Geoff T's Lethal Weapon Marathon #3
Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)

The third instalment of the buddy cop series, and still going solid. If you've seen the previous two, you should know what to expect. This time, Murtaugh is about 8 days from retirement (I guess he really is too old for this shit by now), but he and Riggs are demoted to street patrol after they accidentally blow up a building, all because Riggs simply couldn't wait for the bomb squad to arrive (but hey, at least they saved a cat).

While on street patrol, they pursue an armored van that carries ammunition, leading them to disgruntled ex-LAPD Jack Travis, now a dangerous arms dealer who is supplying the dangerous weapons. Travis makes an okay antagonist, but he doesn't seem as threatening or memorable as Mr. Joshua and Arjen Rudd. Oddly, the movie also has the inclusion of street gangs that seems to correspond with the gang scene of the early 90s.

Also on the case is Lorna Cole, a highly-skilled internal affairs officer whom Riggs develops a love interest with and makes a faithful female companion to Riggs and Murtaugh. Joe Pesci returns as Leo Getz (now a real-estate agent), whose comic-relief role is more forced and annoying this time, even though he still comes in useful somewhat.

To be honest, the increased amount of humor in this one seems a bit forced and cringe-worthy at time, whereas in the last two it was more well balanced with it's dark and serious moments. There were some standout funny moments, but others such as a obese female security guard developing a love interest for Murtaugh during a chase and Riggs pretending to be a dog to calm down an angry Doberman were pretty eye-rolling at best.

Don't get me wrong however, Lethal Weapon 3 is still a good time, it delivers on the action, characters and humour, and Mel and Danny still make a great on-screen duo. At this point however, I think the formula was beginning to wear a bit thin.

7.5/10