LETHAL WEAPON 3 — ★ ★ ★ — Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo.; rated R (violence, profanity, vulgarity, sex)

Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Murtaugh (Danny Glover) are back in action as "Lethal Weapon 3" hits the big screen, kicking off this summer's blockbuster mentality. And it's everything you'd expect — slapstick, wisecracks and lots of violence and action.

The film opens with that bombing you've seen in all the ads as the boys show up at a building and Riggs just can't wait for the bomb squad before he goes in to investigate. He trips the wrong wire, sets off the timer and they run for their lives with that huge exploding building behind them.

"Oops," Riggs says.

The result is that they are busted down to street cops, and Murtaugh's blood pressure goes up because he's only got a week to serve before he retires.

But it isn't long before they're in the thick of an internal investigation of gun-running, an operation involving a former cop who's gone bad. He's now in suburban construction. Hmmm . . . killer home-builders.

Plot doesn't matter in movies like this, though. It's the individual set-pieces that make it or break it.

And there are plenty of funny and spectacular moments here, such as a freeway car chase, headed the wrong way, of course; the climactic showdown on a construction site; Riggs' introduction to a karate-kicking female cop (Rene Russo) from internal affairs, which turns into a serious romance; Joe Pesci's return as Leo Getz, now selling real estate and butting in wherever possible; and there are even some sentimental moments that work, particularly with Glover's character. When you have actors of the caliber of Glover and Gibson doing this, it's bound to boost things a notch or two.

On the whole, this is just mindless, bubble-gum moviemaking, of course. But there's no question that this is a formula that works. Yet, taken on its own level, as silly, violent action-comedy, this is highly entertaining stuff.

"Lethal Weapon 3" is rated R for violence, profanity, sex and vulgarity.