Wolff rating: FAIR
Plot summary: Chinese pirates are importing illegals and Riggs and Murtaugh are out to do justice.
Biased, pithy comments: I suppose this isn't as bad as modern buddy movies have become; Gibson, Glover, and Russo have some real chemistry (as demonstrated in the last LW outing) and are all excellent actors. Likewise, Jet Li (a huge martial arts action star in Asia) has a glowering presence that puts this above more pedestrian attempts. But somehow, it all doesn't quite fit together. Pesci is just more annoying than funny, and Rock tries to do some stand-up in the middle of an action film (huh? Wrong context, dude). The morality of this tale, too, is fuzzy; although Riggs and Murtaugh are after justice, they're after justice on their own terms---wild, out of control car chases endangering the lives of others, needless gunplay, and what I felt was cruelty to a perfectly fine shark. Do we support these heroes, or do we see them as antiheroes who act as judge, jury, and executioner? Or do we just forget about the reality of the show and pretend like we're watching a Saturday morning cartoon? In the latter sense, this movie is fun (and contains some really fun action sequences---the fight on the freeway is my favorite), but at any intellectual level it's troublesome. That, too, and the scatterbrained writing from Channing Gibson makes for an overall flawed film.
Other Notes: A fun moment is that the crew is seen in the credits; I've always wanted to see the entire staff of grips.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russon, Chris Rock, Jet Li.
Directed by: Richard Donner