic, and brings a real sense of menace to his character of Ku. For the first time, you get the feeling that Riggs and Murtaugh may be up against more than they can handle by themselves. And even with all this series has going for it already, in this one they manage to introduce yet another character that adds even more to their formula for success: Chris Rock joins the team as Lee Butters, the next generation of law enforcement, an officer with a degree in psychology. He adds some humor to the proceedings, but more than that, he makes Butters likable and seems to have an immediate grasp of who he is and where he fits in. And fit in well he does, essentially becoming the third member of the team. Leo Getz (Joe Pesci) is back as well, this time as a private investigator still trying his best to ingratiate himself with his friends, Riggs and Murtaugh. Interestingly enough, one of the more touching scenes in the film (near the end) develops during a conversation between Getz and Riggs, one that offers the audience (as well as Riggs) some insight into what makes Getz tick. The supporting cast includes Steve Kahan (Capt. Murphy), Darlene Love (Trish), Eddy Ko (Hong) and Mary Ellen Trainor, reprising her role of Police Psychiatrist Dr. Stephanie Woods for the fourth time. Working from another exceptionally well written script (this time by Channing Gibson), Donner and Company have scored yet another triumph with "Lethal Weapon 4," which can stand on it's own, or as a part of one of the best action/drama series ever made. Which one of the four is the best? Toss a coin; these are movies the way they ought to be made.

I like all the Lethal Weapon movies, and this one is no exception. I don't see why anybody wouldn't like "Lethal Weapon 4" because it's everything most people would expect it to be. It has a lot of fast paced action, good special effects, and a lot of laughs. What made "Lethal Weapon 4" one of the best two of the series in my opinion is the comedy that's in the movie. Without a doubt, it has more comedy in it than the other three movies in the series by far. Some of the funniest parts are when Joe Pesci makes friends with a shark, and the laughing gas scene at the dentist's office. Like always, Mel Gibson and Danny Glover put on great performances, and Joe Pesci is hilarious. I'm not crazy about Chris Rock's stand up comedy show, but he was actually pretty good in this movie. Jet-Li also shows off some of his awesome fighting moves at times in the movie.

If you like movies with a lot of action and a lot of comedy, I recommend getting "Lethal Weapon 4."

I couldn't imagine a better way to end the series than with Lethal Weapon 4. It's a very good movie, with a great plot and great actors. I love how every character in these movies has been played by the same people. The chemistry, not only between Gibson and Glover, but the whole cast is very evident in this movie. It's a little more light-hearted than it's sleazy predecessors, but it is still true to it's form and very entertaining. Jet Li is probably the best enemy yet. They put up quite a fight just to bring him down. Joe Pesci is at his best in this movie, and even softens up a bit (note the Froggy story). Chris Rock was a GREAT addition to the movie as well. He is nothing short of hilarious. His monologue in the car about his childhood was so funny, I don't know how the actors kept a straight face. The ending pretty much sums up the whole series and pretty much confirms that this is the last movie. If you have watched the other Lethal Weapon movies dozens of times like I have, you will love this one just as much.

I have to make comment on this movie because of my favorite star: Jet Li. It's actually impossible for Mel Gibson to defeat Jet Li in the movie because he is the kung-fu master (in real life too!). But he is so cool. Too bad he's playing an antagonist. If you like him, see Bodyguard from Beijing and the Fist of Legend. When Bodyguard from Beijing was released in 1994, I was sceptical because it is the Asian version of The Bodyguard. I saw it for the first time last week, and to my surprise, I loved it more than the US version. It was action-packed and everything moves very fast. I even felt hesitant to return the tape to the video store because I felt like I haven't watched it enough times:)

The Lethal Weapon series has been a great item in the whole action/comedy buddy genre. The first was instant classic from the 80's. Easily the best. All of its sequels were terrific, however just short of being as good. However this fourth installment I believe may come to being as good as the first. I would not say better, but I do not which one I would rather watch. Their are just so many great things to take note of in this film such as the car chase scene and the ifhgitng sequences performed by Jet Li. Brinigin in Jet ;Li was a great idea, plus compared to his other american films that followed (Romoeo Must Die, Kiss of the Dragon, The One) the movie ws deinetly one of his better films (even though he was not in the starring role). And the comedy could not have any better with the addition of Chris Rock. Although I do not think he's that funny in real life, his antics defiently gave me a good laugh in this movie. Anyway, here is the plot.
The movie starts of with Riggs (Mel Gibson)and Murtough (Danny Glover) facing off a pyromaniac. While they are attempting to take him down we learn that both Rigg's girlfriend Lorna (Rene Ruso) and Murtough's daughter Rianne (Tracy Wolfe) are pregnant.
The film then fowards to about nine moths later. While fishing Murtough and Riggs (And Leo Gets played by Joe Pesci) get into a gun battle with chinese mobsters. We learn that these guys were smuggling in chinese immigrants. The leader of the bad guys is Wah Sing Ku (Jet Li) who needs the immigrants to produce counterfeit money. He will then use this money in order to free the "4 fathers" (4 big chinese Criminals, one whom is Wah Sing Ku's brother) Also a young a detective named Lee Buttters (Chris Rock) joins the gang and helps the investigation. He also happens to be the father of Riannes baby but Murtough does not know that yet.

In short Lethal Weapon is a great fun film. Get it now a fun enjoyable time!

The cast of Lethal Weapon 4 is back and the DVD is truly awesome!

The video and sound quality demonstrated in this DVD is superb and one thing that will make you love this DVD even more is how Warner Bros. loaded this DVD up with extras. Trailers for Mel Gibson movies (Warner Bros. related only), Interviews, Extended/deleted scenes from the previous Lethal Weapon series, trailers for all Lethal Weapon movies and so much more.

Just watching these trailers now makes me want to purchase the others on DVD.

What can I say...this DVD should be called a Collector or Special edition because it's fully loaded!

If you enjoyed the Lethal Weapon series, this DVD is a must get. Your surround sound will have a good workout and it's a DVD that you can spend time on because it's fully loaded.

The Lethal Weapon 4 DVD is a real winner!

If you are a Mel Gibson/Lethal Weapon Fan, this is probably for you. If, on the other hand, you are a Jet Li fan and looking forward to his martial arts wizardry, look elsewhere (Fist Of Legend). This NOT a movie for a Jet-Li fan, but is worth watching.

The makers of this movie have plumbed new depths with this dog: same old formula that it's almost a self-parody of action-movie cliches. Banal jokes, dialogue liberally laced with profanities, black cop-white cop interacting - done to death, and almost de rigeur for movies of this genre as if it produces a heightened sense of comedy and action. The depressing monotonous formulaic movie and don't overlook the greedy movie-makers who cater to the lowest common denominator in taste - whose only real priority is a new Gulfstream V

3 1/2 stars.

Being a huge fan of both comedy and action films,I love seeing films that have both action and comedy in them being made and released. And despite how dark the first "Lethal Weapon" film was,the humor in LW2 and LW3 alllowed the idea of the fourth LW film being an action/comedy film to be a great idea. Not only was the idea to bring back Mel Gibson,Danny Glover,Joe Pesci,and Rene Russo for what has become the last LW film a excellent,the addition of Chris Rock was both smart and creative,while it was a pretty cool idea at the same time. Having Jet Li play the villian here was a nice touch,especially since Li now shares the honor with Gary Busey of being one of the two famous actors who share the honor of being one of the only two famous actors playing lead villains out of the LW series,for the LW film that Busey was in (LW1),and for the LW film that Li is in (LW4).

The story is well developed,and is sort of a direct follow-up to the first LW film,with leftovers and flashback information from both LW2 and LW3. A combination of the story for the first LW film and the story for the second LW film,this film finds Mel Gibson reprising his role as Martin Riggs,and Danny Glover reprising his role as Roger Murtaugh. In this installment of the LW films,not only do you find both Riggs and Murtaugh going through personal struggles in their own lives (Riggs being engaged to Rene Russo's character of Lorna Cole and Cole being pregnant,with Riggs not feeling like the time is right for him to be a father,while you find Murtaugh being worried about his daughter Rianne making him a grandfather,and what resulted in Rianne doing just that for Murtaugh),they have another tough assignment to deal with. That tough assignment is to bring down a murderous Chinese group by the name of The Triads,lead by a man named Wah Sing Ku (Jet Li's character)who bring illegal Chinese immigrants into America to begin new lives under slavery.
This becomes difficult for Riggs and Murtaugh not only because of the level of the assignment,but also due to Riggs and Murtaugh being so busy in their own lives during this period of time,and an official new member to their "team" of Riggs,Murtaugh,and Joe Pesci's Leo Getz. That official new member turns out to be a younger and more recent officer of the LAPD,Detective Lee Butters (Chris Rock),who finds himself having problems with Murtaugh that,once you discover them,will make you laugh and realize how far the producers of this movie expanded the first three LW films for this film itself.

As I already said,this movie is very good,but flawed in some areas,so let me address all of that. While it was nice to see Richard Donner and the producers of this film turn this film into an action/comedy with LW2,LW3,and even some of LW1 having signs of comedy to them,a problem results in this script due to that. The humor in this film works,but is usually tied into the movie story and results in less action,something that hurts this film a little bit. Don't get me wrong--the jokes here are good,but are still nowhere close to Chris Rock's humor outside of this film and Joe Pesci's humor in the first two "Home Alone" films. Also,the action in here is the weakest out of all of the action scenes from the first three LW films. This time,the action here is more martial arts than the original style of action from the first three LW films,making the movie a little bit hard to follow and deteriorating it from some--but not all--of its potential. For the last LW film,you would surely think that the action would be more real and more towards the style of the action that was used in the first three LW films--something that every film needs for its sequels.

There are some really good scenes in this movie though,which pulls this movie off. Not only do Mel Gibson and Danny Glover do a good job at bringing out the original personalities of Riggs and Murtaugh in this movie (a good sign,considering the fact that Gibson and Glover were a lot younger when they made the first three LW films,compared to Gibson and Glover both getting older during LW4's filming),Chris Rock is a good supplement to Gibson,Glover,and Joe Pesci. Rock being in this film allows this film to have more chemistry and humor in it,which works on behalf of Rock's scenes with not only Joe Pesci,but also the scenes that find how Rock's character of Butters is like around Murtaugh and to see how Butters,Riggs,Murtaugh,and Getz all work together as a team in this movie.
There is also a lot of energy that is brought out in this movie,which keeps it on a somewhat similiar level that the first three LW films were set on. The drama here,which is brought out very well by the script (most notably the graveyard scene with Gibson and Pesci at the end of the movie),does a good job at letting the producers of this movie make it more serious and more funny then the previous LW films,at the same time.

The "Behind The Scenes" feauture that appears at the end of this VHS is good,and a good substitute for the fact that as of this writing,LW4 has not been issued as a director's cut (something that the first three LW films got). It is also worth adding that a lot of good music from older bands/musicians (Van Halen,Eric Clapton,etc.)appear here,and prove themselves to be excellent supplements to this movie.

Overall,while this film could have been better,it still does a good job at living up to the standards that it was intended for,and is worth watching after you have watched LW1,LW2,and LW3 in order. Hopefully,this will be issued as a director's cut like the other three LW films were. I would say that this film does a good,worthwhile,and interesting way and job at ending the series of "Lethal Weapon" films.

Bash the National Rifle Association "poster" in thepolice station, then have every criminal and cop in the movie shootoff a few thousand rounds. Actually, a good action movie if you don't have to think too closely about the realism and Jett is terrific as the bad guy, but leave the Second Amendment alone!