The historic Florida building blown up for the sake of a Hollywood action scene
One of the most influential action movies of the 1980s, Lethal Weapon perfected the buddy-cop formula that would inspire countless imitators.
While a few earlier films had explored similar territory, such as 48 Hrs and Running Scared, Lethal Weapon stood out as the definitive version of the genre, merging action with comedy and heart, and Mel Gibson and Danny Glover’s combined star power proved undeniable, making it a hit with audiences.
Since the late ‘80s saw sequels ramping up, it only made sense that Gibson, Glover, and director Richard Donner would reunite to take another crack at the Lethal Weapon story, with the first sequel, Lethal Weapon 2 a rare follow-up that was just as good as its predecessor; the addition of Joe Pesci added more comedy to the adventure, but the film was also able to get deeper and darker through the introduction of some sinister South African villains.
Lethal Weapon 3 had even more tremendous anticipation, as it was released during a renaissance for action cinema in the early ‘90s. While the film was more emotionally complicated because it introduced Rene Russo as a love interest for Gibson, it also proved to be an even greater spectacle because of its memorably explosive opening scene.
Orlando had just constructed a new City Hall and therefore had no use for the older building, so a deal was cracked with Warner Bros, leading to a $20 insurance policy for the new building, which allowed Lethal Weapon 3 to actually destroy the older building for the sake of its opening sequence. Ten months of planning with Controlled Demolition Inc involved mapping out where the degree of explosion would land so that everyone’s safety could be ensured, and no other damage would be caused to the new building.
It was in October 1991 that thousands of Orlando residents gathered to watch from afar in nearby buildings to see the explosion. Although 400 special effects shots were needed to complete the sequence, the actual detonation went off without a hitch, with Orlando even getting a shout-out in the finished cut of the third instalment, where Mayor Bill Frederick had a cameo as a member of the bomb squad.
Lethal Weapon 3 is the most underrated entry in the franchise because it embraced a slightly goofier tone, yet still retained the character complexity that had made Shane Black’s original script so effective. Riggs and Murtaugh were tasked with hunting down a cop killer, which in turn made their pursuit of justice feel more personal, making it successful enough to spawn a fourth in the series that came five years later, and effectively spelt the end of the franchise.
Although there was a controversial television reboot, the franchise has continuously teased a potential fifth instalment. It had long been planned as a comeback vehicle for Donner, but his death in 2021 shattered the initial pitch, with Gibson later confirming that he personally planned to direct the film, which would reunite him with Glover.
Whether this will actually happen remains to be seen; even when ignoring Gibson’s many controversies, he’s kept himself busy as a filmmaker with his ambitious plans to make a sequel to The Passion of the Christ, which will reportedly be among the most expensive independent films ever made, so it will take some time before he ever considers what a Lethal Weapon 5 might look like.
