While Lethal Weapon 5 could end the buddy cop comedy franchise right, the reboot would first need to undo a lot of damage done by the fourth Lethal Weapon movie. Much like star Mel Gibson’s other major franchise Mad Max, the original Lethal Weapon is a lot darker and more brutal than many fans fondly recall. Like the Mad Max movies, the Lethal Weapon series grew more over-the-top and goofy with each sequel. This inevitably led viewers to recall the franchise’s quips, explosions, and cartoony comic relief while forgetting the original Lethal Weapon’s suicidal antihero and its violent, gritty atmosphere.
However, while the original Lethal Weapon was darker and harsher than collective cultural memory might imply, the buddy cop comedy has at least stood the test of time thanks to screenwriter Shane Black’s killer script. The same cannot be said for its sequels. The second movie in the Lethal Weapon series was an uninspired retread of the original movie but, while it lacked edge, the sequel at least featured some great one-liners and action sequences. However, the quality of the series took a dive with the third movie, before hitting new lows with Lethal Weapon 4. This much-maligned sequel soon proved a death knell for the Lethal Weapon franchise, but it had more problems than poor-quality writing.
Why Lethal Weapon 5 Needs To Address Its Past
While viewers may get a Lethal Weapon 5 in the future, this belated sequel would need to undo the wildly racist humor that Lethal Weapon 4’s script aimed at the Asian community. When the sequel was released back in 1998, Lethal Weapon 4’s racist jokes drew the attention of Entertainment Weekly and The Washington Post. If the sequel is going to be made, Lethal Weapon 5 would need to address Lethal Weapon 4’s cringe-worthy elements like Riggs imitating an Asian accent, the franchise’s heroes mocking the height of Asian characters, and Asian stereotypes comprising most of the sequel’s foreign villains.
The buddy cop genre has a long history of engaging with racist tropes. Some movies, like Lethal Weapon’s edgier predecessor 48 Hrs, attempt to actively engage with the issue of racism in policing. Others, like the jaw-droppingly offensive Freebie and the Bean, mine humor from wildly problematic attitudes of their era. However, while Shane Black’s Lethal Weapon scripts are hardly progressive, it is notable that the first two movies in the series featured less explicitly racist jokes than Lethal Weapon 4 despite arriving in cinemas a decade earlier than the sequel. This makes Lethal Weapon 4’s racism even more inexcusable in comparison.
How Sitcoms Proved They Can Fix This Problem
The Lethal Weapon franchise started dark, but its later sequels have a light, fun tone. As such, it seems tricky for Lethal Weapon 5 to acknowledge its predecessor’s racism while maintaining a summer blockbuster atmosphere. However, How I Met Your Father made a lot of subtle nods to the problematic elements of How I Met Your Mother, addressing parts of the earlier sitcom's formula that have aged poorly while also maintaining a fun, warm tone of its own. If that spinoff can admit How I Met Your Mother’s Barney was problematic without ruining the show’s tone, then Lethal Weapon 5 can fix the missteps of earlier Lethal Weapon sequels.