Lethal Weapon 5's duty: Fixing Mel Gibson's racist gaffes from the 4th

The Legacy and Lows of Lethal Weapon

While the original Lethal Weapon is celebrated for its dark and gritty undertones, succeeding sequels swerved into a goofier realm, garnering mixed reactions. The Screen Rant's highlight on the franchise unveils that while the first two sequels managed to bring out humor without necessarily poking fun at a particular race, Lethal Weapon 4 took a wrong turn. The once-beloved franchise dipped into using blatantly racist humor, casting a dark shadow over its legacy.

Unforgivable Racism: A Sequel's Mistake

Lethal Weapon 4, released in 1998, was marked with a slew of racist jokes aimed at the Asian community. These weren't just overlooked nuances but glaring issues that grabbed the attention of major publishers like Entertainment Weekly and The Washington Post. From imitating Asian accents to mocking their height, the movie’s cringe-inducing scenes became a defining, and not so flattering, characteristic.

Sitcom Solutions: Learning from TV's Past

Although the Lethal Weapon franchise, particularly the initial releases, maintained a relatively light and entertaining tone, the challenge for Lethal Weapon 5 is to address these sensitive racial issues while preserving its blockbuster allure. Interestingly, TV has shown the way. The sequel series How I Met Your Father recognized and addressed problematic elements from its predecessor How I Met Your Mother, without compromising its charm. Taking a leaf out of that book, Lethal Weapon 5 could be the silver lining, proving that mistakes can be acknowledged, lessons can be learned, and tones can be set right.

Several parts of the text in this article, including the title, were generated with the help of an AI tool.