Rene Russo Joined Gibson, Glover, and Pesci for Lethal Weapon 3
Written: Jan 02 '08 (Updated Oct 09 '08)
Product Rating:
Pros: Fun, entertaining movie with likable returning characters.
Cons: Really no extras on the DVD. Might be too silly for some viewers.
The Bottom Line: Lethal Weapon 3 was another entertaining movie in the Lethal Weapon series. People that enjoyed the first two movies may also like this one.
I really enjoyed Lethal Weapon and Lethal Weapon 2 when I first saw them so I was interested when I heard that a third movie was being made. I did see Lethal Weapon 3 in the theater and have watched it several more times since then and still enjoy it. I recently watched the movie again and decided to write about it.
Eight days before Roger was set to retire from the force, he and Martin ended up at a building where there was a bomb. Martin insisted on going in instead of waiting for the bomb squad and caused the bomb to go off when he tried to disarm it. He and Roger were put on foot patrol as punishment. Roger was also dealing with trying to sell his house with Leo Getz as the real estate agent. After having some fun with a jaywalker, Martin and Roger saw a robbery involving an armored car and made an arrest. They found out later that the suspect had a connection to a case that Internal Affairs was investigating that was connected to Jack Travis, a former cop. Lorna Cole was in charge of the case and she and Martin clashed at first before they started working together.
The plot for Lethal Weapon 3 was completely separate from the previous two movies though it did build on what had been established as far as the characters were concerned. A few things that had happened previously were briefly mentioned without a lot of details, so people wouldn’t be lost if they hadn’t seen the first movies. I do think certain things connected to the characters would make more sense if the movies were watched in order. It really wasn’t made clear how much time had passed since the end of Lethal Weapon 2. All that was clear was that enough time had passed for Martin to have completely recovered from the injuries he’d suffered.
Lethal Weapon 3 included a decent amount of comedy. There was more humor in this movie than there had been in the first two movies. Some of the things done to add humor were a bit silly which could bother some viewers, like when Martin started eating dog biscuits when he was trying to stop smoking. A lot of the humor was provided by things that Martin said or did. He continued to do things to aggravate Roger with funny results. Roger and Lorna did have funny lines and Leo went off on a rant about hospitals that did add some laughs. I did think that the humor worked for the movie though it won’t be appreciated by everyone. There was also a short but funny scene after the end of the credits. Even with all the comedy, there were still a few more serious and even touching moments in the movie as well.
There was action in several scenes in Lethal Weapon 3. There were explosions, car chases, and shootings throughout the movie. The action did help to keep things interesting. Some humor was included with some of the action which I felt made things more entertaining. A few of the characters were involved in some fights as well. Lorna showed off some impressive fighting skills that grabbed Martin’s attention. She probably was shown fighting more than any of the other characters. The fight scenes did add some violence, but it wasn’t excessive or overly graphic. There was some swearing in the movie, including usage of the word that rhymes with luck. Leo especially used that word a lot. The movie was rated R, so it really isn’t a movie for children.
A relationship did develop between Martin and Lorna over the course of Lethal Weapon 3. They met fairly early and they didn’t seem to like each other at that point. Martin was interested through, especially once he saw Lorna fight. Their relationship did develop rather fast which tends to happen in many movies. There weren’t any actual sex scenes but there was a sexual situation and it was made clear that Martin and Lorna did start sleeping together. The one sexual situation started after Martin and Lorna compared the different wounds they had received over the years. Martin was down to his underwear by the end of the scene while he and Lorna were making out on the floor. Lorna did show off a little skin when she showed Martin some of her wounds, but she didn’t actually take any of her clothes off.
Roger and Martin continued to be the main characters and were the most developed. Their friendship and working relationship were firmly established. At one point, Martin even talked about how he considered Roger’s family his family. Roger was only days away from retiring, but he did seem to be having second thoughts about that. Martin was completely stable but still did some wacky things. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover were great in the parts and made the characters really likable and believable. Roger’s wife Trish and his three children, Rianne, Nick and Carrie still turned up in a few scenes.
Leo had become a real estate agent and was actually the one that Roger and Trish hired to sell their house. He ended up involved in the investigation again because he recognized the suspect. Leo still had the same attitude, so he did get a little irritating at times. He did seem to desperately want to work with Roger and Martin and help them on their cases. Joe Pesci handled the part well. Lorna Cole was a cop in Internal Affairs. She was very tough and could take care of herself but she did have a different side and actually shared some interests with Martin. She did fit in and work well with Martin and Roger. I did like Rene Russo in the part.
Jack Travis was the main villain for the movie. He was a former cop who had decided that crime paid better. He used things he had learned while still a cop to help his criminal career prosper. He didn’t give his employees second chances and was vicious when he felt they deserved to be punished. He made a good villain. Stuart Wilson handled the part well. Tyrone was another criminal involved with Jack. He wasn’t around as much and really wasn’t that important a character. Steve Kahn was back in a few scenes as Captain Ed Murphy and Mary Ellen Trainor returned for a few brief scenes as the police psychiatrist Dr. Stephanie Woods who was always wanting to talk to Roger or Martin.
Main Cast
Mel Gibson - Martin Riggs Danny Glover - Roger Murtaugh Damon Hines - Nick Murtaugh Steve Kahn - Captain Ed Murphy Darlene Love - Trish Murtaugh Joe Pesci - Leo Getz Rene Russo - Lorna Cole Ebonie Smith - Carrie Murtaugh Mary Ellen Trainor - Dr. Stephanie Woods Stuart Wilson - Jack Travis Traci Wolf - Rianne Murtaugh
Richard Donner - Director
DVD Information
I have Lethal Weapon 3 on DVD. My copy came as part of a three movie set that also had the first two movies. The copy of Lethal Weapon 3 in this set was the director’s cut version of the movie. That only added three short scenes which added about three minutes to the total running time of the movie. There really weren’t any extras on the disc. There was a theatrical trailer that just focused in on the incident at the beginning of the movie with the building that blew up. There was also information about how a sequence late in the movie was filmed. The information was shared through text on the screen instead of through a documentary.
Lethal Weapon 3 was a good addition to the Lethal Weapon series. It was a fun, entertaining movie with main characters that I really like. Certain parts might get too silly for some viewers, but I do think it is worth seeing. People that enjoyed the first two movies may also like this one.
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