Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)

Family. That's the final message the apparent ending of the franchise ends on. And I'm not going to poo-poo that message too much, because I've been wanting more focus on character development for the last two movies. At least in this movie, we get it to some degree -- as well as a little less reliance on stupid comedy. Riggs (Mel Gibson) starts remembering and mentioning his dead wife again, and both Lorna (Rene Russon) and Rog's (Danny Glover) are pregnant.

Six years have passed between film 3 and film 4; I'm guessing that means six years have passed in the timeline... have Riggs and Lorna really been together for six years and somehow not broached the subject of marriage? That seems implausible. Does Rog really not know that his daughter has been dating Lee (Chris Rock), a cop? Again, seems implausible.

The plot, however, is easier to follow. The Chinese villains are easy to villainize. Again, very one-dimensional villains, but at least I can follow who the cops are battling and why. And Jet Li as Wah is a nice addition to the film. I can take or leave both Chris Rock and Joe Pesci in this film, but Jet Li is good for what he does.

Like film 3, film 4 opens with fire. Lots of fire and rain in this one. Very atmospheric, I guess. Then the added mystery of where Rog's money is coming from. We find out, but again, would that detail really have stayed a mystery for so long?

Finally, Leo's (Pesci) story about having one friend as a kid, a frog. Seriously? That's okay, maybe, but telling Riggs that both he and Rog mean the world to him. Why? They've let him stay in their orbit, I guess -- now he's a private detective instead of a relator -- but they've never once been nice to him. It makes the ending feel a little forced. Why couldn't they have started being nicer to him earlier, or are we seeing a kinder, gentler Riggs and Rog now that one's a father and on the verge of being a married man again, and the other's a grandfather?

Overall, an improvement from film 3, but how could it not be? Also a nice touch to continue the "family" theme through the credits by showing pictures of the entire cast and crew who worked on all four movies.

Rating: 2.5/4

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