a5c7b9f00b Martin Riggs finally meets his match in the form of Lorna Cole, a beautiful but tough policewoman. Together with Roger Murtaugh, his partner, the three attempt to expose a crooked former policeman and his huge arms racket. The crooked cop (Jack Travis) thwarts them at every turn, mainly by killing anyone who is about to talk, but Murtaugh has personal problems of his own as his family are brought into the equation. Riggs and Murtaugh are back. This time after another one of Riggs' goofs, they are busted down to patrolmen. But they come across a robbery and they catch one of the robbers and discover that he has in his possession armor piercing bullets. Which means that no cop is safe. They go and try to speak to the man but Lorna Cole, a cop from Internal Affairs also wants to speak to him but Riggs is obstinate, so they go to the Captain, who not only backs them up but reinstates them as detectives. But when they go to see him, they find the man dead. But the learn who the killer is, a former cop named Jack Travis. But when they learn about this Cole shuts them out. But they get a lead from Leo Getz but unfortunately he gets away. Later Murtaugh shoots a boy who is armed with an automatic weapon and becomes despondent. Riggs is confronted by Cole who tells him that she should have been informed of the lead he had on Travis. Riggs then counters that she should tell him what is going on. She then tells him and they go out to try and find Travis. Roger Murtaugh and Martin Riggs are back again as the now inseparable team, out again to get bad guys. Yes, this is the same traditional Lethal Weapon foundation, but I think that what keeps these movies so good is the fact that they keep coming up with cool new bad guys and interesting stories to keep the audience's attention. Part III starts off straight away with an action packed bombing scene (continuing the traditional action packed opening scene of all Lethal Weapon films so far). An important element that is found here is that almost all of the events in the Lethal Weapon films are not entirely unlikely (with the exception of things like all this shoulder popping nonsense). The bomb scenes, the threats, the gunfights, the car chases, all are manipulated for the film, but they are not as ridiculously exaggerated as things often are in Jerry Bruckheimer films. Because of this, you are able to overlook the laughable suggestion that if Riggs is driving an armored car and there is a bad guy with a gun in the passenger seat, he can send the guy through the windshield by slamming on the brakes. That was a huge flaw in part III because it ended an edge of your seat car chase with a side splitting laugh. <br/><br/>Anyway, what I really thought was good about this installment is the story. Roger's son is hanging out with gangsters, giving the audience a feeling of unease for his well-being, and then the police discover that there are armor piercing bullets (`cop killers') out on the streets. Their objective is to find the bullets (as well as a sizeable collection of stolen guns), get rid of them, and find out who has been distributing them (and hence, find the stolen guns as well). There's tragedy, there's tons of action, there's comedy (thanks to the endlessly amusing Leo Getz), and there's even eventually a unique romance. There is something to be said about the quality of an actor that Joe Pesci is. Only he could play a pathetic role (as in Lethal Weapon 2, 3, and 4, as well as the failure of a crook in Home Alone) but also play other parts such as that of a ruthless gangster (as he does numerous times in other films). <br/><br/>Yes, Lethal Weapon III does have the obligatory romance, and while I am generally against this in action films (take virtually every Jerry Bruckheimer film ever made), it is done very well here, because it fits the characters very cleanly. Gibson, as we know, is the registered lethal weapon on the force, and Russo is the Internal Affairs agent who is sent to investigate how 15,000 guns, which were scheduled to be destroyed, were stolen from the police and found their way into the hands of some gangsters. Gibson and Russo hate each other for much of the film, as they are almost competing against one another, but they amusingly get pretty close one night as they are having some sort of contest to see who has the biggest scars. Not real attractive, but this is what you would expect from the types of characters that they play.<br/><br/>Despite the fact the Lethal Weapon III is a good action film and is a quality addition to the series, it is a bit of a step down from the spectacular original and the almost as good first sequel. For example, there was a small amount of things that were just thrown in. For example, there is one scene where Russo beats the hell out of several criminals at once single-handedly, but it should be kept in mind that she did that offensively. She threw the first punch and, while it was fun to watch, it's illegal to do that, and would have been much better had she been forced to defend herself. Another thing, the phrase `son of a bitch' is said in the film about 2,000 times, mostly by Roger, and it gets real tiring after a while. There's another good car chase at the end, but then we are expected to believe that these armor piercing bullets are capable of shooting through the shovel on a tractor? That scene was nicely dramatic, but I feel no reason to believe that ANY handheld gun could shoot through a piece of construction equipment like that. <br/><br/>This movie ends with Roger being congratulated in his bathtub by his family for his retirement (much like his 50th birthday in the opening scene of the original), and it is here that he announces to them (as well as to a largely thankful audience) that he plans to postpone his retirement. Good way to end a quality action film, with the promise of a sequel. However, although Part III was a good action film, as I have mentioned before, it is a bit of a step down from the previous two, and one can only hope that this trend turns around and the inevitable third sequel comes closer to being as good as, or even better (!), than the original. Director Richard Donner's "Lethal Weapon 3" qualifies as a sloppily-scripted, slam-bang actioneer with all the subtlety of a brick through a plate glass window. Nevertheless, if you aren't too picky about its problems, "Lethal Weapon 3" can be a lot of fun to watch. Mel Gibson reprises his role as the looney Sgt. Martin Riggs along with Danny Glover as his partner Sgt. Roger Murtaugh. When the movie opens, we learn that Murtaugh has eight days to go before he retires from the LAPD. Staying alive that long around his crazy partner, Sgt. Murtaugh realizes, will take a miracle.<br/><br/>"Lethal Weapon 3" desperately needs more than a miracle. What is needs is a good plot and a villain you can love to hate. The second sequel in this entertaining police series as not as potent as its predecessors. If anything, "Lethal Weapon 3" is a third less filling. "Lethal Weapon 2" scenarist Jeffrey Boam appears to be running low on fresh ideas. He looks like he borrowed the plot from the 1974 John Sturges' movie "McQ," with John Wayne. This time around the bad guy is a dirty, ex-cop selling contraband machine guns to black street gangsters so as to encourage white families to migrate from the suburbs to the desert sands where he's erecting a new housing development.<br/><br/>Stuart Wilson of "No Escape" plays Jack Travis as a despicable, audacious, greedy, no-holds-barred bad guy. Compared with psycho villain Gary Busey in the original "Lethal Weapon" or urbane Joss Ackland as the South African politician Arjen 'Aryan' Rudd with diplomatic immunity in "Lethal Weapon 2," Wilson is a bad guy, not an S.O.B. When Riggs finally ices him, you don't feel like leaping to your feet and applauding his demise like Ackland's death in "Lethal Weapon 2."<br/><br/>Donner substitutes gags for gunplay. You spend more than half of the time laughing at the jokes than ducking the bullets. In the opening gambit, Riggs and Murtaugh fudge with a bomb and flatten an entire building. As the dust and debris settle, the bomb squad arrives. No, our heroes aren't booted off the force. Instead, they are demoted to wearing uniforms and walking a beat. While they're in uniform, they spot a bogus armored car and thwart a robbery. Riggs stumbles onto deadly red armored piercing bullets that can penetrate a bullet-proof vest as if it were Kleenex. Suddenly, the guys find themselves up to their eyes in a classified Internal Affairs investigation headed by newcomer Rene Russo as Lorna Cole. Finally, the Teflon-coated Riggs meets his female match. Russo is a tough-as-nails karate chopping detective with the scars to prove it. The movie's best scene has Riggs and Cole comparing their scars and bullet holes. That's the problem with "Lethal Weapon 3," there is no nail-gun scene like in "Lethal Weapon 2" or the suicide jump in "Lethal Weapon."<br/><br/>The third time certainly is not the charm for the guys here. Nothing truly memorable happens. Joe Pesci returns as motor-mouthed Leo Getz, but he spends most of his time running off-screen errands or literally being the butt of Gibson's jokes. The movie takes a sobering turn when Murtaugh has to kill a 15-year old black gang member who was his son's friend. Murtaugh launches a personal crusade to track down Jack Travis, not only because he is selling guns to minors but also marketing cop-killer slugs. The final third of the action is one long chase, first through the L.A. subway onto the L.A. freeway, and evening into Travis' half-built housing complex. <br/><br/>Donner, who helmed the first two "Lethal Weapon" movies" as well as "Superman" and "The Omen," is no slouch when it comes to action scenes. Although "Lethal Weapon 3" is a letdown, you won't know it while you're watching its madcap action. Donner supercharges the pace with so much kinetic energy that you forget that it's all been done before. The freeway chase here is straight out of William Friedkin "To Let & Die In L.A" with fewer vehicles on the road.<br/><br/>The best thing about "Lethal Weapon 3" is the chemistry between Gibson and Glover. They learn this time out how inseparable they are as partners. Gibson is just as nutty here as he was in the previous "Lethal Weapon" movies. Glover tries to break his partner of his cigarette habit by getting him to eat doggie biscuits. Turns out that Riggs likes the doggie biscuits and cannot get enough of them. Part of the problem with "Lethal Weapon 3" is that neither Gibson nor Glover ever appear to be in jeopardy. You cannot worry about the heroes catching lead if you're laughing your butt off.<br/><br/>Nevertheless, for all its faults, "Lethal Weapon 3" is a lot of fun. If you can suffer through the lengthy end credits, Donner and company have a hilarious joke for you. Lethal Weapon 3 offers mediocrity wielded by experts. It's not a movie, it's a machine. Los Angeles police detective Martin Riggs (<a href="/name/nm0000154/">Mel Gibson</a>) and his partner Roger Murtaugh (<a href="/name/nm0000418/">Danny Glover</a>), who is set to retire in one week, come up against Internal Affairs (I.A.) investigator Lorna Cole (<a href="/name/nm0000623/">Rene Russo</a>) when I.A. decides to take over the interrogation of a man Riggs and Murtaugh arrested for attempting to steal an armored car. Forced by Captain Ed Murphy (<a href="/name/nm0434676/">Steve Kahan</a>) to work together, the three detectives compare notes and learn that the I.A. investigation actually centers around rogue cop Jack Travis (<a href="/name/nm0934179/">Stuart Wilson</a>) who is suspected of stealing impounded weapons and selling them on the black market. Leo Getz (<a href="/name/nm0000582/">Joe Pesci</a>), now a real estate agent, also joins in when he tells Riggs that he recognizes Travis. Lethal Weapon 3 is the third movie in the Lethal Weapon series, preceded by <a href="/title/tt0093409/">Lethal Weapon (1987)</a> (1987) and <a href="/title/tt0097733/">Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)</a> (1989) and followed by <a href="/title/tt0122151/">Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)</a> (1998). It is based on a story and screenplay by American screenwriters Jeffrey Boam and Robert Mark Kamen based on characters created by Shane Black in the first movie. Leo was in protective custody in Lethal Weapon 2 because he was going to testify against the South Africans. Seeing as how Riggs and Murtaugh killed all of them, there was no need for Leo to testify or go into witness protection. In the fight at Rancho Royale, Lorna is shot by Travis, who then goes after Riggs. As Riggs and Travis chase each other through the burning construction, Murtaugh finds an ammo box containing "cop killer" bullets, which he loads in a gun and tosses to Riggs, currently pinned down by Travis' front-end loader. Riggs fires the bullets through the bucket of the loader, killing Travis. He then runs back to tend to Lorna. Although she was badly injured, it is revealed that she was wearing two bullet-proof vests, which prevented a fatal injury. As the helicopter prepares to fly them to a hospital, Riggs leans over and whispers, "I love you," into Lorna's ear. Later, as Murtaugh relaxes in the bathtub, his family enters the bathroom singing, "Happy Retirement Day" and carrying a cake with candles for every year that he was on the force. When told to blow out the candles, however, Murtaugh tells them that he's decided NOT to retire after all. Suddenly, Leo Getz bursts in to announce that he's finally sold Murtaugh's "termite-infected turkey" and needs Murtaugh's signature on the contract. When Murtaugh tells him that the house is not for sale and that he plans to live in it for another 10 years, Leo becomes irate and has to be shown out by Murtaugh's wife Trish (<a href="/name/nm0522306/">Darlene Love</a>). In the final scene, Murtaugh sees daughter Rianne (<a href="/name/nm0938159/">Traci Wolfe</a>) kissing Riggs goodbye as she heads off to work. As they get into their own car, Riggs and Murtaugh begin bickering about Riggs' intentions with regrds to Rianne, Riggs taking up smoking again, who's going to drive, etc., until Riggs announces that he's going to pick up Lorna from the hospital that afternoon and that things are getting serious between them. They have a dog and everything. Three dialogue/plot scenes were extended for the Director's Cut adding up nearly three minutes to the runtime.