Well, Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Murtaugh (Danny Glover) are back at what they do best, wisecracking their way through endless mayhem while attempting to apprehend yet another crime lord. They are older (if not much wiser), and, to complicate matters, Riggs girlfriend, Lorna (Renee Russo) is expecting a baby, as is one of Murtaugh's daughters. Their advancing years, and their new-found responsibilities (particularly Riggs) are the main running jokes throughout the movie.
This time, the bad guys belong to a Hong Kong triad, smuggling slave labour from China for their nefarious operations. Riggs comments at one point "trouble has no problem finding me". And indeed it does not. The two detectives, having intercepted a shipful of would-be slaves, become involved in tracing the smugglers and get drawn into an even more sinister plot, involving the triads and the Chinese military. The plot is, as usual, secondary to the action and the comedy. The action set pieces are, for the most part, spectacular and very loud. The two main stars are supported by Russo and Joe Pesci (reprising his role as Leo) and newcomer Chris Rock. This support, especially Rock, help keep the movie along smoothly. The buddy-buddy relationship between Riggs and Murtaugh is understated (probably because it has been flogged to death in the first three movies) and most of the humour is the interaction between the two and Rock and Pesci. Russo doesn't get much to do in this movie other than to look her usual sexy self; perhaps a bit too unruffled for someone about to give birth.
The downside of this movie is that the thriller element of the series has been completely abandoned. Which means that , irrespective of what danger the duo face, we know that they are safe. Several times, in the middle of gun battles, the two just stop and trade banter, completely impervious to the gunfire. Which makes the succession of fight scenes a trifle monotonous, particularly since both their fighting techniques seems to involve being beaten to almost an inch of their lives before vanquishing the opponent with a sucker blow. And despite the audience being constantly reminded of how old Rigg and Murtaugh have gotten, they still have to beat the living daylights out of a LOT of bad guys, most of them kung-fu bad-asses. Unfortunately, none of the fight scenes have an ounce of the wit, grace or athleticism associated with, say, a Jackie Chan movie, relying instead on jerky camera motion, way-over-the-top sound effects and some none-too-convincing stunt doubles. Worse, Lorna (Russo) gets a kung-fu kick to the head, nearly gets burned alive, and has her car rear-ended (into the path of an oncoming train). And all this just two days before she gives birth! If the kid turns out to be another Jerry Springer, we'll have to blame the parents.
During one scene, an anti-NRA (National Rifle Association) poster is prominently displayed behind Riggs and Murtaugh, describing the number of kids killed by handguns. No doubt the film-makers wished to make a statement. But every gunfight in the movie consists of the good guys blazing away at anything that moves (and only hitting bad guys), and the message seems to be that, regarding handguns, size does matter. It seems a hollow gesture.
Directed by Richard Donner. Produced by Joel Silver.
| ****** Excellent - An outstanding movie
***** V. Good - Very enjoyable or engrossing **** Good - Entertaining *** Mediocre - Nothing special ** Poor - A waste of time * Terrible - Complete rubbish |
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