MovieChat Forums > Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) Discussion > The one thing that bothered me

The one thing that bothered me

posted 10 years ago by jrtomasso
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First off I love Lethal Weapon 4; it's my favorite after the first one (maybe even with 2). And I think that final showdown is one of the best in the action genre. I loved it except....for when Rigs gets trapped under water.

First off, I hate anything that has to do with drowning, because I know just how indescribably agonizing it is to not be able to breath. But they made him be down there for way too long! I mean Rigs didn't even have time to take a preparatory big gulp of air before the thing collapsed and pinned him down under water. And they made Rog take forever to come to and figure out what happened. And then when he finally does, when he's all, "Ah, ah hear you Rigs! Ah hear you!", and taking off his clothes, I'm like, 'you could have jumped in ten seconds ago!' I'm just thinking, way too much time! And then, when Rog is down there with him about to help lift the thing off him, Rigs (who should have been just writhing in pain) decides to give a three count. I'm like yeah right; you know how much time has passed already? And you're just calmly giving a three count?

I don't know, I mean it was a very tense scene and really has you on the edge of your seat. I just wish they had made it a little more realistic and not had Rigs down there for that long.

[–] osmundsadller 10 years ago

I watched the movie a couple of days ago after I read your comment. So I decided to time how long Riggs spent underwater. It clocks exactly 1 minute 49 seconds from the concrete falling down until they breach the surface of the water. It's not outside the bounds of plausibility. He might not get a huge gulp of air in, but it's big enough to last him that long. Riggs is also ex special forces so probably had some underwater diving experience, with and without air tanks. Note in LW2 he's not in a rush to swim to the surface but instead is (understandably) shocked and rushes to Rika's aid. So he has some precedence for spending long amounts of time underwater (although in LW4 it was definitely longest).

When Roger wakes up and has that reaction, it's all well and good for you to wish him to go faster. But he's just taken some major bumps, with a probably very woozy head and more likely than not his left arm is fractured thanks to Mr Ku. Taking all that into consideration, it's a miracle he was able to save Riggs' life in the first place.

Riggs' legs were pinned down. He might have broken one of them, but it's not a life threatening injury. Plus he's got a hell of a pain tolerance, even if he responds with agony to all the abuse he takes throughout the films. So he can handle this concrete structure pinning him down as long as his breath holds out. One of the points of the scene is to show that for the first time, when it really mattered, they were able to get the three count down in tandem. It's worth taking the time to ensure that, even running out of oxygen and in pain. If they hadn't, both being in a weak state they'd be unable to lift the debris off him as a team. A culmination to their friendship and story arc.

I can see where you're coming from though.