This Funny: An Ex-Mafia Member Evaluates Mel Gibson’s 1998 Action Film About a Fight in Hong Kong

Tsui examines a scene in which Li’s character represents his mafia group as a master negotiator and martial arts expert. The ex-member of the triad finds this “funny” because it is implausible. These are “two different things” in triad groups, after all. He continues by saying that although some members of the trio studied the fundamentals of martial arts in order to get into the nightlife, there is no such thing as an expert in both. View Tsui’s complete quote below:

This is humorous. It will never occur in real life in this manner. Jet Li plays the expert triad negotiator in this film. But he was also a skilled martial artist. Yes, there is a position for a negotiator expert in the Hong Kong Triad Society. 425 is the number. White Paper Fan. But for negotiator expert and martial arts expert, that’s two different things. Only 426, The General, they have a martial art expert. It’s different.

Okay I can tell you the truth. In the 80s, or 70s to 80s and the beginning of 90s, the nightclub business going like crazy. A lot of new nightclubs opened. They did a lot of security. So at that time, absolutely, a lot of triad members, they acquired a little bit of kung fu. Because it’s easier for them to find a job in the nightclub. That’s true. This one I’ll be rating a 6, for position like Jet Li, I don’t think in real life there’s this kind of person, performing both jobs.

Looking at the reception of Lethal Weapon 4, it is hardly surprise that accuracy was not the movie’s first priority. Lethal Weapon 4 is the lowest-rated film of the franchise, holding a 52% score on Rotten Tomatoes. This score represented a decrease from its immediate predecessor, Lethal Weapon 3, which had a 58% rating, and a more dramatic dropoff from 1989’s Lethal Weapon 2, which boasts an 82% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Given its negative reviews, it is unsurprising that Lethal Weapon 4 struggled with accuracy.

Following the iconic director’s death, we rank his films, from the Lethal Weapon franchise to Superman’s first flight to The Goonies themselves.

Lethal Weapon 4 did not have an excellent run at the box office. Lethal Weapon 3 was the highlight of the Lethal Weapon series financially, making $321.7 million worldwide on an estimated $35 million budget. Lethal Weapon 4 saw a dip in earnings to $285.4 million. Although there isn’t a significant drop in revenue, the difference grows when you realize that the movie had a $140 million budget. Due to the budget being over tripled, Lethal Weapon 4 had to outperform Lethal Weapon 3 in order to make a significant profit, which it did not.

RT Critics’ Rating

RT Audience Rating

Spending Plan

Global Box Office

Murderous Weapon (1987)

80 percent

86%

$15 million

$120.2 million

Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

82%

78%

$28 million

$227.8 million

Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)

58%

61%

$35 million

$321.7 million

1998’s Lethal Weapon 4

52 percent

64 percent

$140 million

$285.4 million

It is no surprise that Lethal Weapon 4’s low performance ostensibly killed the franchise. However, the trail is not finished for the Lethal Weapon films, as Lethal Weapon 5 is under progress. Back in 2020, Gibson stated the sequel was in the works from original director Richard Donner. Following Donner’s death in 2021, Gibson assumed the directorship of the undertaking.Although a release date for Lethal Weapon 5 is still unknown, Gibson’s development of the film has been confirmed, offering the franchise a chance at redempti