Lethal Weapon 3 is the point at which the franchise began to coast, a crowd-pleasing and frequently enjoyable film that delivers the expected pleasures of the series with professional competence while adding little of the depth or creative invention that distinguished its predecessors. Richard Donner's 1992 entry is not a bad film. It is a comfortable one, a work that knows its audience and delivers what they want with a reliability and charm that makes the experience enjoyable without ever generating the excitement or emotional engagement of the first two films. The central trio of Gibson, Glover, and Pesci remains as compelling as ever, and the addition of Rene Russo's Lorna Cole gives the film a romantic subplot of wit and chemistry. But the villain is the franchise's weakest, the plot is the series' most generic, and the increasing reliance on comedy at the expense of dramatic substance is the clearest sign that the franchise is beginning to run short of creative ideas.
At a Glance
Director: Richard Donner
Runtime: 118 minutes
Starring: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo, Stuart Wilson
Release: 1992
Critics Rating: ★★½ (2.5/5 stars, enjoyable but diminished)
Audience Rating: ★★★ (3/5 stars, crowd-pleasing)
Review Breakdown
Plot
Riggs and Murtaugh, now three days from Murtaugh's retirement, investigate a former cop turned arms dealer who is selling confiscated police weapons back to street gangs. The plot is the franchise's most generic, a crime thriller of adequate complexity that provides sufficient structure for the character work and comedy that are the picture's real business. The subplot involving Murtaugh's accidental killing of a young gang member is the film's most dramatically interesting element, a story of moral complexity that the picture raises with more confidence than it develops.
Characters
Riggs and Murtaugh's partnership is as enjoyable as ever, and Gibson and Glover play the characters' established dynamic with a naturalism and warmth that makes the experience consistently rewarding. Murtaugh's approaching retirement gives the film a secondary concern of real interest, and Glover plays the character's ambivalence with a conviction that makes it the picture's most honest element. Rene Russo's Lorna Cole is the franchise's finest female character, a woman of extraordinary capability and wit whose relationship with Riggs is handled with a lightness and mutual respect that makes it the film's most purely enjoyable subplot. Stuart Wilson's Jack Travis is the franchise's weakest major villain, a character of adequate menace and insufficient development whose function is primarily to provide the action sequences with their justification.
Tone
Donner pushes the franchise's comic register further than in either of the preceding films, a decision that suits the more relaxed and crowd-pleasing ambitions of this entry but that occasionally overwhelms the more seriously intended elements. The picture is at its most enjoyable in its comedy sequences, where the central trio's chemistry and Donner's command of comic timing make the material feel fresh.
Meaning / Themes
The film's most interesting thematic concern is the Murtaugh subplot about the accidental killing of a young gang member, a story about the moral cost of violence and the difficulty of living with its consequences. Glover plays the character's guilt and eventual resolution with a depth and conviction that makes it the picture's most honest element and its most significant dramatic achievement in an otherwise generically constructed entry.
Direction
Donner's direction is as professionally accomplished as ever, with a strong command of the comedy sequences and a clear sense of how to maintain the franchise's established register. The action sequences are competently staged but lack the visual invention and dramatic intelligence of the first two films. Michael Kamen's score is as reliable as ever, providing a warmth and continuity that suits the more relaxed register.
Cultural Reception
Lethal Weapon 3 was a major commercial success on its release, confirming the franchise's continued box office viability despite diminishing critical returns. Reception was warm if not enthusiastic, with most reviewers acknowledging the entertainment value of the central cast while noting the film's more limited ambitions. Its reputation has settled into a consensus that regards it as the franchise's first significant step down from the heights of the first two films, notable primarily for Russo's Lorna Cole and Glover's handling of the Murtaugh moral conflict subplot.
Who Should Watch
Lethal Weapon fans will find it worth watching for the central trio's chemistry and for Russo's Lorna Cole. Those who approach it as a crowd-pleasing action comedy with an exceptional central cast will find exactly what they are looking for.
Final Verdict: A crowd-pleasing but dramatically thinner film that coasts on the franchise's considerable goodwill and the chemistry of its central cast. Russo's Lorna Cole is the franchise's finest female character, Murtaugh's moral conflict is the picture's most honest element, and the central trio remains as enjoyable as ever. But the villain is the franchise's weakest, the plot is the series' most generic, and the increasing reliance on comedy at the expense of dramatic substance signals a franchise beginning to run short of creative ideas.
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