Review for Lethal Weapon 4 (US)

Introduction

1 minute and 33 seconds can in some circumstances feel like an eternity, in others it passes by like the blink of an eye. But 1 minute and 33 seconds can be reason enough to triple dip on a movie, to discard a Region 2 DVD and purchase a Region 1 disc instead. 1 minute and 33 seconds is the amount of film cut from Lethal Weapon 4 at the BBFC's behest, so that Warner Brothers could release the film in the UK at a 15 rating. I was once a Lethal Weapon nut of sufficient degree to work my way through the upgrade path, from pan and scan VHS, to widescreen VHS, to DVD, and then the director's cut DVDs (for 1-3). Back in late 2000, I wasn't Internet savvy enough, not all that clued up on the BBFC, and unaware of the potential of importing DVDs, to care about Lethal Weapon 4's cuts, even though watching the action sequences of the UK release is probably the biggest joke in the movie. By the time I got round to re-watching the DVD, I had found the BBFC website, and realised just how badly it had been mauled. I swore to myself then, that the next time that I would watch Lethal Weapon 4, I'd watch the uncut version on Region 1 DVD. That was eight years ago.

As I said, I was once a Lethal Weapon nut of significant degree. Not so much now, or I would be writing this review about the apparently uncut UK Blu-ray release, and not a belated purchase of a region 1 DVD. I finally find the time to re-watch the films, and simultaneously found the Region 1 disc available for less than five pounds. Apparently the Lethal Weapon 4 DVDs weren't all that successful. The disc I received in the post was packaged in a snapper case, a DVD 10 flipper disc with the film on one side, and the extras on the other, the same disc that was manufactured and sold ten years ago. For my opinion of the film, this link will take you to my Region 2 review.

Picture

The 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer is getting on a bit, with over 2 hours of video squeezed onto a single layer. It is a progressive transfer on this Region 1 disc though, which makes for smooth playback on compatible equipment. The image is clear and colourful, there is some film grain quite naturally, and the action comes across well enough. Detail levels could be higher, especially in the darker scenes, and moments of compression are apparent at times.

Sound

You have a choice here, DD 5.1 English and French, no doubt for the Canadian market (the case erroneously states that French is Dolby Surround Stereo). The surround is bombastic and brings the action to vivid life. I did notice a brief buzz of distortion from the left rear speaker some twenty minutes into the film, but that was a solitary occurrence. Subtitles are present in French and English form.

Extras

Side B of the US disc is identical to Side B of the UK disc. You can read about those extras in my Region 2 review.

But, an audio commentary would sound pretty stupid with 1 minute and 33 seconds cut from it, which is why the director's commentary remained in Region 1 land, and I only got to sample its delights last night. Director Richard Donner joins co-producers J. Mills Goodloe and Geoff Johns to talk about the film, and it's a really agreeable commentary, enjoyable to listen to. It's astounding to hear just how last minute and slapdash a production Lethal Weapon 4 was, and that certainly made me a little more forgiving of its shortcomings.

Conclusion

Those shortcomings are still there, eight years after my last viewing of the film. It still feels like a comedy movie with some action in, as opposed to the action movie with dark comic moments that the original Lethal Weapon was. It's old home week, a two-hour wallow in nostalgia, as a group of friends get together to have a blast. Lethal Weapon 4 is forgettable, ephemeral, and passable fun. Some of the comedy doesn't quite work; it never is quite as effortless and as smooth as in the first three films. You can see in some scenes that the actors and writers are forcing it to be funny, which makes the film unfunny on occasion. That opinion still stands after all this time.

What does make a world of difference in this Region 1 release is that the action scenes finally make sense. They are no longer abbreviated sequences of jump cuts accompanied by atonal music. You actually get to see all the strangulations, eye gouges, punches, kicks, head butts and all the meaty stuff that the BBFC thought would corrupt anyone between the ages of 15 and 18. Michael Kamen's score hasn't been put through a meat grinder, the movies flows as it's meant to, and I didn't have the subliminal creepy feeling that something was wrong with it, as I've had every time I've watched the UK edit.

If you love Lethal Weapon 4… well if you love it, you'll be upgrading to the Blu-ray. But if you're in the mood to just watch the DVD, and lets face it, eight years between re-watches doesn't exactly beg a high definition upgrade, then this Region 1 disc is cheap as chips.