Lethal Weapon Review (Revisited) "I'm too old for this s***!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, now we are into December of 2025, I figured its time for another post or two before the year is out and I thought I would start with a revisit of my Lethal Weapon review from about 8 years back. So, here I will do my usual stuff and add to the sections a bit and update a few things.

So, with that said, let's take a look at this modern action classic and see how it is 38 years on from its release.

And the usual warning is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!! 

STORY  

So the film begins in Los Angeles at around Christmas time and it starts with LAPD police officer, Sergeant Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) who has just turned 50 (as have I this year! How depressing lol!).  Roger is called in to investigate the apparent suicide of a prostitute, Amanda Hunsaker (Jackie Swanson) who turns out to be the daughter of an old friend of his, Michael Hunsaker (Tom Atkins) who he fought alongside in the Vietnam war.

Meanwhile another LAPD police officer, Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) is in the middle of a drugs bust, however he nearly kills one of the disarmed suspects as he goes into a blind rage.  Riggs as it turns out is suffering from depression as the result of his wife's death, Victoria which has left him suicidal. Riggs then that night, goes home and nearly kills himself as he puts a gun in his mouth but at the last minute he relents and cries to himself and looks at the picture of his wife and says "I'll see you much later!".

The next day Riggs is reassigned to homicide and partnered up with Murtaugh, who is very reluctant to take on Riggs.  The two of them go to see Michael Hunsaker, and Roger reveals to Hunsaker that his daughter, Amanda, was in fact murdered as the pills she had taken were doctored and laced with window cleaner, so she would have died within minutes had she not jumped.  Hunsaker tells Roger that she was also involved in making adult video tapes and drugs and he wants Roger to find out who was responsible and kill them.

Murtaugh however finds out first hand what a loose canon Riggs is, when Riggs goes up to try and talk down a man, McCleary (Michael Shaner) who is threatening to jump off a building, and instead handcuffs him and they jump off together onto a large inflatable catch.  Murtaugh is furious with Riggs and taunts him to shoot himself with his gun, but stops short when he realises Riggs might actually do it.

Afterwards, the two men start to put aside their differences then they go to question a pimp in connection to Amanada at a mansion, which turns out to be a drug lab, however the pimp open fires on them and Riggs ends up having to kill the pimp in self defence and he saves Murtaugh in the process, which leads Murtaugh to slowly gain respect for his new partner.  The two of them later go and have dinner at Murtaugh's house, where Riggs meets Rog's wife and family and finds out Roger's eldest daughter, Rianne (Traci Wolfe) has a crush on Riggs and they also speculate on what was behind the case.

The next day they go to question the hooker that Roger spoke to earlier, Dixie (Lycia Naff) in connection with Amanda, however as Dixie's house is blown up as they arrive.  Riggs finds a piece of a mercury switch, which woud only be used by professionals, and as they question a young boy who witnessed a man lurking about the house, he spotted that he had the same tattoo as Riggs, which is a US Army special forces tattoo, with whom Riggs served with during Vietnam.

Muratugh and Riggs then go and question Hunsaker, who admits to being involved in a drug operation run by mercaneries, who were all involved in special ops and that he was trying to get out the operation and that his daughter's death was ordered by the head of the operation, General McAllister (Ryan Mitchell).  However before Hunsaker can reveal anymore on the operation to Roger, McAllister's chief enforcer, Mr Joshua (Gary Busey) shows up in a helicopter and shoots Hunsaker dead, and McAllister decides to turn up the heat on the two cops and kidnaps Rianne. 

Riggs and Murtaugh are given a meeting place with McAllister, Joshua and their men, however they are ambushed by Riggs, who provides cover far away with a sniper rifle, but he is eventually captured as is Murtaugh and Rianne, who attempts to escape by car.  As a result Murtaugh and Riggs are both tortured in order for the mercs to find out what they know, with Joshua administering electric shock treatment to Riggs, and McAllister having Murtaugh beaten.

Riggs however manages to kill his torturer, Endo (Al Leong) and he enters and kills McAllister's men and releases Muratugh and Rianne and they flee out onto the streets, where Riggs gives chase to Joshua and Murtaugh exacts his revenge on McAllister by killing him, but Joshua get's away. But its far from over as Riggs and Murtaugh have to try and hunt down Joshua in order to keep Roger's family safe....

THOUGHTS 

If I had to pick the best of the four Lethal weapon films I would say that the original, this one, Lethal Weapon is still the best.  As the series went on, there was a larger emphasis on the comedic tone, but here the film keeps a good balance of comedy and drama and the film has a pretty intense feel throughout.  And both the lead characters have a fair bit of emotional weight over their heads, with Murtaugh feeling his age having turned 50, being a family man realising he has more to lose as he get's older, and Riggs, who's has been driven half crazed with rage and sorrow over the loss of his wife, leaving him a near suicidal, emotional wreck, which we see in that scene near the start in Riggs's trailer (and no I don't mean the scene where he get's out of his bed, naked, and we see his ass!).

However where Lethal Weapon succeeds is that it takes the cop buddy buddy formula and puts two very unlikely cops together and they end up being dependent on one another, with Murtaugh becoming something of a saviour for Riggs who is so burnt out and close to the edge.  That's not to say that Lethal Weapon isn't funny as it still has plenty of humourous moments and Shane Black's witty script provides some funny lines, which I will get to soon. Ironically it was said that Black's original script was so dark in tone that the director, Richard Donner had parts of it re-written by the film's sequels script writer, Jeffrey Boam, who added some extra humour to it.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers and strong language!) 

And that brings me onto the performances section of the review and they are excellent, particularly the two leading actors, Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, who have a natural onscreen chemistry with one another.

Starting with Mel Gibson who is great as Riggs, the near pyschotic cop who is on the ragged edge who is thrown into a reluctant partnership with Murtaugh, but they soon end up becoming friends.

Gibson has quite a few highlights in the film such as in his first scene where he is involved in an undercover drugs bust and he convinces the dealers that he is interested in buying the drugs and they ask for "a hundred" and he starts to count out 100 dollars.  And one of the dealers angrily tries to stop him and Riggs says "Shut up, man.  I'm losing count" and as the dealer tells him he wants a hundred thousand dollards, Riggs says "Tell you what, why don't I take the whole stash off your hands for free and you assholes can go to jail!".

And as they cal him crazy, he pulls out his gun and says "Now that is a real badge, I'm a real cop and this is a real fucking gun!".  Then one of the dealers suddenly grabs Riggs from behind and points a gun at him and as a number of police officers show up and point guns at the dealer, Riggs shouts out to the other officers "Hey shoot him!  Shoot him!  Will somebody shoot this prick??!".  And as the dealer becomes more angry and agitated, Riggs crazily keeps taunting the dealer and shouts in his "Shoot me!  Shoot me!  Shoot me!  Shoot me!".  However, Riggs then manages to disarm the dealer and he turns the tables and points the gun under the dealer's chain and with an insane look says to him through gritted teeth "You wanna see crazy???!!".  The dealer is then arrested and taken away, leaving Riggs gasping for breath as he is riled from the encounter.

Then there is the scene where Riggs tries to talk down the would-be jumper off the roof of a building and as he handcuffs the jumper, the jumper defiantly tells him he will jump and Riggs grabs him and says "Do you REALLY wanna jump?!  Do you wanna??!  Because that is just fine with me, asshole!  Let's do it! I wanna do it! I wanna do it!!" and they do just that much to Roger's chagrin.

Gibson also has some chilling moments in the film such as where Murtaugh taunts Riggs to put his gun under his chin and pull the trigger and he nearly does it, but Murtaugh stops him at the last second.  And in the scene as Roger yells at Riggs "Do you want to kill yourself?  YES OR NO, DO YOU WANNA DIE?!" Riggs tells Roger "What do you wanna hear, man?! You wanna about sometimes I think about eatin a bullet?!".  So, Riggs continues "Well, I do!  Make sure it blows the back of my goddamned head out and do the job right! Every single day I wake up and I think of a reason not to do it! Every single day! You know why I don't do it? This is gonna make you laugh! You know why I don't do it? The job! Doin' the job! Now that's the reason!". 

Then as Roger dares Riggs into pulling the trigger on Rog's gun, Riggs with the gun pointed under his chin, starts to pull the trigger but Roger stops him.  Roger, then looks at Riggs in shock and says "You're not trying to draw a psycho pension!  You really ARE crazy!" and Riggs glares at him and says "I'm hungry.  I'm gonna go and get something to eat!" and he walks off leaving Roger in a panic.

Another good scene is where Riggs and Murtaugh go to the firing range and discuss the case whole doing some target practice, however what they come up with sounds a bit thin.  So, Roger says to Riggs of their assessment "That's pretty fuckin thin!" and Riggs says "With your wife's cooking, I'm not surprised!" and he fires a few shots off (as Roger's wife is a terrible cook).  And Roger offended shouts "WHAT?!" and Riggs says "Nothing!" and Rog then says "Remarks like that will not get you invited to Christmas dinner!" and Riggs grins and says "My luck is changing for the better every day!".

Murtaugh shows off his skill as he fires a perfect shot at a paper target right in the centre and he boasts to Riggs "Hey, look at that!  Not bad for an old man!".  And Riggs says "Step aside old man!" and fires six shots at the target from a distance and brings it closer to see that the bullet holes he's made are a smiley face and Riggs says "Have a nice day!".

Then there is the scene where Riggs is shot on the streets by Joshua, who does a drive-by shooting, however Riggs survives it as he was wearing his bullet proof vest.  And in the scene Roger rushes over Riggs, who lies flat on the his back having crashed through a shop window but Rog opens Riggs shirt to see him wear a vest.  Then, Riggs springs to life and he painfully sits and says "I'm pissed now, Roger!  I'm pissed!" and as Rog helps him he says "If he was two inches higher he would have got your head!" and Riggs says "If it was two inches lower I would be a falsetto for life, come on let's fuck off!".  And after Riggs get's up on his feet he says to Roger "The guy that shot me!  It was the same Albino jackrabbit, son of a bitch that did Hunsaker!" and Roger asks him "Are you sure?!" and Riggs says "I'm sure.  I never forget an asshole!".

And last of all there is the scene where Riggs escapes the clutches of the torturer, Endo in the basement of the club they use as a front for their business and breaks in and kills McAllister's men.  And Riggs after looks at Roger, who grins and says "Pretty thin, huh?" and Riggs says "Anorexic!" then he frees Roger and Rianne and says "Let's do what one shepherd said to the other shepherd" and Roger says "What's that?" and Riggs says "Let's get the flock out of here!".

Danny Glover is also great in his role as Roger Martaugh, the middle aged cop who is starting to feel old and wary of his job and Glover provides a nice world weary cynicism yet deceny to Murtaugh's character.

Glover also has his share of good scenes and some funny dialogue as well throughout, such an example is in a scene near the beginning where he speaks to the hooker, Dixie.  And in the scene Roger tells Dixie to go home and Dixie says "Thanks.  I'm beat, you know how it is" and Roger says "Yeah!  All dressed up and no one to blow!" and Dixie, offended turns around and says "You're hilarious!" and walks off angrily.

And of course Glover delivers the film's most famous well recognised line when Roger first clocks Riggs in the office, dressed in jeans and a jacket and wearing a cap, take out his gun.  And Roger shouts "GUN!!" thinking that Riggs might be a perp, so Rog runs right at Riggs, who grabs him and throws him to the floor and puts his foot on his chest.  And as Roger is introduced to Riggs as his new partner, Roger groans and says "Oh, I'm too old for shit!".

Then in the next scene the two men walk toward Roger's police car and Roger talks about Riggs's police file and his background in Special Forces.  And Roger says to Riggs as they walk to the car "File also said you're heavy into martial arts. Tai chi and all that killer stuff. I suppose we have to register you as a lethal weapon!".  And Riggs says to Roger "Hey, look friend, let's just cut the shit. Now we both know why I was transferred. Everybody thinks I'm suicidal, in which case, I'm fucked and nobody wants to work with me; or they think I'm faking to draw a psycho pension, in which case, I'm fucked and nobody wants to work with me. Basically, I'm fucked!".  And Roger tells Riggs "Guess, what?" and Riggs asks "What?" and Roger says "I don't want to work with you!" and Riggs says "Hey, dont!" and Roger says "Got no choice. Looks like we both got fucked!".  The two men then get in the car and before Roger starts the ignition he tells Riggs "God hates me, that what it is!" and Riggs says "Hate him back, it works for me!".

Another good scene and a rather intense one is just after Riggs jumps off the roof with the suicidal jumper, McCleary and they both land in an inflatable airbag and after Roger angrily takes Riggs into a nearby store that is being painted.  And Roger yells at Riggs and says "OK, clown!  No bullshit!  You wanna kill yourself?!" and Riggs says "Oh, for Christ's sake..." and Roger yells "SHUT UP!! YES OR NO!! DO YOU WANNA DIE??!!".  Riggs then yells back "I GOT THE JOB DONE!  WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT??!" and Roger shouts back at him "JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!!" and Riggs tell how he thinks about it and he even has a bullet for the occassion.  So, after Roger taunts Riggs to shoot himself with Roger's gun, Riggs nearly does but Roger stops him and says "You're not trying to draw a psycho pension!  You really ARE crazy!!". 

Then there is the scene where Roger and Riggs go to question a drug dealer at a mansion only for the dealer to shoot at them and Roger shoots the dealer in the leg and as Roger is about to read his rights he lectures Riggs on arresting a suspect.  So, Rog says to Riggs "See how easy that was? Boom, still alive. Now we question him. You know why we question him? Because I got him in the leg. I didn't shoot him full of holes or try to jump off a building with him!".  And Riggs says "That's not fair, the building guy lived!" and Roger says "The point being, no killing!" and Rigg says "No, killing right" but as Riggs is about to read the dealer his rights, the dealer suddenly produces another gun, so Riggs has no choice but to shoot him.  The dealer then falls into a pool and drowns as he caught up in a pool net and as Roger and Riggs resurface, Roger asks Riggs "Have you ever met anybody you DIDN'T kill???" and Riggs says "Well, I haven't kill you yet!" and Roger says "Well, don't do me no favours!" and Riggs get's out the pool and says "Don't you worry!". 

Glover also has some good dramatic moments as well especially the scene where Roger goes to question Hunsaker over his involvement with the mercaneries.  And Roger says to Hunsaker "Your daughter wasn't killed for something she was into. She was killed for something you're into. Stop me if I'm wrong".  And Hunsaker, puts his hand towards the inside of his jacket and says "Roger, I don't know what you're talking about!" and Roger says "Hey, Mike.  Keep your hand away from your pockets, OK?".  Hunsaker then produces some pills from his pocket and says "Take it easy, man!" and Roger then angrily shouts "Fuck easy!".

Roger then continues to ask Hunsaker "You called me the other day to blow the whistle, right?" and Hunsaker wearily asks "Blow the whistle on what?".  Roger then says "You were going to spill your guts, so they killed your daughter. Tell me if I'm wrong. Talk to me! They killed your daughter. They paid off a hooker to poison your little girl!  Talk to me!".

So, as Hunsaker tells Roger about the mercs heroin shipments, Hunsake warns him "This is big business, Roger" and Roger turns to him and says "Not anymore.  I'm gonna burn it down!".  Then as Roger insists that Hunsaker tell all the info he has on the mercs operation, Joshua suddenly shows up in a chopper and shoots Hunsaker dead.  Roger then checks Hunsaker's dead body and says to him "Heroin...you got off easy, you son of a bitch!".

Another good moment from Danny is when Roger and Riggs escape from McAllister and Joshua and they run out onto the streets and Roger, exhausted yells out to Riggs "Hey, Riggs!  He's going for the freeway!".  Riggs looks back and shouts "You OK?" and Roger exhausted says "Yeah!" and Riggs runs off and Roger calls out to him "Cut over the 3rd street bridge!  You'll be able to get ahead of him!".  Then Roger, who has sit down by a street lamp, slowly get's himself up and says "General McAllister....time for you to die!".

And last of all is the film's last scene where Riggs turns up to give Roger the bullet Riggs was going to use to kill himself, which he gives to Rianne at the door but as he is about to leave, Roger comes out.  And Roger says to Riggs "After all we've been through...if you think I'm gonna eat the world's worst turkey by myself...you're crazy!".  Riggs then smiles and says to Roger "I'll tell you a little secret....I'm not crazy" and Roger smiles and says "I know!" and Riggs says "Oh, good.  Let's eat!".  And as Roger allows Riggs to invite in his dog, we hear the commotion of the dog barking at Roger's household cat, Burbank and Roger at the front door says to himself the film's last line "I'm too old for this!".

 

Gary Busey in his role as the primary villain, Mr Joshua, is also excellent and he plays the creepy albino killer in quite an understated way (which is unusual for Busey!) and he makes for an effective villain.  Busey has some good scenes such as his intro where Joshua displays his ability to deal with pain as McAllister uses a lighter to burn underneath Joshua's arm, which he takes with ease.

And later on in the scene where he questions Riggs, prior to him being tortured by electric shock treatment and he refers to the torturer, Endo and says "You know Endo, has forgotten more about dispensing pain than you and I will ever know".  And he says to Riggs "See, we have a problem. Since we have Murtaugh...we don't need you. I believe in being thorough" and Riggs says to him "Yeah, I've heard that about you".  So, Joshua continues "Our problem, and yours too...is we have a shipment of merchandise to deliver" and Riggs says "Why don't you guys just call it heroin?!".  Joshua smiles and says "It's rather large, this shipment. It would be unfortunate...if we showed up to deliver our heroin..and were surrounded by 50 cops!" and Riggs says "That would be too bad".

Joshua then says "So, its essential for us to find out all the cops now" and Riggs says they don't know anything as he killed Hunsaker before he could tell them anything.  However, Joshua doesn't buy it and shouts "No!  No! I wish I could believe you but unfortunately I don't!  Now if you would kindly tell me everything you know then I promise I will kill you real quick!". And as Riggs says "I told you everything I know!" Joshua turns to Endo to start torturing Riggs and Endo holds two pairs of what looks like jump cables with sponges attached to them.  And Riggs nervously asks "What the fuck is that thing?!" and Joshua tells him "I'll tell what it is...its electric shock treatment!".   

And later when he turns up at Roger's house to kill his family he enters the house and shoots the TV and yells "Goddamn Christmas!  I'll give you a home to come back to!".  And as Joshua finds a note from Riggs saying "Dear bad guys.  No one here but us cops. The good guys" Joshua says "Crazy son of a bitch!" but then Roger's police car comes crashing through the living room and Joshua fills it with holes from his gun only to find it empty and a knife jammed in the accelerator.  So, Riggs then springs up on him and takes his gun and says to Joshua "What do you say, Jack?  Would you like a shot at the title?" and Joshua grins and says "Don't mind if I do!" and two of them engage in their climactic fight scene.  

Ryan Mitchell is also very good in his role as General McAllister, the leader of the mercaneries who captures the cops and later is forced to flee from them.

Mitchell has two main scenes, the first where he is introduced and he uses Mr Joshua to a prospective drug buyer, Mendez and he threatens him by showing Joshua's ability to withstand pain.  And McAllister asks the dealer "Do you smoke?" and the dealer says "What's that go to do with anything?" and McAllister snaps "Do you smoke??!".   And Mendez nervously says "Yeah" and McAllister asks "Give my your lighter" and Mendez asks "My...my lighter?" and McAllister yells "YOU'RE LIGHTER!!".  So Mendez takes out his lighter and all of a sudden, McAllister's men grab Mendez's arm and McAllister holds Mendez's hand with the lighter and as Mendez protests, McAllister yells "SHUT YOUR MOUTH!! SHUT UP!!".

So, McAllister looks to Joshua and says "Mr Joshua, your left arm, please" so Joshua rolls his sleeve and McAllister flicks on the lighter right under Joshua's bare arm as the flame burns into Joshua's arm, who just takes the pain in his stride, leaving Mendez terrified.  So, after the demonstration, McAllister tells and shaken Mendez "The bulk of the heroin will be here Friday night, we'll make delivery at that time. Have the money ready, and no tricks. If you try anything... you'll have to talk to Mr. Joshua. Merry Christmas!".

And later as he has Roger tortrured he walks over to Rianne, who is tied up and in her underwear and he says "That is one real good looking young woman you have there, Mr Murtaugh!".  And Roger tells McAllister "I've told you everything!" and McAllister looks at Rianne and says to Roger "We'll soon now, won't we?" and Roger angrily says of Rianne "I'm warning you....don't!".  McAllister then says "Spare me, son, its over.  There are no more heroes left in the world!". 

The rest of the supporting cast are also fine in their roles, such as Darlene Love as Trish, Roger's wife who is has a rather small role here but she sets up her character nicely for the future films.  

 

Darlene has a couple of good moments such as the one where Roger first invites Riggs are to meet his family and he checks the oven to see what's for dinner.  So, Roger says as he looks in the oven "We'll see what's for dinner.  Its a brown sticky...." and Trish smacks his bottom and she says to him "Its roast!".  So, Roger sarcastically says to Riggs "How about a brown roast-like substance?" and Trish tells him "Roger, you're being an asshole".

And lastly there is the scene where Roger and Riggs learn that Rianne has been kidnapped as they receive a call from Joshua at Roger's house.  At this point, Trish appears at the top of the stairs, looking worried she asks "What is it?" and Roger says "Nothing!" and Trish shouts "What is it???!" and Roger tries to play it down and says "Nothing!" louder.  Trish then turns to her other children, Nick and Carrie "Get back in your room!  Back in your room!" and Trish then slides down on the stairs in tears.    

Steven Kahan is also pretty good as Captain Murphy, Rog and Riggs cynical superior officer and he shows little concern for Riggs's mental state and he says to the police psychiatrist, Stephanie Woods (Mary Ellen Trainor) "Look!  Riggs just wants the cash.  I've seen it a dozen times before!  He's a tough bastard, alright?!".  However Woods insists "He's on the edge.  I'm telling you he may be psychotic!" and Murphy says "That's a bunch of psych bullshit!".  Woods then says to Murphy "You're making a mistake keeping the man in the field.  The man is suicidal!".  So, Murphy cynically asks her "You're sure of that diagnosis?!" and Woods says "No, there are no absolutes in life!" and Murphy says to her "End of discussion.  We're going to wait and if he offs himself, we'll know I was wrong!".  And as Woods tries to continue their discussion, Murphy stops her as he is about to enter the men's room and he says to her "Excuse me, huh?!" and he goes in, leaving Woods annoyed and she says to herself "Asshole!".

Traci Wolfe is also pretty good in her role as Rianne, Roger's eldest daughter, who is later kidnapped by McAllister and Joshua and also has a crush on Riggs when they first meet.

And I will only mention one of Traci's scenes and its the one where Rianne asks if her date can take her to a club much to Roger's disaproval.  So, Rianne asks Roger in the scene "Didn't mean to interrupt one of those intellectual conversations...Mark asked me to a club tomorrow night".  Roger then asks "Which one is Mark?" and Rianne says "The blonde one" and Roger says "The one with pits in his face?" and Rianne annoyed, says "Those are dimples!" and Roger says "Those are pits.  When he smiles I can see through his head.  The answer is no!".  So, Rianne complains "Why can I have a beer and I can't smoke a joint? It's not coke, you know!" and Roger tells her "Because now, at this moment...beer is legal, grass ain't. Right or wrong?" and Rianne says "Wrong" but Riggs says "Right" and she smiles at him and says "Right" back.  So, Rianne gives in and walks off and says to herself "They sit there drinking six-packs and I get grounded!".

And lastly Tom Atkins is also very good as Michael Hansaker, Roger's Vietnam buddy who once saved his life during the war and turns to him for help as he tries to get out of the drug operation run by the mercs.

And Atkins primarily has only two main scenes in the film, which are both very good and shows Atkins is capable actor.   The first scene is when Roger meets with Hunsaker to tell him that his daughter was murdered and she didn't kill herself.  So, Hunsaker becomes emotional and says to Roger "You owe, Roger.  You remember?" and Roger quietly says "Yeah, I remember".  Hunsaker then continues and says "I want you to find whoever's responsible for this...however many of them there are. I know you can do it. Just find them and kill them".  Roger, then quietly tries to reason with Hunsaker and says "Mike, I'm a police officer..." but then Hunsaker angrily says "I don't give a shit that you're a police officer! I know you're a fucking police officer!  KILL THEM! JUST KILL THEM!".  Roger then just walks off annoyed but Hunsaker catches up to and says "Wait. Wait, Rog. Come on. You find them and you kill them. You can do that. You owe me!".


And lastly there is the scene where Hunsaker tells Roger about the mercs operation to run shipments of heroin.  So, Hunsaker tells Roger "I was with a special unit called "Shadow Company." Trained killers. When Charlie brought in heroin to finance the VC government...Shadow Company burned the whole thing down. We killed everybody".  And Hunsaker continues "A few years ago, Shadow Company got together again. The war was over. But we still had our sources in Asia. We've been bringing it in ever since".  Roger then asks "Bringing in what?" and Hunsaker tells him "Heroin.  Two major shipments a year" and Roger asks "If you got cold feet, why did they kill Amanda?  Why not you?!".  Hunsaker then says "They can't kill me, they need me!" and Roger asks angrily "Why?!" and Hunsaker says "My bank! My company is a perfect front.  Makes everything look great on the tax reports" and he says "This is big business, Roger" and Roger then says "Not anymore.  I'm gonna burn it down!".

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 
 
Finally getting onto the film's director, Richard Donner, who does a great job here and he carried on to direct the sequels and it would be hard to imagine another director carry the style, pace, action and humour that Donner brings to the series.  So overall, the original Lethal Weapon is one of Donner's best directorial efforts. There is also a director's cut of the film, which added seven minutes of additional footage that includes Riggs taking down a school sniper and taking a prostitute home to watch TV with him for company.  

The film is also notable for its stunts and action which are of course great and it also features a former stuntman, Dar Robinson, who died shortly after the film was completed in November 1986 in a motorcycle accident. Robinson himself pulled off one of the film's most difficult stunts as Riggs shoots a baddie who is up in a gantry and falls off and catches his leg in a chain, leaving the dead man dangling upside down. 

As for the film's music score, its excellent which and was composed by Michael Kamen and it also features some good guitar work from Eric Clapton and also the distinctive saxophone from David Sanbourne, who plays part of Murtaugh's theme.  Although it has to be said the film does feature a truly awful and cringeworthy theme song, by the Canadian rock band, Honeymoon Suite , which is played over the end credits (who curiously went uncredited and I wonder why?!). 

FLAWS 

As for the flaws of the film????  Well Lethal Weapon isn't perfect but it hasn't got too many glaring problems.

However perhaps one of its flaws is that the story itself is pretty flimsy an unimaginitive with two cops who become buddies and fight against drug dealers, which is nothing new in itself.  Also the baddies, despite the good performances from Busey and Mitchell, are a bit bland and one dimensional and while both actors play their parts with a decent amount of menace, their characters aren't that interesting, so when they cop it (no pun intended) who cares really.

Some of the characters in the film are also a bit underused such as Captain Murphy, who would later be utilised better in the sequels, and Kahan himself is Donner's cousin, so perhaps he had a word with him about it!

I also felt the film at times had an uncomfortable mix of strong violence in which what we see onscreen is OK for the most part (I guess!) but Shane Black, who wrote the screenplay seems to have some weird fetish for putting torture into his scripts.  So, the scenes where Riggs is brutally tortured with electric shock treatment was the start of a rather disturbing fetish that would permeate in Black's other works (such as Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang).  Black also when he wrote the original outline for Lethal Weapon 2 also wanted Riggs to be tortured again and die at the hands of the South Africans but his idea was dismissed and he then decided to pull out of the production due to too many changes being made to his script.

Another thing I found very peculiar was to do with the start of the film where Hunsaker's daughter, Amanda, dives off the rooftop of her apartment and lands heavily ontop of a car below and in the next moment and she lies there dead, we see the shadows of two people walk by!!!  I mean I take we are meant to believe that's how people are in LA that they are so desensitized to violence and death that they are willing to turn a blind eye to it!  But that one scene seemed pretty ridiculous to me I have to say.  

Lastly there is the whole idea of Riggs being in the Vietnam war....look at Mel Gibson, he was 30 when he made Lethal Weapon (he was born in 1956), so if he was in the Vietnam war then he would have been merely 17 years old by the time the war had finished!  Basically, if Riggs was a Vietnam vet just like Murtaugh then it doesn't make any sense that he would be played a younger actor such as Mel Gibson at that time.  Riggs's bio online shows his actual age was 37 in the film, so he could have been a Vietnam vet if Gibson was that age however its not a big deal I guess.

Further to this point, Danny Glover himself was 10 years younger than the character of Murtaugh, as he was only 40 at the time of shooting the film. So, this is less of a big deal in that regard given that Glover himself was old enough to have served in the Vietnam war. Glover himself did not serve during the Vietnam war and was in fact a civil rights activist around the time of the war itself.

Another thing to consider is a piece of dialogue where McAllister captures Riggs and Riggs says to him "It'll be a shame when I nail you.  I ran into you shadow company pussies back in 69".  Again, Mel Gibson was 13 in 1969, Riggs must have been at least 19 or 20 in 1969, so again its blatant case of the actor being too young to play the part of a Vietnam vet.  So, basically I think in relation to Mel's age, they should have just left the Vietnam vet thing for Riggs out of the equation but hey that's just my interpretation.

Last of all is an issue I have with the scene where the guy with the shotgun shoots one of the drug dealers during the drug deal with Riggs in the Christmas tree lot. Is this supposed to be one of the drug dealers and if so, why did he kill the other drug dealer??? Yeah, this made no sense to me who this guy was supposed to be but it seems strange he would have killed the drug dealer unless he was really aiming at Riggs and missed (by a long shot!). So, yeah that scene was always a bit of a curiosity in itself for me.

 

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, the original Lethal Weapon is still the best one in my opinion although the first two films could arguably be said to the best of the four (with three the 3rd best and 4th the worst!).  However where the original stands apart here is that it is grounded a bit more in reality and the darker tone of the Shane Black's script helps give it a more gritty and realistic feel than the other films had in comparison, which got more farcical as they went on. 

So, throw onto all this a witty, funny script, two excellent lead performances and some very solid direction and an excellent music score then you've still got one of the great modern action classics of its day and to this day, Lethal Weapon is still definitely worth a look after 38 years. 

So, I will rate Lethal Weapon

 

9.5 out of 10 

 

Right, that's it for this one and I will be back soon with another post.

 

Until then its bye for now! 

JFK Review Revisited (Part 5)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, since today is the 62nd anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, I thought I would revisit my previous post (or posts) once again on the Olvier Stone epic drama based on the trial of the assassination of JFK by district attorney of Louisana, Jim Garrison, starring Kevin Costner in the lead role. 

So, this post is already a very big one, so I will try and not add too much to expand it beyond necessary but as its an anniversary post, I figured why not take a look at it again. So, I might as well warn that this post is a BIG one. 

And the usual warning is coming up...

SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY

So the story starts with pre-credits explaining the events leading up to Kennedy's assassination (narrated by Martin Sheen) from the start of his time in office, to his murder.  On the day of the assassination, in New Orleans, District Attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) is informed by one of his staff Lou Barnes (Jay Sanders) of the crime.  After Kennedy's death is announced officially on television, the suspected assassin Lee Harvey Oswald (Gary Oldman) is arrested and taken to the Dallas police station for questioning.

Garrison then plans to investigate any suspects and associates of Lee Harvey Oswald's that might be under his jurisdiction in New Orleans, however before he can do that, Oswald is assassinated live on TV by Dallas mob man Jack Ruby (Brian Doyle Murray).  Regardless of Oswald's shock assassination, Garrison brings in one of Oswald's alleged known associates, David Ferrie (Joe Pesci) who naturally denies he ever knew Oswald.  However Ferrie gives a very shaky account of his activities on the day of the assassination which Garrison doesn't believe and has Ferrie detained for more questioning by the FBI, regardless of this though Ferrie is let go, after which Garrison decides not to continue investigating any further.

Three years later in 1966, after sharing a conversation with a senator, Russell Long (played by Walter Matthau) on an airplane, Garrison starts to have serious doubts and suspicions about the events of the assassination and that Oswald was the lone gunman.  So, Garrison starts to dig around and he reads the Warren Report which was published by Warren Commission and conducted by chief judge Earl Warren (played by Garrison himself).  However Garrison is far from impressed with the report as he feels it is riddled with inaccuracies and is sloppy and disorganised.  So it is not long before Garrison decides to re-open the investigation of the crime himself.

Garrison then with his small team, begin to question many different witnesses to the shooting, and potential suspects that may have been connected to the assassination.  As Garrison and his team investigate further, a name that keeps popping up is Clay Bertrand, who is later revealed to be Clay Shaw (played by Tommy Lee Jones) a well respected businessman and entrepeneur.

However on bringing Shaw in for questioning, Shaw categorically denies any knowledge of Oswald, Ferrie or any one else potentially involved in the conspiracy, as well as denying his Clay Bertrand alias, which annoys Garrison, who accuses him of being connected to the assassination.  But soon after their meeting, Garrison's investigation is made public and soon the press and media come down hard on him.  Now forced to operate out in the open, Garrison faces tough choices ahead of him in carrying out his investigation, after receiving various death threats, crank calls, and narrowly escaping frame ups to discredit him.

Eventually after rigorous investigations, including a discussion with an ex-military figure who simply calls himself "X" (Donald Sutherland) who provides him with important background knowledge to the events surrounding the assassination, Garrison decides to arrest Shaw and prosecute him for his possible involvement in the alleged conspiracy to assassinate Kennedy.

And what follows after this is a lengthy trial sequence where Garrison presents his case for the prosecution of Clay Shaw as well as his speculation on the events on the day of the assassination in Dallas. 

THOUGHTS ON THE FILM AND THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES

JFK is without a doubt a great achievement in its own, as Oliver Stone took a controversial subject and turned into a fascinating, gripping and intelligent film.  If you look at the events and evidence that are presented in the film, it certainly does a fine job at convincing you that there was a possible conspiracy involved.  Jim Garrison himself showed tremendous moral courage and character in bringing such a trial to the public eye, as he himself faced great danger in enraging the government and endangering his own life in the process.

However Garrison is never potrayed as anything else other than a very decent man who in reality at first was never really keen on Kennedy at the time but during his investigation came to admire him for what he stood for during his time as the president before his untimely tragic death.  Oliver Stone himself based the film on Jim Garrison's book, "On The Trail of the Assassins" (which details Garrison's trial to prosecute Clay Shaw) as well as "Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy" by Jim Marrs.

But whether or not a conspiracy took place in Dallas that day or not, no one really knows, but the film certainly does its best to convince the viewer that there was one.  One of key aspects of the assassination as highlighted in the film was that it seemed highly unlikely that Oswald could have fired 3 shots that from the book depository window, in such a short space of time (5-7 seconds), and do it with such precision from the distance he was at from the motorcade.  And that is where the other riflemen come into the equation and the scenario of a team that would be able to place themselves in fixed positions to ensure the assassination would be carried out precisely.

Another crucial crux of the film and the case was, there had to be more than just 3 shots, as if for no better reason, there were four known wounds, three to Kennedy (in the throat, back and head) and one to Governor Conally (one in the back).  This is where the Warren Commission presented the ridiculous "magic bullet" theory that one bullet accounted for the wounds between Connally and Kennedy, which was written by Arlen Specter, an assistant counsel for the commission. 

Also based from the facts given from the film, it seems unlikely that if after Oswald committed the crime, that he would be able race down the stairs in about 90 seconds, only to face a police officer who was checking out the building, to ask whom he was, and appear not to be out of breath, which the policeman testified later that Oswald was absolutely not out of breath. There is also the issue of car salesman, James Tague, who was struck by a fragment of one of the bullets on his cheek, who later testified that he believed it to have been the second shot that was fired, causing his wound.

Another theory however that has been stated over the years was the final headshot that killed Kennedy was in fact fired by one of the secret service agents, George Hickey in one of the car's behind Kennedy's parade car in which Hickey accidentally fired off a round from his M16 gun in the confusion which caused the fatal head shot that killed Kennedy.  Then there is the film footage, taken by an onlooker Abraham Zapruder, which shows the assassination itself, and gives possible clues of the direction of where the bullets came from.

Another key point was surely, if Oswald was even the lone gunman, he would not have acted alone, as he must been acting on behalf of powerful people behind the scenes, in this regard Oswald himself could well have been a sleeper cell, who was set in motion at the key moment, but again this is just a bit of speculation, but I personally have never bought into the possibility that Oswald was just as Garrison says in the film "an angry lone nut" who carried out the assassination purely by himself.  However in recent years the theory involving Hickey is considered to be more accurate given that the type of shot fired from his M16 machine gun was far more powerful and destructive than the first two shots fired at Kennedy. 

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section contains spoilers and strong language!)
 

So, moving onto the performances, well this is where JFK really excels as a film with a superb cast.

And starting with Kevin Costner who gives a fine performance as the DA Jim Garrison, who takes on the daunting task of bringing the JFK assassination to trial, he also shows Garrison as being a very moral man, as well as being very strong and stubborn in the face of adversity. And Costner delivers some pretty hefty monologues and delivers them very well throughout the film, particularly in his courtroom scenes.

Costner has many highlights in the film that include the scene where Garrison opens up the case off the assassination again as he takes two of his staff, Bill and Lou on a walkabout of New Orleans government locations.

So, Garrison in the scene says to them both "We are standing in the heart...of the US government's intelligence community in New Orleans.That's the FBl. That's the CIA. That's the Secret Service. That's the ONI. Isn't this a strange place for a Communist to spend his spare time?!".  And Lou asks Garrison "What ya drivin at boss?" and Garrison tells him "We're going back into the case, Lou.  The murder of the president".  And as they walk off, Bill sighs and says "Lord wake me up, I must be dreaming!" and Garrison says to him "No, you're awake and I'm deadly serious!".

Then there is the scene as Garrison finishes up his tense meeting with Shaw, Shaw says to him "Regardless of what you may think of me, I am a patriot first and foremost".  However, Garrison then furiously tells Shaw "I've spent half my life in the military...defending my country, Mr Shaw. You're the first person I've met who considered it an act of partriotism to murder his own President!".  Bill then steps and diffuses the tension and ends the meeting and after Shaw walks out, Garrison looks on and quotes from Shakespeare's Hamlet "One may smile and smile and be a villain".  Then he says to his team "Goddamnit, we've got one of them!  You see that?!".

Another highlight of Costner's is when Garrison and his wife argue and as she yells at him "I want my life back!" he shouts back "So do I, goddamnit!  I have a life too you know!  But you can't just bury your head in the sand like some ostrich, Liz!  Its not about our house, our two cars, and our kitchen!  Its about our kids growing up in a shithole of lies and I'm angry about it!  And my life is fucked because of it, and if you can see it that way then you're life is fucked too!".

Costner also has some other good moments such as the scene where he argues with one of his staff, Bill Broussard (Michael Rooker) who argues that the mob could have been behind the assassination and Garrison refutes the idea.  And Garrison says "Could the mob change the parade route, Bill?  Could the mob influence the national media to go to sleep?  I mean could the mob get Oswald into and Russia and get him back???  And when have the mob used anything but 38.s for hits up close???  The mob wouldn't have the guts or power for something of this magnetude!  Assassins need paryolls, schedules, times, orders!  This was a military style ambush!  This was a coupe de'tat with Lyndon Johnson waiting in the wings!".

And as Bill tries to refute what Garrison says, Garrison then asks Bill "You ever read your Shakespare, Bill?" and Bill says "Yeah, I do!".  Garrison then quotes from Julius Caesar "Julius Caesar? "Brutus and Cassius, they too are honorable men." Who killed Caesar? Ten or twelve Senators. All it takes is one Judas, Bill. A few people on the inside. Pentagon, CIA!".  And after Bill angrily storms out, Garrison then has it out with Lou, who gives Garrison his ultimatum that he can't work with Bill anymore as he doesn't trust him.  So, Garrison says to Lou "Well, I won't have any damn ultimatum put to me, Lou.  I'll accept your resignation".  Lou then leaves and we hear Suzie says to Garrison "Boss, aren't you bein a little hard?" and Garrison tells her "No, I don't think I am, Suzie.  Anyone else??". 

Then there is of course Costner's very lengthy court monologue, which features some great moments such as where Garrison discusses the ridiculous nature of the magic bullet theory which he describes as "One of the grossest lies ever forced on the American people!".  And after he explains the supposed wounds created by the bullet he says to the jury "That's some bullet!  But the government says they can prove it with some fancy physics in a nuclear laboratory.  Of course they can.  Pheoretical physics can prove an elephant can hang from a cliff with its tail tied to a daisy!  But use your eyes and your common sense!".

Then there is the scene where Garrison shows the footage of the murder and he says at the moment of the fatal head shot to Kennedy we see Kennedy fall violently back and to the left.  So, Garrison says to the court "This is the key shot. The President going back and to his left...shot from the front and right. Totally inconsistent with the shot from the Depository.  Again. Back, and to the left. Back, and to the left. Back, and to the left" as the footage is repeated just as Kennedy takes the fatal headshot.  And Garrison then says "So what happens then? Pandemonium!".

And last of all there is the part near the end of Costner's epic monologue to the jury and where Garrison becomes emotional and shows the court members a collection of money and cards from the public being sent to his office.  So, Garrison tearfully tells them "These are people who cannot afford to send money but do! People who drive cabs...who nurse in hospitals...who see their kids go to Vietnam!".  Garrison then becomes very emotional and tries to hold back the tears as his voice breaks  "Why?!  Because they care. Because they want to know the truth. Because they want their country back. Because it still belongs to us! As long as the people have the guts to fight for what they believe in!"

And Garrison finally finishes off his emotional speech to the court and says "Do not forget your dying king.  Show this world that this is still a government of the people, for the people and by the people.  Nothing as long as you live will ever be more important.  Its up to you" and he goes back to sit down to await the verdict of his case.    

Joe Pesci also gives a standout performance as Dave Ferrie, the crazed suspect (replete with a ridiculous wig and eyebrows and a rather exagerrated Southern accent!) who later admits to his involvement with Oswald, as he shows a mixture of malice and remorse.

Pesci also has some great moments as the paranoid Ferrie and his first scene is great when Ferrie is taken into Garrison's office for questioning over his whereabouts of the weekend of the assassination, but Ferrie's story is filled with holes, so Garrison detains him for further questioning.  And Ferrie asks why and Garrison replies "Dave I find your story simply not believable!" and Ferrie appears surprised and says "Really?!  What part?".

Another good scene from Pesci is in the flashback scene where Willie O'Keefe recalls a time where Ferrie had a party with Shaw, O'Keefe and some others as Ferrie discusses a potential assassination plot on JFK.  So, Ferrie in the scene angrily says to the others and he holds a knife "I will kill! In the White House! I'll stab him right in his fucking heart!" and throws the knife he was holding down and says "Somebody's gotta get rid of this fucker!".  Ferrie then pitches a potential plan to take out Kennedy and he says "If it's planned right, no problem. Look how close they got to De Gaulle. Eisenhower always rode in open top. We need three mechanics in three different locations. An office building, a high-powered rifle. Triangulation of crossfire, that's the key! That's the key! A diversionary shot gets the Secret Service looking one way. Boom! Get the kill shot! One man has to be sacrificed. In the commotion, the job gets done!". 

Then there is the scene where Ferrie calls Lou from a pay phone just after Garrison's investigation is leaked into the press, which affects him as he sees press hanging around his apartment nearby.  So, Ferrie angrily phones up and Lou and asks him "Did your office plant that garbage in the fuckin paper?!" and Lou asks "Who is this?" and Ferrie shouts "You know exactly who the FUCK this is!!". Lou then realises its Ferrie and Ferrie asks him angrily "Since you're the only straight shoot in that fucking office, I'd like a fucking answer! Did you plant it?!". Lou then explains that is the last thing they wanted and Ferrie continues to angrily rant at Lou "Somebody planted that fuckin story! Somebody tipped off the press! I'm one of fucking Garrison's suspects!". Ferrie then angrily hits the phone receiver against the phone box and shouts "I CAN'T GO HOME!! The fuckin maggots are everywhere! Did you know what they've done to me??!". Lou then tries to calm Ferrie down and tells him not to jump to conclusions but Ferrie insists "From hereon I'm a fucking dead man! A DEAD MAN!!".

And lastly there is Pesci's best scene in the film where Ferrie in a state of panic and paranoia nervously paces a hotel room where Garrison and his men keep him after a newspaper article is released implicating Ferrie.

And in the scene Ferrie babbles saying "But who the fuck pulls who's chain?!  Who the fuck knows?  "Oh what a deadly web we weave and we practice to decieve!".  And Garrison asks him who killed the president which sets off Ferrie into a demented rant "Oh why don't you fuckin stop it?!  This is too fuckin big for you, you know that?!  Who killed Kennedy... fuck man!  Its a mystery, its a riddle wrapped inside an enigma!  The fuckin shooters don't even know it, don't you get it?!  FUCK MAN!!  I can't go on talking like this!  THEY'LL FUCKIN KILL ME!  I'M GONNA FUCKING DIE!".  And Ferrie goes on to lament about how he wanted to become a catholic priest but was defrocked because of his homosexuality and he sits back saying "I'm so fucking exhausted I can't see straight!".   

Tommy Lee Jones gives an excellent performance also as Clay Shaw, and he depicts as a very sly businessman, who is clearly also very manipulative and Jones appears to revel in playing up the transparent villainous qualities of the character.

Jones has some great moment also such as the scene when Willy O'Keefe recalls to Garrison a meeting Willy had with Shaw, Oswald and Ferrie, where Ferrie conspires to kill Kennedy and suggests how they could do it and Shaw dismisses him and says "David!  David!  Always some harebrained scheme or other!".  And Shaw says to Ferrie after he lays down his plot to kill Kennedy "What don't we drop this subject.  Its one thing to engage in banter with these youngsters, but this sort of thing can get so easily misunderstood!" before crushing Ferrie's testicles to shut him up! 

And in his best and main scene Jones as Shaw refutes every accusation that Garrison makes at him as he keeps asking if he met with David Ferrie or Oswald and Shaw is aghast and says "You really have me assorting with a sordid cast of characters!".  Garrison then asks him "Have you ever met Lee Harvey-Oswald?" and Shaw says "Course not!  Such a pity that assassination.  In fact I admired Kennedy.  Man of true panache. Wife of impeccable taste!".

Then as they are about to finish up, Garrison finally asks Shaw "Have you ever been a contractor for the Central Intelligence Agency?".  And Shaw just stares at Garrison for a moment and says "If I were...do you really believe I would sitting here, talking to someone like you???".  Garrison then says "No.  People like you don't have to, I guess!" and Shaw asks "May I go?" and Garrison, riled continues "People like you just walk between the rain drops!" and Shaw again asks "May I go?" and Garrison says "Yes".  So, Shaw puts out his cigarette and stands up and says to Garrison "Regardless of what you may think of me, Mr Garrison, I am a patriot first and foremost...".  And as Garrison accuses Shaw of considering an act of patriotism to murder the president, Shaw angrily says "Now wait a minute, sir you are way out of line!".   

The other smaller character performances in the film are equally impressive, such as Michael Rooker as Bill Broussard, one of Garrison's staff, who appears to turn on Garrison near the end. The character of Bill was in fact fictional and based on real life ex-CIA agent, William C. Wood, who did work for Garrison for a time before he was fired. 
 
Rooker also has some good scenes, such as the one where Garrison takes Bill and Lou on a walking tour around the locations of the government intelligence community in New Orleans and setting them up for the news that he is taking on the case of the assassination.  So as Garrisons says to Lou "We're going back into the case, Lou.  The murder of the president" Bill says "Oh, Lord wake me up I must be dreaming!" and Garrison says "No, you're awake, Bill and I'm deadly serious! Let's track down your anonymous source from three years ago. How'd you find out David Ferrie drove to Texas that day?".  And Bill replies "Hell, I can't remember last night let alone three years ago, boss!". 

Let's track down your anonymous source
from three years ago.
How'd you find out David Ferrie drove
to Texas that day?

Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=jfk

Another good scene is when (SPOILER!!) Garrison turns up at the scene of Ferrie's apartment where they find him dead and two unsigned suicide notes, which Bill reads from one of them.  And Lou advises Garrison "The fact is, he's gone, chief and so is our case.  Unless we go for Shaw now".  However, Bill angrily says to Lou "With whose testimony?! O'Keefe, a male prostitute?! Jack Martin, a drunk?! Vernon Bundy, a dope fiend?! Shaw's got respect, Lou! Newspaper editors, American Bar Association...!".  However Lou angrily says to Bill if they keep on waiting then Shaw will also be killed and how many corpses will it take for him to figure it out, So, Bill shouts back "Watch your mouth!  Ferrie did this to himself!".  At this point, Garrison walks off and Bill asks him "Where are you going, boss?" and Garrison says "I don't know, Bill...I just don't know...!".  

Then there is the scene where Bill tries to persuade Garrison that he is taking the wrong route and he rants at Garrison and the team.  So, Bill shouts at them "How the hell can you keep a conspiracy going...between the mob, CIA, FBl, Army intelligence and who knows what else...when you can't keep a secret in this room between 12 people?!!  I mean, we got leaks everywhere. We are going to trial, y'all! What the hell do we really got?! Oswald, Ruby, Banister, and Ferrie are dead!  Maybe Shaw is an agent. I don't know. But as a covert operator, he is wide open for blackmail because of his homosexuality!".

Then as Bill lays down his theory about the mob being behind the assassination, Garrison acknowledges they may have been involved but at a much lower level and he goes on to even implicate the then current president, Lyndon Johnson.  And Bill, who is outraged yells at Garrison "BOSS!! BOSS!! Are you callin the president a murderer!".  Garrison then asks Bill if they aren't so close to the truth why are their offices being bugged and their witnesses being bought off or murdered.  And Bill says "I don't know!  Maybe there is some rogue element in the government or something!" but Garrison then asks if Bill reads his Shakespeare and quotes "Julius Caesar" and how it takes just "One Judas, Bill". 

So, Bill get's fed up and says before storming out of the office "This is Louisiana, chief!  I mean how the hell do you know who your daddy is??!  Because your momma told you so!  You are way out there taking a crap in the wind, boss!  And I am for one not goin along on this one!".

Jay Sanders is also excellent as Lou Ivon, who was in reality one of Garrison's key members of staff although the film depicts Lou as quitting the investigation, according to Stone in his DVD commentary in reality he didn't. I mistakenly called Lou by an incorrect surname in previous posts, as I said it was Barnes but it is in fact Ivon, so apologies for that! 

Sanders also has some good moments such as the scene where Lou and Garrison are at the book despository building with the rifle that Oswald used and he does a demo of firing and reload the empty rifle and he goes over the specifics of the improbabilities of Oswald being able to pull off three precise shots.  And Lou says "Take this Carcano, world's worst shoulder weapon...and try to hit a moving target at 88 yards through heavy foliage. No way!  FBI tried two sets of tests. Not one sharpshooter could match Oswald's performance. Not one! Oswald was at best a medium shot. The scope was defective on it too. This is the whole essence of the case to me. The guy couldn't do the shooting! Nobody could. And they sold this lemon to the American public". 

And when Garrison asks Lou why didn't they just shoot Kennedy as his parade car drove on Houston, which was a more direct line of fire for a single shooter, Lou tells him his theory regarding why they chose the route they did for the kill.  So, Lou says "The only reason to get him on Elm...is you got him in a triangulated crossfire. You put a team there down at the fence. Frontal shot. Flat, low trajectory. Put a third team down in this building on a low floor. When Kennedy gets in the kill zone, it's a turkey shoot!".

And lastly there is the scene where Lou demands to Garrison that he can no longer work with Bill because he doesn't trust he says "I cannot work with Bill Broussard anymore" and when Garrison asks if he is giving him an ultimatum, Lou says "Well if that's what you wanna call it?!  Hell I never thought it would come to this.  I guess I am".  And Garrison says "Well, I won't have any damn ultimatum put to me, Lou.  I'll accept your resignation".  Lou then looks stunned and says "Well you sure got it!" and before he walks out he says to Garrison "You are one stubborn son of a bitch!  And you are making one hell of a mistake". 

Laurie Metcalf as Susie, another staff member, is also very good and she has some good moments in the film, the main one being where Garrison's team meet for lunch and she goes over the file history of Oswald's character and background.

Laurie has some good moments as well such as the scene where Susie meets with Garrison and the other team members for lunch and she reads out all the info she has on Oswald.  And she says to the others "I've got his grammar school records.  Its a study of his pubic hairs!" as well as revealing her anxiety over how a spy aircraft was shot down and maybe someone didn't want the peace conference between the Russians and the Americans.  And Susie says to the others "I can't help but think that someone in our military didn't want the conference to happen.  Maybe Oswald was a part of that!".

And later on Metcalf has another good moment where she says to Bill, who has been gotten to by the Government at this point (unawares to Garrison and the others) "Or a cover up???  Jesus Bill, don't you have enough proof of the FBI's complicity yet?!!".  And after Bill storms out and Lou resigns from the case, Susie asks Garrison "Boss, aren't you being a little hard?" and Garrison replies "No, I don't think I am, Susie.  Anyone else?".   

Also Kevin Bacon, is excellent as Willie O'Keefe (who in reality was based on one of Garrison's key witnesses, Perry Russo) the gay prostitute who claimed to have known and had sexual relations with Shaw.

And Bacon's main scene is quite impressive where Willie recalls meeting Oswald and his involvement with Shaw and Ferrie.  And as Garrison asks Willie if he will testify and if he does what he says will be attacked by different people and Willie dismisses it and says "Oh bring all those motherfuckers on in here with their college degrees!  I've got nothing to hide!  You know this about the truth coming out!  You goddamn liberal, Mr Garrison, you don't know shit because you never been fucked in the ass!  This is about order!  Who rules!".

Garrison then asks Willie why he is telling them this and Willie says "Cause that motherfucker Kennedy...stole that motherfucking election, that's why. Nixon was going to be a great President until Kennedy wrecked this country. N******wanting rights! Why do you think we have all this crime. He promised those motherfuckers too much! Revolution's coming, bullshit! Fascism's coming back! The day that Communist son of a bitch died was a great day!  A GREAT day for this country! I hate to think they blame it on silly, fucking Oswald!  Didn't know shit, anyway, man! People got to know. People got to know why he was killed.  Because he was a Communist".  Willie then finishes by saying "Go ahead, man.  Put me on the stand, man.  I'll tell the same goddamn story!  Don't matter fuck all to me!". 

And Bacon finishes the scene with Garrison saying "Thank you, Willie.  We'll be in touch".  And as Garrison walks off with Bill, Willie shouts out "You know you ain't a bad looking man, Mr Garrison.  Not bad lookin at all!  When I get out, I'll come see you, we can have some fun!".     

Sissy Spacek is also very good in her role as Garrison's with Liz, who has to suffer her husband's obssessions with the JFK case throughout the film.  And Sissy's best scene comes when Liz argues with Garrison after their daughter recieves a crank call from someone saying she has been entered into a beauty contest.  However, Garrison is less interested as he watches the breaking news that Martin Luther King was assassinated on TV.

However, Liz anxiously asks Garrison "Did you enter Virginia in a beauty contest? A man called and asked her height, her weight..." and Garrison simply answers "Its just some crackpot...".  Liz then angrily says "Jim, you're own daughter's life has just been threatened!" but Garrison insists "Its just a crank call.  It happens a dozen times a day at the office!". Liz, however continues "Before this Kennedy thing, your children mattered most. The other night you didn't even notice Jasper. He came to me bawling his eyes out. Is it such a chore?!".  Garrison then angrily responds "GODDAMNIT!  If I said I will spend more time with him I will!  Now, I can't fight you and the whole world too, Liz!" and Liz says "I'm not fighting you, I'm trying to reach you!  You've changed!".

And Garrison says of course he has changed and that what he sees around him is insane and asks her doesn't Martin Luther King's murder have a connection with JFK and he picks up a book at points at the TV and shouts "Can't you see???!!!".  Liz however is exasperated with Garrison and says "I don't wanna see, goddamnit!  I'm tired!  I've had enough!" and then she speaks of Shaw "You're runing this man Shaw's life.  You're attacking him because he's a homosexual!" but Garrison insists "That's not why I'm attacking him!".  Liz then asks Garrison "Did you ever stop to consider his feelings?!" and Garrison looks at her in disbelief and says "You don't believe me?!  All this time and you never believed me!".  And Liz emotionally says "I just want to raise our children and live a normal life. I WANT MY LIFE BACK!".  

Last of all is the scene where just after the news of RFK being assassinated is revealed on TV, a shaken Garrison goes upstairs to Liz, who is in bed and he tells her the news. So, in the scene, Garrison tells Liz "Its over honey, Bobby Kennedy, they killed him" and Liz shocked says "Oh my God! Both brothers??? You were right. It hadn't ended". 

Donald Sutherland is similarly great as the mysterious "X" who delivers a very lengthy 17 minute dialogue giving Garrison the background info surrounding the events leading up to the assassination. The character of X was in fact based on a former US army Colonel, L. Fletcher Prouty, who was also an adviser for the film. 

And Sutherland's monologue is so lengthy that is hard to pick some examples, but I will mention just a few.

For starters there is the moment where X first introduces himself to Garrison and when Garrison asks his name, X says "I could give you a false name but I won't. Just call me "X".  Garrison then says to X that he has already been warned by the agency and if this is another threat but then X interrupts him and says "I'm not with the agency, Mr Garrison. But I'm not going to give you names of who or what I represent, just to say that you're close. You're closer than you think".  

So in the scene, Garrison is stunned by all the info that X has bombarded him with and Garrison says to X "I can't believe it, they killed him cos they wanted to change things...in our time....in our country?".  And X smiles and says "They've done it throughout history!  Kings are killed, Mr Garrison!  Politics is power, nothing more! Don't take my word for it. Do your own thinking".  Garrison then asks X if he will testify and X smiles and says "No chance in hell! No, I'd be arrested and gagged. Maybe sent to an institution.Maybe worse. You too. I can give you the background. You find the foreground, the little things. Dig, you're the only one to bring a trial in Kennedy's murder. That's important. It's historic!".

And as Garrison says he hasn't much of a case, X says "You don't have a choice anymore.  You've become a significant threat to the national security structure!  They would have killed you already but you've got alot of light on you.  Instead they are trying to destroy your credibility.  Be honest, your only chance is to come up with a case.  Something, anything!  Make arrests, stir the shit storm, hope to reach a point of critical mass that will start a chain reaction of people coming forward then the government will crack.  Remember, fundamentall people are suckers for the truth, and the truth is on your side, Bubba.  I just hope you get a break" and he walks off leaving Garrison to contemplate the overwhelming information he has just learned.

Also there is the superb Jack Lemmon as Jack Martin, an assistant to a private eye detective, Guy Banister, who is great in his role as the down and out drunk, who Garrison approaches earlier on in the film.  And Jack tells Garrison what happened in Guy's office during the summer of 63 and Jack recalls "Hell, Guy's dead, so it don't matter no more. It was all about those...people that was hanging around the office that summer. I was never part of the operation. I just handled their private-eye work as it came in for Guy. Not much did, but that's why I was there. It was a nuthouse. Cubans coming, going. And Christ, they all looked the same to me".  And we cut to seeing Guy's office, which is filled with Cubans as well as David Ferrie being there dressed in commando gear.  Guy then says "David Ferrie...you know him?" and Garrison says "Yeah, we know Dave.  Was he there?" and Jack exclaims "Christ!  He practically lived there!".

Then toward the end of the scene when Garrison asks Jack if there was anyone else at Guy's level that Guy dealt with, so Jack tries to recall Clay Shaw's name as we see a flashback of Shaw being warmly greeted by Guy, who invites him into his office.  So, Jack tries to remember "One guy. I don't know who. Big. White hair. I saw him in the office once. He looked out of place. You know, a society guy. Can't remember his name, but Oswald was with him. He had something to do with money, because Banister never kissed ass but he kissed his!" and he chuckles.  Then as Jack says "Clay...something..." and Garrison offers "Clay Bertrand?" Jack suddenly says "Yeah!" but then suddenly panics as he feels he has said too much and he backtracks and says "Yeah, well I don't know...". 

So, as Jack tries to leave, Garrison asks "Was Kennedy ever discussed, Jack? The assassination?" and Jack anxiously says "No, never! Not with me!". And Garrison stops Jack and asks "What is the problem?" and Jack says "What's the problem?!  Do I have to spell it out for you, Mr Garrison?!".  And as Garrison says "No one knows we're talking about here, Jack" Jack just stares at Garrison in disbelief and says "You are so niave!" and he walks off.

Ed Asner is also good in his brief role as Guy Banister the private eye, who was a former FBI man and was said to be closely linked to behind the scenes of the assassination, but Banister died shortly after in 1964.

Asner has a couple of good scenes, particularly his first scene where he cheers Kennedy's death in a bar and he says "All this blubbing over that no count son of a bitch!  They're balling like they knew the man!".  Guy then cynically says "That's what happens when you let the n****** vote. They get together with the Jews and the Catholics...and elect an Irish bleeding heart!".  Jack then says "Chief, maybe you had too much to drink" and Guy says "Bullshit!" and he raises his glass and says "Here's to the New Frontier. Camelot in smithereens. I'll drink to that!" and he empty his drink on the floor.

And as Guy and Jack walk drunkenly back to Guy's office, Guy accuses Jack of going through his files when he isn't there.  So, Guy says "Who's been going through my files? You've been looking through my files, you little weasel!". Jack then tries to laugh it off and says "You're becoming paranoid, you really are!" but Guy continues "You went through all my files! You're a goddamn spy!".  Jack denies it and says he's already seen enough during the summer to write a book, which really makes Guy paranoid.  So, Guy angrily accuses him "What do you mean, you bastard? You're going to write a book?!".  And as Jack says he's seen alot of strange things and people there, Guy suddenly takes out a pistol and hits Jack with it and yells at him "You didn't see a goddamn thing, you little weasel!  YOU DIDN'T SEE A GODDAMN THING!!!".

John Candy is also great in his role as the sleazy lawyer, Dean Andrews who apparently met with Oswald and spoke with Shaw but he refutes any claims that he knows the identity of Shaw who used the alias of Clay Bertrand.

So, as Garrison pressures Dean to answer his question as to who Clay Bertrand really is, Dean asks Garrison "Are we off the record, Daddio?" and Garrison shrugs to say "yes", so Dean says "Well, let me sum it up for you real quick!".  So, Dean lights a cigarette and anxiously says "If I answer that question you keep asking...if I give you the name of the big enchilada...then it's bon voyage, Deano. Like a bullet in my head, you dig? You're a mouse fighting a gorilla. JFK's dead as that crabmeat. The government's still breathing!  Do you want to line up with a dead man?!". 

And at the end of the scene as Garrison threatens Dean by saying "You're either gonna reveal the true identity of the real Clay Bertrand, or you fat behind is going to the slammer.  Now, you dig me?!".  And Dean suddenly stands up and shouts "You're crazy as your mama!!! Goes to show its in the genes!  You any idea what you're getting yourself into, Daddio?!".  Dean then stands up and puts his hat on as he prepares to leave and he tells Garrison "The government is gonna jump all over your head, Jimbo, and go cocka-doodle-doo!  Good day to your, sir!" and he walks out.     

Brian Doyle Murray is excellent in his role as Jack Ruby, the mobster, who killed Oswald live on television, the following day after the assassination.

And Murray's main scene is when Ruby meets with Chief Judge, Earl Warren (played by Garrison himself) in prison and Ruby tells Warren "Mr. Chief Justice, do you understand that I can't tell the truth in Dallas? There are people here who do not want me to tell the truth".  Warren then asks to Ruby "Why don't you tell us now?" and Ruby angrily responds "My life is in danger!  If you request that I go to Washington... That is, if you want to hear further testimony from me. Can you take me with you?!".  Warren responds by saying "No. It can't be done.  There would be no safe place for you".

Ruby then says "If I'm eliminated...there won't be any way of knowing any bit of truth pertaining to my situation. Consequently, a whole new form of government will take over. Yeah!  And I won't live to see you some other time!".  And then we cut to a scene of a covered up body being wheeled out, suggesting that this is Ruby and Ruby's last words are "You see I want to tell the truth. And then...I wanna leave this world....".

And last but by no means least, there is Gary Oldman as Lee Harvey Oswald.  Oldman is great as Oswald, and potrays him as a complex and private man, who remained a mystery even after his death.  Gary Oldman also facially resembles Oswald a fair bit, and does an excellent job at reproducing his unusual American accent, which had a tinge of Russian to it.

And Oldman has his own share of good scenes although alot of them are flashbacks and they do feature quotes of dialogue taken from Oswald's public arrest on TV as he says to the press that "I didn't shoot anyone, no sir.  They have taken me in just because I defected to the Soviet union.  I am just a patsy!".  And later in Oswald's televised press conference at the police station he tells them "I really don't know...what this situation is about. Nobody has told me anything except that I am accused...of murdering a policeman. I know nothing more than that. I do request someone to come forward...to give me legal assistance".

Another good scene is in the flashback where Oswald is shown the cover of the "Life" magazine with Oswald holding the rifle, which is clearly a fake composite image as his head looks superimposed onto the body.  So, Oswald looks angrily at the magazine cover and says "This is not me! I never saw this picture. It's my face but it's superimposed. The rest is not me. I have done alot of photographic work. That picture was made by someone else!".  And one of the police asks Oswald of his alias, Alex Hydell "So, who the hell are you? Alex Hydell or Lee Harvey-Oswald?" and Oswald says "Well, you're the policeman you figure it out!".

And lastly there is the flashback scene where after Oswald supposedly murdered a policeman not long after the assassination, he makes his way into a cinema to evade the police.  However soon after, the police arrive to arrest Oswald and they are lead into the cinema by a shoe store owner, who spotted Oswald.  So, as the police approach Oswald, he says to himself "This is it!" and he suddenly leaps up and punches one of the officers and they pounce on him and cuff him and Oswald shouts "I'm not resisting arrest!  I'm not resisting arrest!".  

I never saw this picture.
It's my face but it's superimposed.
The rest is not me.
I know photographic work.
That picture was made by someone else!

Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=jDIRECTOR AND MUSIC  

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 

So finally moving onto the direction, Oliver Stone does a terrific job here and he keeps the viewer engrossed throughout as he presents the film's arguments in a very convincing fashion and he also makes great use of some frantic camera work as he combines a mixture of black and white footage and colour mixed in with the film itself. He also makes good use of high and low quality 8mm and 35mm film (also presumably 16mm film thrown in there too!) as well as real life footage of the assassination and other historical footage.

Stone's screenplay is also a great achievement in itself as it is very intelligent and well researched for the most part although it does create some composite characters based on real life witnesses so there might be the odd bit of licence taken here and there.  Despite all this though it doesn't detract from JFK being one of Stone's highlights from his acclaimed career. 

As for the music, there is a terrific film score by John Williams (who also previously worked with Stone on his Vietnam drama, Born on the 4th of July) and the score is both suspenseful and atmopsheric throughout and features many excellent tracks, particularly the main theme.  Williams himself then struggled to write a full score for the film as he initially composed six tracks and later added further musical cues.  This was due to the fact that he was working on Steven Spielberg's film Hook (starring Robin Williams) at this time. 

UPDATE: Its also worth giving a shout out to the military drumming track that appears during the titles, which was performed by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, which is also great. The track itself is named on the soundtrack as the "Drummer's Salute" and is a traditional military piece that would arranged by British composer, D.G. McCroskie.  

It also has to be said that Williams score has been mimicked in other film scores as well (such as in Tom Cruise's thriller, The Firm) and it remains as one of his more unique scores, which is well worth a listen even on its own. 

FLAWS (Warning: this section may also contain spoilers!)

So does JFK have any flaws?????  Well JFK does have a few here and there.

And for starters I feel the film bombards you with too much information at times, so it definitely takes a few viewings to get the gist of all the details.  This is especially the case as Stone tries to condense down the details of the trial and Garrison's investigations into three hours which makes taking it all in within that space of time even more difficult in one viewing.   

And another thing I would say about the film that probably lets it down slightly is the melodrama of Garrison's home life, as he argues with his wife Elizabeth (Sissy Spacek) who is frustrated by the amount of time he devotes to the case.  And in the film Spacek pretty much delivers samey lines such as "Before Kennedy nothing mattered more in this world to you than your children!" and "What about your kids, Jim?!!!" and "Jasper was looking for you, bawling his little eyes out!" etc.  It is however key to the film as well I guess, as it is important to show how the events of the investigation impacted on Garrison's personal life, and later in reality, his first wife Elizabeth did divorce him.  Stone later said that the fights between Garrison and his wife were based on rows that he had with his own wife (also named Elizabeth) at the time in their strained marriage (not sure if that was to do with his own obssession with this project!) as they later divorced in 1993.

Another slight problem with the film, and probably the case in general is there is not much evidence that cold links Shaw to knowing Oswald, as it ultimately is just the word of people who have witnessed seeing Shaw and Oswald together in the past with not much if any in the way of photographic evidence or otherwise.  And this seems to largely boil down to the fact the witnesses involved were either murdered or simply discredited or bribed.   

However it was later revealed in 1978, four years after Shaw's death, by the CIA director of the time, Richard Helms, that Shaw did actually work for the CIA as a contractor (this was added in as an insert at the end of the film) which Helms testified to under oath.  And based on the Richard Helms testimony, it proved that Shaw was guilty of perjury. Either way, in reality and in the film, Shaw ultimately evaded prosecution for his possible involvement in the assassination. 

The film also seems to do its damndest to imply the current government's complicity at the time of the trial as well by showing an irate judge who keeps overruling and telling off Garrison at every turn.  It pretty much stops short of saying to the audience "Yeah the government is in on it!" as to back up how Garrison (SPOILER SORRY!!!!) went on to lose the trial in the film (and also in reality) in the face of a seemingly corrupt government hellbent on covering its tracks.

Perhaps also at times due to the film's long running time certain scenes can slow the pace down a bit as there is so much information to sift through.  Also given the amount of leads Garrison had to follow up, the film also throws up a number of leads that really lead to nowhere (especially the showgirl one whom Garrison and Lou meet with) until of course Garrison meets up with the mysterious "X" who tells him key information regarding the background of the events that lay behind the assassination.

I also felt that Oliver Stone's script while largely excellent and well written, still does have some cheesy bits of dialogue. As an example there is of course the line where the news reporter, Walter Kronkite, officially annoucnes that President Kennedy has died and at this point, Garrison is in a bar watching it on the TV. So, after the announcement, Garrison is astonished and he says to himself "God, I'm ashamed to be an American today!". Stone also gives Garrison some fondness for quoting lines from Shakespeare and other literary figures thoughout, which can be a little grating as it goes on, although to be fair Costner's delivery of "One may smile and smile and be a villain" is a great moment in his performance when Garrison refers to Shaw.

And last of all another problem with the film comes in the scene when Garrison and Lou go to the book depository where Oswald allegedly shot from.  And in the scene (which features in the director's cut) Garrison refers to Clay Shaw in an incriminatory way but in the next scene one of Garrison's team, Bill, reveals that Clay Shaw's alias is Clay Bertrand and in that scene Garrison reacts with surprise as if he didn't know that Clay Shaw had any alleged involvement in the conspiracy but in the depository scene he does!  So this remains one of the film's rare pieces of poor continuity but when you watch those two scenes it really does stick out.    

Also further to this scene, Lou makes reference to Oswald's rifle, which was a Mannlicher Carcano, to be the world's worst shoulder weapon, which had a defective scope on it. However, in reality these rifles are actually considered to be of good quality and that the stigma surrounding them was actually a myth. Further to this, in reality the FBI did tests with shooters that confirmed it was possible that Oswald's rifle could have fired three shots in succession regardless with this type of rifle. The only real dobut here to Oswald's possible firing of the weapon accurately stems from the defective scope. Regardless the bad impression of the Carcano rifle itself still remains one of the more misleading quotes from the film. 

Anyway that's it for the flaws.  

SUM UP 

So that is it for my fifth revisitation of JFK, which remains personally one of my favourite films and one of the best films of the 1990s.  The film is lengthy of course, espcially the director's cut which clocks in at 3 hours and 25 minutes and it would be impossible to take in all the info it throws at you in one go but its a film that warrants repeated viewing.  It also has an excellent central performance from Kevin Costner, and a top cast backing him up as well as a great screenplay and music score by John Williams.  And it remains one of the most compelling and engrossing dramas in modern cinema, which is a must see for any film fan or anyone interested in the whole JFK conspiracy. 

So, with that said, I will rate JFK.

10 out of 10

So, that's it for this one guys and I will be back soon with another post.

Until then keep going back and to the left!  

 

The Witcher Season 4 Review - Is it really THAT BAD???

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well guys, this might be a slightly contentious post regarding the subject, which is of much outrage online right now as the Netflix series, The Witcher has just aired its 4th season, which has seen the change of its lead actor from Henry Cavill to Liam Hemsworth. 

So, as a result of this change, there has been a huge backlash from fans online but there were already plenty of fans that disliked the show's direction and storylines even when Cavill was still in the series and Cavill himself was believed to have left due to creative differences with the producers. However, despite that, the series has gone on into its fourth season and the change of lead actor has indeed been the subject of much outrage as well as the increasing lack of faithfulness to the original material. 

But having watched the whole 4th season, is it really as bad as they say it is??? Well, let's take a look.

Oh and I will give the warning below...

PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

STORY

So, the fourth season begins with Witcher, Geralt of Rivia (now Liam Hemsworth) along with the travelling bard, Jaskier (Joey Batey) and skilled archer, Milva (Meng'er Zhang) making their way toward Nilfgaard with the intention of rescuing Ciri (Freya Allan). On their way, they discover that former Nilfgaardian officer, Cahir is being held captive by a band of Nilfgaadrian soldiers, Geralt threatens to kill him but then leaves a knife for Cahir to cut himself free with. Geralt on his travels soon also meets Regis (Laurence Fishburne) a barber surgeon, who helps on their travels as well but its also apparent, Geralt is still hurting from his wounds at the hand of the powerful and evil mage, Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu). So, throughout the season, Geralt deals with his own doubts and fears in trying to protect Ciri. 

Meanwhile, Yennefer (Anya Charlota) the powerful mage (and lover of Geralt) and part of a former coven of witches at Aretuza, gathers together the remaining members of her coven, which was decimated by the villainous Vilgefortz. So, Yennefer intends to destroy Vilgefortz and his army of corrupted witches in order to eventually rebuild Aretuza. 

And lasty, we have Ciri, who in this season has joined up with a criminal gang known as the Rats, who is lead by Mistle (Juliette Alexandra) and Ciri goes on to have a romantic relationship with. However, Ciri has her struggles within the group and later on we discover that her father, King Emhyr (Bart Edwards) has one of his close confidants, Skellen (James Purefoy) try and track her down for his own ends. However, Skellen himself has his own agenda and uses Leo Bonhart (Sharlto Copley) a brutal and ruthless bounty hunter to hunt her down.

THOUGHTS

So, this series really did get a real grilling from the fans on its release last week as it was crucified for what is percieved as rushed storylines, poor storytelling, deviating majorly from the source material and the absence of Henry Cavill greatly impacted the show itself. So, no matter what the show creators could have done here with the absence of their original leading man, nothing could have satisifed the fans and no replacement for Cavill would have been good enough for them. As for Liam Hemsworth's performance, it has already been heavily criticised for a lack of charisma and humour as Hemworth by far and large plays it very straight, which to an extent I can't disagree with but I have to also admit, I didn't think he was that bad either. 

So, for me personally, I think the Witcher Season 4 is actually not a bad season at all and is even a pretty decent one overall, despite some issues and misgivings with the show, I really don't think it is that bad and it doesn't deserve all the hate that it gets. 

PERFORMANCES (Warning: this section might contain the odd spoiler!) 

As for the performances in season 4, I will say a bit about the cast here but won't really quote any scenes of dialogue as such as I usually do since there is more to cover in a series. 

So, for starters, let's begin with Liam Hemsworth himself as Geralt and I have to say, I think he does a fairly good job here and even succeeds in showing a more serious side to Geralt given his grave injuries at the hands of Vilgefortz at the end of Season 3 have left him more vulnerable than before. It is undeniable however that Hemsworth had a tough job in following Cavill in the role, given that Cavill was so good as Geralt and was bsaically tailored made for the role and here he doesn't quite reach the level in the role that Cavill did. 

However, despite that, Hemsworth still does the best with the material he is given here, even if he plays the role way more seriously with the very little in the way of any lines of humour (well for the most part anyway despite the odd line here or there). In fact you could say that is the worst thing about the series, is how they really deviated away from Geralt's character as we saw it in the video games and in the books and they've taken even further here in this season. Regardless, I still think Hemsworth's take on Geralt, did kind of grow on me a bit more as the season progressed.

Next Anya Charlota is excellent once again in here role as Yennefer, the powerful mage, who is Geralt's romantic interest and also step mother to Ciri and here tries to reform the witches coven to destroy the villainous mage, Vilgefortz. Anya's performance is pretty consistent with how it was in the previous series, mostly serious but with a few flashes of humour here and there. Yennefer's storyline for the most part is also pretty compelling and her battle against Vilgefortz for the most part is pretty good and well staged. 

Freya Allan is also excellent once again in her role as Ciri, who in this season joins a criminal gang, the Rats and becomes romantically invovled with one of their group as well but the gang themselves soon or later are the subject of a ruthless bounty hunter. In fact for me, Ciri's storyline was probably the strongest of the three and Ciri's character starts to shine more as we see more of her feistiness and her sense or humour emerge here. There are also even moments in the season where Freya even resembles how Ciri looked in the Witcher 3 video game, which is cool in itself. So, for me, this was easily one of the best aspects of the season and Freya's best performance in the show so far. 

Joey Batey also makes his return as Jaskier, the travelling bard, who sticks with Geralt although his character is somewhat less humorous this time around and is sidelined quite a bit more. However, to be fair, Joey does get his amusing albeit cringing musical sequence, which in a way is fun and does help break up the more serious moments of the season themselves. Although, his longer hairdo in this season, has also been the subject of some criticism but for me I didn't mind it too much. 

As for new cast members, Laurence Fishburne is excellent in his role as Regis, a surgeon of sorts, who has a rather dark past but ends up helping Geralt on his travels. Fishburne also provides a colourful performance here and is one of the stronger things about this season overall. He also provides some moments of humour during the show, which work well.

Sharlto Copley is also excellent as a new character, Leo Benhart, a brutal bounty hunter, who is ruthless in his methods of hunting down his targets. Copley plays the role with a humorous side but he is also quite chilling given Benhart's brutal nature in how he takes down his targets, which culminates in a bloody showdown near the end of the season. 

Juliette Alexandra is very good in her role as Mistle, one of the rats gang, who Ciri joins and she becomes romantically involved with. Alexandra does a good job at showing Mistle's playful and dangerous nature but also balancing all that with her relationship with Ciri, as she also sees how Ciri changes as the season progresses.   

Next is Meng'er Zhang, who does a fine job as Milva, the archer, who helps Geralt and Jaskier on their travels, who they befriended at the end of Season 3. Zhang also does a good job at showing Milva's feisty character, who can often insult those around her but she also shows she is willing to fight for them and we find out as the show goes on she has a secret of her own. 

Bart Edwards also makes his return as Emperor Emhyr, the ruthless leader of the Nilfgaardian empire and in this season searches for his daughter, Ciri, who he wants for his own ends (won't say why!). Edwards is pretty good once again in his role as well as the creepy and slimy emperor, who really ramps up his creepiness in this season for sure.

Mahesh Jadu again returns as the villainous mage, Vilgefortz, who is intent on wiping out the remaining witch coven members and he does a pretty good job once at showing how twisted Vilgefortz can be. In fact there is a scene later on where (SPOILER!) Vilgefortz kills three of his remaining coven and takes a part of their bodies for himself as a memento (yep pretty f'd up!!).   

Anna Shaffer is also pretty good in her role as Triss Merigold, who is one of the witches, who helps out Yennefer in her quest to take down Vilgefortz. However, Shaffer's character is somewhat sidelined here in this season but she does when she can also with the limited material she has. 

WARNING: SPOILER IN THE NEXT TWO PARAGRAPHS 

Mimi M Kayisha is also very good in her returning role as Frangilla, a witch who was once in the service of the Nilfgaadrian empire but now switches her allegiance to help Yennefer fight against Vilgefortz. Mimi also does a good job at showing the possibility that Frangilla could still flip sides as she has a rather morally ambivalent past.   

And last of all, Eamon Farren does well in his role as Cahir, the now former Nilfgaardian commander, who in this season switches his allegiance and helps out Geralt and the others in their quest to find Ciri. The only real problem I have with Farren however is his character of Cahir is pretty one dimensional and not very interestintg but Farren does what he can with the limited development of his role and it is good to see him join the good side.

MUSIC AND SPECIAL EFFECTS

As for the music, the show's composers once again do a pretty good job with here and keep the theme of the show's Polish roots in check. The score doesn't really hit the heights of the music you find in the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt video game, which is pretty phenomenal but overall its still a good solid score and fits the tone of the show well. 

Special effects wise, the show makes fairly good use of its CGI although some monsters fair better than others during the season as the CGI for some of them looks pretty obviously fake. In fact you could argue in general, CGI has gotten worse in recent years rather than better! Regardless the effects are not too bad and serve the show well enough.

FLAWS

As for flaws...is Season 4 perfect? Hell no! ;-) Yes there are some issues with the season itself.

For starters, I think to start with the elephant in the room and that is Liam Hemsworth himself, who had a mighty tough task in replacing Henry Cavill in the show and to be fair he does a fairly good job at it for the most part. However, it has to be said there are times where his performance really does feel lacklustre and his hushed and serious delivery of Geralt's lines at nearly all times does kind of make the character's depiction feel now all the more drab and uninteresting, which Geralt never should be. I also feel like this is also to do with of course the writers and the path they chose to taken with Geralt to make him more sullen and serious here as he faces questions about his own mortality and his own ability after being gravely injured at the end of Season 3. So, for the most part, Hemsworth's Geralt feels like a stripped down version of the character almost to the point, it feels like he's not EVEN there and the show just happens around him! 

However, despite this there are still some nice moments from Hemsworth himself throughout the series, particularly the scene where we have a flashback to where Geralt fixes Ciri's hair for her and she makes a joke and he says "Ah, humour! I remember that!". Then of course there is that moment, which everyone hated in the trailer where he shouts "Let's fu***** MOVE!!!" but when you take in the context of the actual scene, its actually a pretty funny line. The context of the scene is in fact where Geralt helps out Queen Meve's soldiers and Jaskier gives a pep talk to the soldiers and he asks "Do you have anything to add to that, Geralt?" and Geralt takes out his sword and delivers the infamous line. Despite these though, there are however still times where you feel the show is definitely that bit hollower without Cavill but to be fair, Hemsworth's Geralt did grow on me a bit more as he went on and hopefully he will finish stronger in Season 5. 

Another issue I had was to do with some choices of how characters were suddenly written out such as Djikstra, the ruthless advisor to the fomer King, who now advises the weak King Radvoid, as he appears for a couple of episodes and he is quickly taken out of things. The same even also goes for Radovid himself, who makes a rather bizarre transition from a weasily King to a more decisive one after meeting with Jaskier briefly in one scene (after their romantic tryst in season 3). However, in the next episode, Radovid again vanishes! So, yeah, I feel like they rushed the storylines here quite a bit here myself and the disappearance of certain characters feel a bit jarring. 

WARNING: TWO BIG SPOILERS AHEAD!!! 

I also felt that the season's conclusion was also a bit unsatisfactory and left things hanging the final season but it would have been good if we had some closure on certain things. For example, Ciri's fight with Leo Benhart is cut short and at the end she is captured by him whilst she witnesses her former rat members being gruesomely beheaded by Benhart himself. I was just hoping that Ciri would have brutally finished this guy off instead but sadly they decided not to go with that and save it for the final season. I guess I just hated this guy enough, I wanted to see Ciri use her skills or magic to blast his head off instead (bloodlust got me there! Sorry!").

Also further to this, we have Yennefer's story arc conclude with her going after Vilgefortz but again its left hanging as to how she will reach him as she just teleports into the ocean and swims towards some sort of whirpool. Its just a bit of a daft way to end her story in the show at this point rather than have her, you know land on actual land!

And last of all, I thought that Geralt's 180 on his opinion of Cahir was handled a bit stupidly as he eventually accepts, he is there to help him despite Geralt's repeated attempts at killing him. However, in the end, Geralt thanks his party for helping save him and that included Cahir but Cahir didn't really do anything for him in the season up to this point to really help him! Its more a case of Cahir saying "I'm not your enemy!" over and over until it eventually sinks in but I still don't recall Cahir helping him properly until the final episode itself. 

So, that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, is The Witcher Season 4 really that bad and as big a disaster as the online community make it out to be?? Well, in my opinion, absolutely not. Its actually a very entertaining season for the most part with some good action, good story arcs (more for Ciri and Yennefer than Geralt) and it hangs together better than Season 3 did, which fell apart towards the end. However, the change of casting from Henry Cavill to Liam Hemsworth is definitely felt here but to be fair Hemsworth does what he can with the role and he did grow on me a bit more as the season progressed. 

However, I think it also has to be said (and this bit might get me into trouble if Witcher fans read it!) that this season really has become the victim of the hate bandwagon, which so many fans of pop culture these days are too keen to get on. So, I really think that this season is getting way too much hate and really doesn't deserve it as its deemed as being objectively awful by legions of fans and if you go on Youtube you see nothing but "WITCHER SEASON 4 AWFUL" and "WITCHER SEASON 4 SUCKS" etc etc. But I think this is definitely systemic of a problem with fan culture in general these days where its too easy to hate on something and find reasons to hate something rather than to like it or give it a chance.

So, for me, Witcher Season 4 is not objectively awful, not badly acted, not poorly paced (for the most part anyway!) and not un-entertaining. It can be enjoyed and I think if you just want to watch something for a bit of escapism, you could certainly do worse than this. So, I really do think in the end, you need to take all this hate directed at the series with a pinch of salt and decide for yourself what you think of it. Is it perfect? Nope, the season has its problems but I still think people should give it a try and try not to buy into the overwhelming negativity and online toxicity that has been attached to it.

So, I will rate The Witcher Season 4

7 out of 10

So, that's it for this one guys and I will see you soon for another post.

Until then, bye for now!