In tribute to the incredible cast Sylvester Stallone has lined up for his latest film, this is The Expendables week. Today our expendable is Jet Li. Lethal Weapon 4 is currently available on instant Netflix.
WATCH: Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) – Rated R for violence and language.
“In the combustible action franchises final installment, maverick detectives Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) square off against Asian mobster Wah Sing Ku (Jet Li), who is up to his neck in slave trading and counterfeit currency. With help from gumshoe Leo Getz (Joe Pesci) and smart-aleck rookie cop Lee Butters (Chris Rock), Riggs and Murtaugh aim to take down Ku and his gang. Rene Russo also stars.”
“In Hong Kong, you would already be dead.”
Having directed the first three Lethal Weapons, Richard Donner can just sleepwalk through directing this one. He does not sleepwalk here but neither is his direction inspired. He appears to have pulled out the Lethal Weapon playbook.
*Explosive beginning sequence having nothing to do with the rest of movie – CHECK.
* Destruction of property owned by Murtaugh – CHECK.
* Shootout highlighting what an incredible shot Riggs is – CHECK.
* Mel Gibson being playful – CHECK.
* Danny Glover getting irritated with Mel – CHECK.
* Ignoring anything that would even remotely seem like actual police work – CHECK.
* Joe Pesci ranting hysterically and profanely about something – CHECK.
* Chase sequence involving non-traditional chase vehicle – CHECK.
* Danny Glover feeling old – CHECK (Mel too in this one).
* Family and/or home of officers attacked – CHECK.
* Mel sporting a mullet – OOPS – For some reason Mel abandoned his mullet from the first three Lethal Weapons.
Danny Glover and Mel Gibson have a well-established camaraderie and they appear to be having a lot of fun in this fourth film in the Lethal Weapon franchise.
They give Joe Pesci a counterpart in this one as well. Comedian Chris Rock plays a young energetic, sarcastic police officer.
As with Demolition Man, the villain role was offered to Jackie Chan. Chan turned it down again since he does not play villains. After much success in Asia, Jet Li wanted to make some American films and this is widely considered to be the price he had to pay.
Jet Li is not given much to do here. The focus, as with the three previous Lethal Weapon films, is squarely on Riggs and Murtaugh and their families. Li also does not speak much English here but his presence is magnetic and he seems to personify cool.
Again as with Wesley Snipes in Demolition Man, Jet Li had to slow down his martial arts moves here because they were faster than the shutter speed of the camera.
This film is quite a bit of fun and so I recommend it but do not expect anything groundbreaking (though the Jet Li sequences were amazing at the time). It is mostly a watch, enjoy and forget kind of movie.
For those of you with a set top box, this is broadcast in high definition.
People Watch: Michael Li appears here as waiter/PRC. His few other roles involve playing characters that have job descriptions and numbers (Lobby Guard #2 & Gunman #1). However after Lethal Weapon 4, he went on to an extremely prolific career as a stuntman/co-ordinator. He was involved in the stunts of 24 (now available on instant Netflix), Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3, Hancock, Heroes, and a ton of others.
