Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)

Director:

Richard Donner

Writers:

Shane Black (characters)
Jeffrey Boam (story)

Release Date:

15 May 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

The magic is back again!

Plot:

Martin Riggs finally meets his match in the form of Lorna Cole, a beautiful but tough policewoman. Together with Roger Murtaugh...

Plot Keywords:

Cult Favorite | Port A John | High Speed Pursuit | Crotch Grab | Assault Weapons

Awards:

3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Mel Gibson	...	Martin Riggs
Danny Glover	...	Roger Murtaugh
Joe Pesci	...	Leo Getz
Rene Russo	...	Lorna Cole
Stuart Wilson	...	Jack Travis
Steve Kahan	...	Captain Ed Murphy
Darlene Love	...	Trish Murtaugh
Traci Wolfe	...	Rianne Murtaugh
Damon Hines	...	Nick Murtaugh
Ebonie Smith	...	Carrie Murtaugh
Gregory Millar	...	Tyrone
Nick Chinlund	...	Hatchett
Jason Iorg	...	Young Cop (as Jason Meshover-Iorg)
Alan Scarfe	...	Herman Walters
Delores Hall	...	Delores

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

118 min | USA:121 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Certification:

New Zealand:M | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:15 | Iceland:14 | USA:R (certificate #31813) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:18A | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (w) | Ireland:15 | Norway:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 (director's cut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:Unrated (director's cut) | Canada:13+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Century Freeway, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Silver Pictures

Trivia:

For promotion of the film, theater lobbies featured a 3-D cut out of the movie poster of Riggs and Murtaugh posing with their guns and Leo Getz peeking from the background. On the display, the was a motor which helped Leo's head bob up and down from behind them.

Goofs:

The motorcycle cop from whom Riggs commandeers the bike is already handing him the spare clips as he asks for them.

Quotes:

Roger Murtaugh: I hope that when I do retire your new partner is just like you.
Martin Riggs: That won't happen to me because there are winners and there are losers and god wouldn't do that to me.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Pure Lethal!: New Angles, New Scenes, and Explosive Outtakes (1998) (V)

Soundtrack:

Latin Lingo

The Boys Are Back!

The most popular team of detectives in cinematic history is back again, making the streets of Los Angeles safe and secure for the citizens at large in `Lethal Weapon 3,' directed by Richard Donner and once again starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. This time the action literally starts with a bang (a big one) when Riggs (Gibson) and Murtaugh (Glover) answer a call and, suffice to say, Riggs can't wait for the bomb squad to arrive. It makes for a spectacular opening scene, but it's just a warm up for what follows. Some bad things are going down in the City of Angels, perhaps not unusual for L.A., but someone is putting automatic weapons and armor piercing bullets (called `Cop Killers' as they can penetrate a bullet proof vest) on the streets, which is really bad news for police officers in general, and especially for those in particular areas of the city. Riggs and Murtaugh are on the case, but it quickly escalates, and because of certain untoward circumstances soon falls into the hands of Internal Affairs. Which brings Officer Lorna Cole (Rene Russo) into the picture. And sparks begin to fly. The first two installments of this series are hard to beat, but as they say, the third time's a charm; and Donner must have had the shaman working with him on this one, because he pulled off quite a feat-- making a third that ranks right up there with the first two. He seems to have found the perfect balance with this one; the main characters are in place and established, Leo Getz (Joe Pesci) is back, and the addition of Russo is the icing on the cake. The story is good, there's plenty of great action and some sensational stunts, and the humor has been toned down a notch, which increases the level of intensity of the drama. In short, Donner measures out all of the right elements to perfection and makes it all gel together for the complete package. And what a package it is. By now, Gibson IS Riggs, from the inside out; still somewhat on the edge, but not quite as volatile. And Glover could play Murtaugh in his sleep; which may sound like easy street for an actor, but it takes real professionals to maintain the credibility of characters they know so well (it would be so easy to phone it in and let the details slip at this point), and these two have what it takes. Their chemistry remains intact, and they've put polish on an act that was already shining. The real chemistry this time, however, is between Gibson and Russo, who click from the beginning, starting with their first scene together. Russo sparkles as Lorna, putting some real style and spunk into her; there's just enough edginess to her to make her believable as a no-nonsense I.A. investigator, and it makes her the perfect match for Gibson's Riggs. There's a terrific scene between them, in which they compare battle scars, that fits their characters so well and so credibly underscores the development of their relationship. it's a memorable scene, and a good example of how well the script, by Jeffrey Boam and Robert Mark Kamen, was written. The supporting cast includes Darlene Love (Trish), Traci Wolfe (Rianne), Stuart Wilson (Jack Travis), Steve Kahan (Capt. Murphy), Damon Hines (Nick), Ebonie Smith (Carrie) and Gregory Millar (Tyrone). In the world of the Cinema, it's a rare thing when a sequel matches up to the original, and when the third does, it's a real triumph; and `Lethal Weapon 3' is just that, a triumph. It's a quality action/drama that exemplifies why this series is so popular. Simply put, it's a good movie on it's own, and part of a great series; so don't stop now, `Lethal Weapon 4' is ready and waiting for you. I rate his one 10/10.