Máquina Mortífera 4

OK... so the language is gratuitous. Just having Chris Rock on set put it over the top. But his acting aside, I thought this was a worthy addition to one of the best cop/buddy series around. It was enjoyable to see the characters we love deal with the inevitabilities of aging and the fierce loyalty of friendship. Some of the mystery is gone and it feels like a pair of comfortable shoes. But aren't those shoes your favorite ones? It was interesting to see the development of Lorna and Riggs' relationship, as well as the growing up of the Murtaugh kids. It makes you feel like you're catching up with old friends at a reunion! Plenty of action and the incredible work of Jet Li make this movie a favorite at my house. Overall, a great wrap-up to the series and a lot of fun for long time fans. Worth seeing! If the language is a real issue, watch for it on TNT and enjoy the edited version.

By this point in the series, it seems that they just aren't trying as hard with these films, which is kind of a shame. The Lethal Weapon series is really a good group of action films, but part 4 doesn't really seem to take itself seriously. It clearly had the biggest budget and probably some of the most elaborate stunts and action scenes (as well as some of the most exciting, such as that thrilling freeway chase scene), but many of the other elements of the film have deteriorated badly.

I think that with the addition of Chris Rock, while he delivered a satisfactory performance as far as the role that he was playing, caused the film to detract into too much goofy comedy, which unnecessarily diverted attention away from the surprisingly interesting smuggling plot involving illegal Chinese immigrants and counterfeit money. Joe Pesci was just as funny as ever, which is probably the reason the Chris Rock actually took away from the film as a whole. Pesci is all the comic relief that a Lethal Weapon movie ever needed, and Rock is another substantial addition of comic relief that just isn't necessary.

Danny Glover and Mel Gibson work great together for the fourth time; I'm beginning to wonder if they couldn't go on with this great duo forever. And of course, Renee Russo is back, with her and Riggs picking up with their quirky relationship, right where they left off at the end of part 3. But the person who really steals the whole show is Jet Li. Man, I thought Jackie Chan was fun to watch! Even though it's not all exactly real, this guy pulls out some unbelievable martial arts moves that give Lethal Weapon 4 a much-needed boost of energy. I wonder how long it will be before Jet Li and Jackie Chan come out with a movie together. Probably never, because if they worked together, no one could touch them, and if they were enemies, neither of them would be able to end up as the loser or the bad guy. Oh well, we can still hope, right? Even though the 4th installment in the Lethal Weapon series is not nearly as good as any of the previous three, it still remains a quality action film, despite its many weaknesses.

This movie is the end of a series which spanned almost two decades.

This time around Riggs (Gibson) is facing three very personal problems. 1) Age is catching up to him, 2) his g/f is pregnant and he's facing being a daddy, and 3) he's facing the dilemma of wanting to remarry. Also, Murtaugh (Glover) is about to be a grand-daddy to a baby by his oldest daughter, and she is secretly married to Detective Butters (Chris Rock), which everyone is keeping a secret from him.

Add to this the fact that both they are now taking on one of the most powerful crime syndicates in the world, the Chinese Triads, in an effort to stop slave trading and money laundering. The task of a bad guy this time goes to Jet Li, who made his American debut (atleast from an American Film Company) in this movie. Yes, this is the movie which launched him here in the states, and he deserved it.

This movie is as good as the rest of them, though nothing beats part 2 in my opinion. Lethal Weapon 4 really hits home on a lot of subjects, such as facing responsibility, to coming to terms with who you are. And it ended the series in a way that makes you smile and love it even more.

I give it a 9 out of 10.

Lethal Weapon 4 is an incredible 4th installment and imporves over it's predecessor. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover are incredible once again with perfect chemistry. The humour is extremely funny and Chris Rock is definitely a welcome addition. Jet Li is a great villain. Richard Donner's direction is great as usual, resulting in some of the biggest and most enjoyable action sequences in the franchise yet. As with the previous installments, the music by Michael Kamen, Eric Clapton and David Sandborn is really good. It even has a surprisingly strong emotional ending. However, it does follow the formula of previous installments, giving it some predictable moments.

It is extremely rare for the fourth film in a series to be just as good as it's three predecessors. Lethal Weapon 4 was awesome.

Mel Gibson and Danny Glover had no trouble recreating the magic from the first three films. The humour was there, the action was there and the chemistry between them was there. Joe Pesci was back as Leo Getz.

Lethal Weapon 3 was released in 1992, Lethal Weapon 4 was released in 1998. Six years had passed yet none of the actors or production staff involved in Lethal Weapon 4 had any problem in making a great movie.

The action throughout is brilliant (are real American policemen as mad as Riggs and Murtaugh?). And of course the humour is there; particularly the beginning of the movie where Murtaugh (Danny Glover) strips down to his underwear in the rain and acts like a chicken in order to distract the bad guy. There are other humorous scenes throughout and a great plot too.

Roll on Lethal Weapon 5.