Yes, apparently it’s a serious idea to bring another sequel to the Lethal Weapon franchise. Let’s just do a running tally here, the guys have taken on a band of mercenaries that doubled as drug smugglers, a foreign diplomat that thought he and his people could commit murder on American soil, an ex-cop stealing and selling weapons to criminals and gang members, and the Chinese Triad. They’ve also gone through the trouble of destroying Murtaugh’s home, kind of, damaging his wife’s car over and over, almost getting killed several times, burning down a housing development, realizing that they are in fact getting too old for this s**t, and finally blowing up Roger’s boat, becoming a grandfather (Roger) and a father (Riggs). That’s just the short summary of the four movies that these guys have made and to think that a fifth would have to top all of that and somehow still be culturally sensitive and appropriate for the era is something that begs the question: what in the hell are they thinking? Richard Donner, who’s in his 90s now, is being asked to come back to direct while Danny Glover and Mel Gibson are all ready to go. Think of this though, Riggs and Lorna’s kid and Roger’s grandkid are the same age and would likely be old enough to be part of the story now. Ryan Scott of MovieWeb appears to be excited, and he’s likely not the only one.
Then there’s the question of whether or not Joe Pesci would come back or if they would somehow phase his character out. Would Chris Rock return? Would any of the original cast return? This is 20 years later after all, following a career that Glover has seen continue unabated even as Gibson has had to tread lightly following the snafu he got himself into back in the 2000s. It’s all well and good to think that working past any and all personal and professional obstacles would be a desired goal for each actor, but let’s be real here, both men are no longer the young versions that were able to get in tackle the bad guys any longer, and that was one of Riggs’ best qualities since even in part 4 he waded into battle with Jet Lee’s character, who thrashed him relentlessly, proving that Martin was finally getting way too old to play the part of the psychotic fighter that could take the pain and just keep going. And Murtaugh? He’s a grandfather, and the actor is actually in his 70s, so if he’s not running the department by now then he should be on his boat kicking his feet up and enjoying retirement since quite honestly it’d be too hard to see him in the role of detective since he moves slower, he talks slower, and he’s not the same guy he was two decades ago. Jeff Ames of Coming Soon has more to say about the subject.
If you’re reading frustration into my words then thank goodness since it’s time someone in Hollywood really stood up and said ‘enough’. Lethal Weapon was a great franchise since it introduced us to extremely popular characters that were fun and dynamic in a way that made the buddy-cop genre even better considering how opposite Roger and Martin were, but the fourth installment was where it needed to end. The guys had been pummeled by Jet Lee’s character to the point that Riggs nearly died and Roger was laid out cold on the ground until he felt Riggs ‘will’ to him where he’d gone. Thankfully they both survived after the multiple attacks by the Triads and were able to go on with their lives somehow, no doubt with at least some PTSD to deal with in the years ahead. But on top of that Roger had a grandchild, which makes a lot of people start thinking that maybe it’s time to slow down and just enjoy the best parts of life, while Riggs and Lorna had a child and were on their way to being a happy couple and complete family. Why in the world would the story need to keep going after that? It’s the same argument that questioned why Bad Boys had to come back, the last movie had such a great and somewhat open ending that made it possible to think that the heroes had won and while life wouldn’t be perfect it was just about as close as it could get.
But studios see movies and the ideas that fuel them as cash registers, and it doesn’t always matter if the ending was something that made a lot of sense and didn’t need to be expanded upon, if those in Hollywood see even a glimmer of something that could possibly work they go for it like a hungry shark scenting blood in the water. Likely, this movie will do well in the box office thanks nostalgia, but the reviews might not be that great. Jeff Yeung of Hypebeast has his own opinion on the story.
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