General Assessment- B-minus
Intriguing. The rogue ex-cop guy was the weakest villain, to me. His motivations didn't seem that clear, even in the third act when he arranges the raid of the police evidence warehouse. Was he primarily a black market gun-runner, and the housing development was his front business? Oh well...
I also didn't understand why Leo had white hair here. Was he still in witness protection? If so, why is he still using his real name, especially since he's apparently running a real estate consultancy.
The summer 1992 release date inadvertently coincided with the Los Angeles riots of that spring. That led an uncomfortable subtext to the part where Riggs and Murtaugh heckle a man while temporarily being put on uniform duty.
The gang violence subplot seemed to come and go without going into much depth. I remember at first assuming that the young man shot by Murtaugh was his son, who maybe had secretly joined a gang. It could have been a more powerful shock, for a middle-class kid like his son to end up joining a gang (yes, it happens). A broader exploration of the street-gang culture in LA and some of the players behind it (and Murtaugh's concerns for the ethnic context) could have made for a more overall intriguing movie.
The rookie cop death came across as kind of cheap. Murtaugh's yet-again-staving off retirement came across as relatively forced.
And this is the first film (or rather the only) in the franchise where the climax doesn't have a Riggs final brawl with a significant henchman/villain.
"With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility"
Stan Lee, 1962