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Overall Rating
  Awesome: 15.79%
Worth A Look: 34.21%
Average: 21.05%
Pretty Bad: 21.05%
Total Crap: 7.89%
1 review, 32 user ratings
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| Lethal Weapon 3 |
by Godfather
"a.k.a. Abbott and Costello join the police force."
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If I were not so familiar with the unrelentless hunger of the greed machine that is Hollywood, I would be left stunned at the enormous destruction that has been wreaked upon the original movie in the Lethal Weapon series. Of those of you fortunate enough to have seen the first Lethal Weapon (and since this is number 3 I am guessing, oh, all of you) you will hopefully realise that this piece of schlock is the second of the trilogy of insults to the original (Lethal weapon 4 being the worst of all). It's not so much that the movie is bad in of itself, it's just that given what the original was able to accomplish, this stuff is watered down fluff.In the opening set-up for the movie Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Murtough (Danny Glover) are back to once again give a modern spin on the cinematic concept of the Keystone Kops. After a mindless and pointless incident with a car bomb and a cat, the boys are temporarily busted down to patrolman and later, for some inexplicable reason, promoted back to their old positions. Also, in anticipation of selling his house and retiring from the force, Murtough is in contact with that hustler Leo Getz (whatever you want, Leo Gets) as a real estate broker. You'll remember Leo (Joe Pesci) in the same (if slightly less irritating) role in Lethal weapon 2.
During the course of investigating something or other (it doesn't really matter since the whole premise is a set-up for the next idiocy) the boys meet Lorna Cole (Rene Russo) of the Internal Affairs division (and a female clone of Riggs to boot). Here the three amigos team up to investigate the sale of armour-penetrating bullets (cop killers) on the streets and simultaneously check out a dirty ex-cop. None of this really matters since the whole idea of the movie is to throw in some action in between the inane dialogue and Riggs and Cole wrestling match love scenes.
Like Lethal Weapon 2 and the worst of all the series, Lethal weapon 4 (great title guys), Lethal weapon 3 decides to sacrifice any real attempt at plot or character development and instead goes for the cheap action scenes and even cheaper laughs. Every character is this film is reduced to ½ dimension (one dimension would imply that they had a personality). They are completely interchangeable and are only there to deliver the punch lines (when they are not delivering the punches).
Zowee! What a zany concept Captain Idiot!
Ok. Ok. Ok. I hear my faithful readers complaining "But Godfather. Is it really fair to critique a film based on its predecessors and not only on its own merits?" Good point. Please allow me to retort. "Fuck you. My review, my methodology. If you don't like it, get your own Hollywood BitchSlap column."
A better question is, is there anything at all in this film to redeem it? The answer is yes. It's funny. At times it is very funny. There is sufficient humour in this film to make it work at what it is trying to be, a comedy and light action flick. And in that genre Lethal Weapon 3 delivers. The major problem with the film is not what it does but what it doesn't do. You have some incredible talent here (Rene Russo notwithstanding) and some really poignant and funny things could have been accomplished with these actors. Instead, the Moron Tabernacle Trio (Boam, Fisher & Kamen) under the sometimes competent direction of Richard Donner turn out Lethal Lite (looks great, has no feeling).
So once again, a "destined to be a classic" film (Lethal Weapon) is sacrificed on the blood-stained altar of sequel sacrifice (the blood no doubt remaining from the Stallone-sequel twins of Rocky III et. al. and Rambo II et. al.)For Hollywood BitchSlap, I'm the Godfather.
 del.icio.us 
link directly to this review at http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=836&reviewer=142
originally posted: 08/26/00 20:56:50
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USA
15-May-1993 (R)
UK
N/A
Australia
N/A
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