Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)

Preceded by: Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
Succeeded by: Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Martin Riggs	Mel Gibson
Roger Murtaugh	Danny Glover	½
Leo Getz	Joe Pesci
Lorna Cole	Rene Russo
Jack Travis	Stuart Wilson	½
Captain Ed Murphy	Steve Kahan	-
Trish Murtaugh	Darlene Love	-

Review

The Lethal Weapon series enters its baroque phase with this third entry, in which everything that was finely tuned in the first two films is pushed somewhat off balance. This time around, the filmmakers obviously felt the need to add plenty of self-referencing and irony, almost like a precursor to the parody Loaded Weapon 1 which would be released half a year later. Number three is an obvious deterioration of a formula that may have run its course, and the dull bad guys, Mel Gibson's horrible ponytail, and Joe Pesci's increasingly annoying Leo Getz don't help either. There are a handful of highlights: a subplot about Murtaugh and his son's friend Darryl, a fight between Murtaugh and Riggs aboard the former's boat, and a half-decent finale which doesn't try to be something it isn't, but keeps the action neat and tidy.