Lethal Weapon 4

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Movie
German title Lethal Weapon 4
Original title Lethal Weapon 4
Leathal weapon 4 de.svg
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1998
length 127 minutes
Age rating FSK 18 (uncut original version) / 16 (cut theatrical version)
Rod
Director Richard Donner
script Shane Black
Channing Gibson
Alfred Gough
Jonathan Lemkin
Miles Millar
production Richard Donner
Joel Silver
music Eric Clapton
Michael Kamen
David Sanborn
camera Andrzej Bartkowiak
cut Dallas Puett
Kevin Stitt
Eric Strand
Frank J. Urioste
occupation
chronology

←  Predecessor
Brennpunkt LA - The professionals are back

Lethal Weapon 4 , also under the link title Lethal Weapon 4 - Two professionals clean up known is an American action film from the year 1998 with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the lead roles. The director was Richard Donner , the screenplay written Shane Black , Channing Gibson , Alfred Gough , Jonathan Lemkin and Miles Millar . The film opened in German cinemas on August 13, 1998.

action

During a special mission in which Roger Murtaugh and Martin Riggs try to stop a madman who is setting fire to a flame thrower, each other confronts a fait accompli: Roger tells Martin that his girlfriend Lorna is pregnant and that Martin will soon be a father. In return, Riggs Murtaugh reports that his daughter Rianne is also expecting a child soon and that he will soon be a grandfather. Both ended the mission in ruins and successfully and swore to cut things down because of the upcoming offspring. The promotion to captains shortly thereafter (for insurance reasons) is more than beneficial.

When they set off on a fishing trip with Leo Getz soon afterwards, Roger's boat is sunk by an apparently driverless freighter. Riggs gets on board and stops the boat, which turns out to be a smuggler's ship for Chinese immigrants . While the authorities are sending the refugees back, Murtaugh discovers one of the impoverished extended families in a lifeboat and secretly takes them in. At the same time, he tries to avoid the aspiring young cop Lee Butters, who was assigned to them: Roger misunderstands his overprotective actions as homosexual advances.

The actually harmless case for the coast guard soon turns into a tricky criminal matter, as the Chinese family and Roger's clan get caught in the crosshairs of the triads . After observing and observing the city-famous crook Benny Chan, Riggs, Murtaugh and Butters finally track down the real mastermind behind the human trafficking ring: the Chinese gangster Wah Sing Ku, who absolutely wants to get hold of Hong, the head of the family hidden at Murtaugh. Hong is the relative of an engraver in the service of Wah, who is supposed to produce several hundred million cash flowers for him in the Chinese currency , but refuses to continue the work until his family is safe in the States. During the research, Roger also discovered through a mistake by Riggs (who found out about it from Lorna) that Butters is the father of Rianne's child and that he only wanted to get a good repute with his future father-in-law through his flattering manner, mainly because Roger was strongly opposed to having a policeman as a son-in-law.

When they finally find the counterfeit money factory, the cops only find the bodies of the engraver and those of Hong and Uncle Benny, who covered Wah. The evaluations of the few clues they have left lead them to the port of Los Angeles , where Wah and his gangsters want to arrange for the money to be handed over to a Chinese general. For the counterfeit millions, Wah wants to buy the four bosses of the Chinese triads, the Four Fathers, from the corrupt military, including his older brother. Murtaugh, Riggs and Butters storm the scene and expose Wah's hoax. There is an exchange of fire in which the general , the triad leaders and the remaining gangsters perish. Martin and Roger engage in hand-to-hand combat with wah above and below the water. Here Riggs can finally overpower the gangster and is saved from drowning by Roger at the last moment.

At the end, everyone involved meets in the hospital, where the expected children are born and Lorna and Martin get married. Riggs and Murtaugh become sergeants again as the Police Department can afford insurance coverage again, and the film ends with several snapshots of the Lethal Weapon films both in front of and behind the scenes.

Reviews

James Berardinelli wrote on ReelViews that the commercial goals were pursued far more than the artistic ones in the production of the film. The film lives up to expectations, but offers no surprises. He greatly praised the portrayal of Jet Li.

Roger Ebert described the film in the Chicago Sun-Times on July 10, 1998 as an "exercise".

“The new edition of the action comedy uses gags and dialogues primarily with the already familiar motifs and figure drawings, despite the recent addition of a young investigator to the ensemble. Technically experienced, especially in the action scenes, the film seeks inspiration from Hong Kong's action cinema, but at the same time remains clichéd in the portrayal of the Chinese. "

- Lexicon of international film

Awards

Chris Rock won the Blockbuster Entertainment Award and was nominated for the American Comedy Award , the Image Award and the MTV Movie Award (in two categories). Rene Russo won the Blockbuster Entertainment Award . Mel Gibson and Danny Glover were nominated for the Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Best Duo . Joe Pesci was nominated for the Blockbuster Entertainment Award and the negative Golden Raspberry Award. Jet Li was nominated for the MTV Movie Award.

Michael Kamen won the BMI Film Music Award . The film won the Bogey Award and was nominated for the Motion Picture Sound Editors Award for Best Sound Editing .

The German Film and Media Assessment FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating "valuable".

backgrounds

Production costs were approximately 140 million US dollars , the film played worldwide in 1998 dollars about 270 million one. The film was made from January 1998 within 7 months and a follow-up time of three weeks, which means it was ready on time for the cinema release in August.

Due to individual scenes of violence, the film received an FSK-18 rating in Germany . However, since there are only a small number of such scenes in the film, Lethal Weapon 4 was cut and only a shortened FSK-16 version was released in the cinemas and also on video / DVD in Germany. In the meantime, however, the original version has also been published.

  • In the scene in which Murtaugh and Riggs are promoted to captains, they alternately congratulate each other with a salute and a handshake, giving the impression that the handshake is being turned down. Gibson made a similar gag in Forever Young .
  • Kim Chan , who plays Uncle Benny , played a role of the same name in The Corruptor .
  • The cast of Murtaugh's adult children are the same as the offspring in all three previous parts. The same applies to Paul Tuerpe , who played nameless extras in all four parts.
  • The film was Jet Li s first American film and also the first in which he played a villain. Jackie Chan had also been discussed for the role . However, he declined (similar to a role offer for Demolition Man ) on the grounds that he never wanted to play a villain in a film.
  • The car hunt and Gibson's fight against the Chinese on the house van originated on a freeway near Las Vegas . Although the team did not get permission to shoot, they were still allowed to take the recordings, as the mayor at the time was generous and turned a blind eye.
  • Riggs trailer is in the same place where Jim Rockford from the series Detective Rockford - Just give us a call, had his trailer.
  • Jet Li was instructed to slow down his acrobatics because he was moving too fast for the recordings.
  • The second locomotive that Wahs and Benny's henchmen rammed into their car is the same tractor that pulled the Grand Continental as the lead locomotive on Red 2 alert .
  • When they both got their badges for the captain and left the boss's room, Riggs says " O Captain, my Captain ". In the Dead Poets Club with Robin Williams , this was the honorable address of English teacher John Keating by his students.

continuation

In January 2020, Warner Bros. producer Dan Lin announced that a fifth installment in the film series is in the early stages of development. Both Gibson and Glover are said to be resuming their old roles, and Richard Donner, now 90, is again in discussion as a director.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate (PDF; 34 kB) from the FSK
  2. ^ Review by James Berardinelli
  3. ^ Review by Roger Ebert
  4. ^ Lethal Weapon 4. In: Lexicon of international films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  5. ↑ Awards for Lethal Weapon 4 - Two professionals clean up
  6. ↑ Lethal Weapon 4 - Two professionals clean up on fbw-filmbeval.com
  7. ↑ Box office / business for Lethal Weapon 4 - Two professionals clean up
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Trivia
  9. ↑ 'Lethal Weapon 5': Mel Gibson and Danny Glover Set to Return