Detective Sergeants Riggs (Gibson) and Murtaugh (Glover) return to the familiar buddy cop formula determined to prove they’re “not too old for this shit” by tracking down a ruthless pact of Chinese triads running a slave labour racket, counterfeiting money and the like. The action is extravagant and the performances broad but the racial slurring and stereotypes make the film unpalatable. The writers employ a crass shorthand in portraying all Chinese as either violent gang members or simple-minded. The great Jet Li is the only worthwhile thing going; making his US debut playing an against-type, pony-tailed triad leader. But even Li – who only accepted the role following negotiations with Joel Silver to play the hero in his next production, Romeo Must Die – is not spared from the indignity, losing out to geriatrics Gibson and Glover in a completely improbable martial arts showdown.