But thenLethal Weapon 4was a film with very different expectations on it.

It was needed, urgently, to dig Warner Bros out of a hole.

Marshals(a sort-of sequel toThe Fugitive, albeit without Harrison Ford) wasnt inspiring too much confidence.

It was also pouring money into the big budgetSoldier, due later in 1998.

But it needed a safer bet in the midst of its summer schedule.Lethal Weapon 4suddenly had its greenlight.

And the clock was very much ticking.

Its one of the reasons he skipped makingX-Men: Days Of Future PastforKingsman: The Secret Service.

The latter had a less pressing schedule, and afforded Vaughn more control.

For Richard Donner onLethal Weapon 4, the schedule was even more contracted.

January 8th, to be precise.

Shooting on film, too.

The logistics alone were mind-boggling, especially given the amount of location work required.

The film opens in a street scene as a man with a flamethrower wreaks havoc.

It had Danny Glover stripping down to his undercrackers.

These things need proper planning.

To add to the problem, the script was never really finished.

But the truth seems to be that there was never really a locked script as such.

Channing Gibson was on hand for duration of the production, and hasty changes were regularly made.

They both ended up being written into the film, when the availability of both actors was confirmed.

Furthermore, the ending hadnt been written when Donner unpacked his cameras for the first time on the movie.

Its one reason why the ultimate demise of Jet Lis character feels so weak.

But as with most Richard Donner productions, it was seemingly a calmer one than you might think.

That said, it still ran things very close to the proverbial finish line.

After all, the final footage was in the can just 33 days before the films release date.

The final cut ofLethal Weapon 4is generally regarded as a bit of a jumble, and with good reason.

And yet Warner Bros comfortably won its gamble.

WhenLethal Weapon 4was released, the reviews were generally quite decent.

This was the summer of effects-festArmageddon, of Spielbergs rawSaving Private Ryan, and of the prescientThe Truman Show.

An old-fashioned buddy cop comedy?

It was if most of the 90s hadnt happened.

Thats Hollywood for you, right?

All said though, Warner Bros got its box office hit, and it really needed it.

Meanwhile, the $20m Casper Van Dien-headlinedTarzan And The Lost Cityhad died a very quick death.

Which leavesLethal Weapon 4as a hasty, but better than its given credit for swansong for Riggs and Murtaugh.