Lethal Weapon 4 spoilers explained

What is the main twist in Lethal Weapon 4?

Riggs' girlfriend Lorna Cole (Rene Russo) reveals she is pregnant, forcing Riggs to confront his fear of fatherhood. Meanwhile, Murtaugh discovers that his daughter Rianne is secretly married to their new partner, Detective Lee Butters (Chris Rock), and is also pregnant, shattering Murtaugh's peace of mind.

What happens in Lethal Weapon 4?

LAPD captains Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) are on a police boat in Los Angeles Harbor when they board a cargo ship suspected of smuggling. They discover a shipping container packed with Chinese immigrants. Before they can act, armed smugglers attack. A lightning-fast martial arts enforcer, Wah Sing Ku (Jet Li), emerges and effortlessly beats both detectives, escaping into the water. The immigrants are rescued, but the encounter leaves Riggs and Murtaugh shaken.

Back at the station, they are assigned a young, motor-mouthed detective, Lee Butters (Chris Rock), who idolizes them. Leo Getz (Joe Pesci), now a private investigator, arrives with a tip about a counterfeit money ring tied to a Chinese triad. Riggs and Lorna Cole (Rene Russo), his girlfriend and fellow cop, are living together. Lorna drops a bombshell: she is pregnant. Riggs panics, haunted by his own father’s failures, but Lorna stands firm. Murtaugh, meanwhile, is grappling with his daughter Rianne’s secret. He discovers she is pregnant and, worse, that she has secretly married Lee Butters. Enraged, Murtaugh threatens Butters, who desperately tries to prove his worth.

The investigation leads Riggs and Murtaugh to a dentist’s office, where they intimidate a nervous Dr. Cheng into revealing the triad’s boss, Uncle Benny Chan. They track the counterfeit operation to a warehouse, sparking a shootout. Wah Sing Ku and Uncle Benny escape, but the detectives seize printing plates and learn of a planned final shipment. A high-speed chase erupts on a freeway when they pursue Uncle Benny’s car. The pursuit escalates onto a car carrier truck, with vehicles tumbling off as Riggs and Murtaugh barely hang on. They capture Uncle Benny’s brother, but the boss himself slips away.

The climax unfolds at a pier warehouse where Uncle Benny prepares to flee by boat with the plates. Riggs and Murtaugh confront him, only to face Wah Sing Ku in a savage hand-to-hand fight. The enforcer dismantles them with brutal kicks and throws. Riggs grabs a gun, but it is empty; he hurls it aside. Desperate, they use chains and pipes, but Wah Sing Ku overpowers them. As he moves in for the kill, Riggs seizes a loose piece of rebar and drives it through Wah Sing Ku’s chest. The triad killer staggers into the water and dies. Uncle Benny is arrested.

At the hospital, Lorna and Rianne are both in labor. Riggs and Murtaugh pace the waiting room until Lorna delivers a healthy boy. Moments later, Rianne gives birth to a girl. Murtaugh holds his granddaughter, his anger dissolving as he embraces Butters as family. Riggs, overcome with newfound purpose, proposes to Lorna, and she accepts. The film ends in a crowded hospital room with Riggs, Lorna, their son, Murtaugh, his wife, Rianne, Butters, their daughter, and Leo Getz all squeezing together for a photograph, a chaotic but complete family.

Quick, non-spoiler context

With personal crises and age weighing in on them, LAPD officers Riggs and Murtaugh must contend with a deadly Chinese crime lord trying to get his brother out of prison.