Expend4bles review

EXPEND4BLES: 

FOURTH EXPENDABLES FILM GIVES EXACTLY WHAT IT PROMISES! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** ½ out of 4

LIONSGATE

Randy Couture, Andy Garcia, Megan Fox, Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, 50 Cent, Tony Jaa, Dolph Lundgren, and Iko Uwais in The Expendables 4

 

            Sylvester Stallone (Rocky franchise, Rambo franchise, Demolition Man), Jason Statham (The Transportertrilogy, Crank 1 and 2, Fast & Furious franchise), and their ragtag team of mercenaries are back in The Expendables 4, the fourth installment of the Expendables film series dating back to 2010. I enjoyed the Expendables films (Well, 2 of them at least) as fun throwbacks to 80s action movies such as Commando, Predator, and Rambo with lots of overblown, blood-soaked action, cheesy dialogue, and a group of charismatic actors leading the charge. 

            They aren’t trying to be cinematic masterpieces or groundbreaking films in the action genre, they’re just entertaining popcorn movies and for the most part, they get the job done. If I’m looking for a groundbreaking action movie, I’ll put The Matrix, John Wick, or Mad Max: Fury Road on. 

            Because the Expendables will never die, they managed to get four movies with this one embracing the R rating of the first two films after the disappointing results of The Expendables 3 which was nothing more than a watered-down, PG-13 imitation of these movies and the worst of the series. As if they realized an Expendables movie that parents could take their kids to is an incredibly stupid idea, so they went hardcore with this fourth installment…and maybe that’s for the best. 

            The Expendables 4 knows what it is and doesn’t try to be anything more (or less in Expendables 3’s case) than a ridiculous (and ridiculously bloody) action movie that for me, is silly in the right way. I don’t know what the critical consensus are for this movie, but I had a really good time with it. 

            The film follows The Expendables consisting of leader Barney Ross (Stallone), second in command Lee Christmas (Statham), alcoholic and volatile member Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren-Rocky IV, Masters of the Universe, Creed II), demolitions expert Toll Road (Randy Couture-Redbelt, The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior, Range 15), and newcomers Easy Day (Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson-Get Rich or Die Tryin’, Escape Plan trilogy, Southpaw), Decha (Tony Jaa-Ong-Bak trilogy, Furious 7, XXX: Return of Xander Cage), Lash (Levy Tran-Shameless, The First Purge, MacGyver), Galan (Jacob Scipio-Bad Boys for Life, Without Remorse, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent), and CIA agent Gina (Megan Fox-Transformers 1 and 2, Jennifer’s Body, Friends with Kids) being assigned a mission to stop a terrorist organization headed by Suarto Rahmat (Iko Uwais-The Raid 1 and 2, Stuber, Wu Assassins) from smuggling nuclear warheads that will ignite a conflict between Russia and the U.S. But when a member of the team is supposedly killed, it becomes a revenge mission to take Suarto down once and for all. 

            The film also stars Andy Garcia (The Untouchables, Dangerous Minds, Ocean’s trilogy) as CIA agent Marsh. 

            Overall, The Expendables 4 gives exactly what it advertises, an unapologetically bloody and chaotic action film that embraces its silliness. If you’ve seen any of the trailers and thought “This looks like fun”, you’ll probably enjoy it because it pretty much sums up exactly what kind of film it is, but if for some reason you’re going into this expecting something along the lines of The Matrix, John Wick, The Dark Knight, or Mad Max: Fury Road, turn back and go see something else because this movie is incredibly stupid. 

            The plot isn’t much different from the other Expendables films (or different at all for that matter), Sly, Jason, and friends are assigned a mission to stop a big, bad guy from destroying the country or world and usually bloodshed and destruction ensue. Under normal circumstances, I’d criticize a film for choosing overblown action over a compelling story, but what the film lacks in storytelling it gains from its characters and the cast’s charisma. 

            Sylvester Stallone is essentially playing his usual character, but he’s good at it despite not appearing in this one as much as the earlier films and I once again enjoyed the banter between him and Jason Statham. Speaking of which, Jason Statham is more of the lead in this film than Stallone and he kills (No pun intended), he’s more sophisticated and skillful in knives compared to Stallone’s macho, gun-heavy combat, but he is incredibly funny and charming with this film having some of his best moments including a great bit where he beats the sh*t out of a Livestreamer for disrespecting women, a million times more enjoyable than anything in The Meg 2. 

            Dolph Lundgren, I found genuinely hilarious with most of his humor being the fact that this once-destructive Expendable who drank heavily is now sober which leads to some funny moments between him and the team. The newcomers are also standouts, Iko Uwais of The Raid fame is excellent as the film’s villain and manages to be both threatening and funny, 50 Cent got some good laughs out of me whenever he’s onscreen, Jacob Scipio is a treasure as the son of Galgo (Antonio Banderas’ character from The Expendables 3) and delivers some of the funniest lines in the film, and even Megan Fox has some enjoyable moments despite being more of the straight-woman in the group. 

            The action is a lot of fun and what I especially enjoy about it is that each character has their own unique fighting style that leads to some creative fight scenes. Of course, there’s guns, knives, fistfights, and explosives, but now there’s an Expendable who literally fights with a metal chain and an insane chase involving Jason Statham on a motorcycle with machine guns attached to it pretty much blowing the villain’s henchmen into hamburger meat, good sh*t, I even enjoyed the film’s terrible CGI and green-screen effects which would normally stick out for all the wrong reasons, but for a movie as cheesy as this, it kind of works. 

             The Expendables 4 (or Expend4bles) is a perfect example of a blood-soaked guilty pleasure movie that doesn’t try to be more than mindless popcorn entertainment. If you enjoyed the other Expendables film (or was disappointed by The Expendables 3’s failed attempt at making it more family-friendly with a PG-13), take some comfort that this movie delivers the bloody, R-rated carnage of the first two and all the over-the-top silliness of its predecessors.