Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) * * 1/2

Directed by:  Richard Donner

Starring:  Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Rene Russo, Joe Pesci, Stuart Wilson, Darlene Love, Steve Kahan

Lethal Weapon 3 looks and feels like the third in a series.  It isn't bad, but it's starting to show wear and tear.  Director Donner leans more heavily on chases and action sequences and less on the unique friendship between partners Martin Riggs (Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Glover), who were brought together in the original Lethal Weapon (1987) and gelled terrifically in the 1989 sequel which remains the best of the four Lethal Weapon films. 

This time Riggs and Murtaugh, joined by Internal Affairs cop Lorna Cole (Russo-who is quite tough herself), take on ex-cop Jack Travis (Wilson), who runs a gun-running operation which puts automatic weapons into the hands of L.A. gangs.   Travis isn't as menacing or evil as Joss Ackland's villain diplomat in Lethal Weapon 2, but as a bad guy, he'll do.  As Lethal Weapon 3 opens, Riggs and Murtaugh try to be hotshots and accidentally detonate a bomb which destroys an office building.  They are busted down to traffic duty, but they soon find themselves in the middle of Travis' nefarious scheme.   

Joe Pesci, who was so memorable in part 2 as the weaselly but lovable accountant Leo Getz, returns in this installment but doesn't really have much to do except echo his performance from the previous film.   Steve Kahan, who plays Riggs' and Murtaugh's exasperated captain, plays more of a role in Lethal Weapon 3 but still looks like Riggs and Murtaugh are going to have him plopping Rolaids for the rest of his professional life.   As far as Riggs and Murtaugh are concerned, Riggs is given all of the fun lines while Glover shouts "Riggs" so often that if you were playing a drinking game and downed a shot every time Glover said Riggs' name, you'd be drunk off your ass pretty quickly.