There are only two types of movies that really get the dads of the world fired up to race to the cinema on opening night: movies about cars, and a new Expendables film. The action legends of the 80s, including the likes of Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren, once again don the silver screen in a brutally action packed, corny one-liner filled, testosterone injected thrill ride that ticks all the boxes for middle-aged men who are looking for to relive those glory days, and ticks enough boxes to qualify as a movie because it has sounds and pictures.
Now in its fourth iteration, and losing a few of the O.G. crew (Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, and Bruce Willis, for obvious reasons, not returning to the franchise this time around), Expend4bles sees leader of a rag-tag group of mercenary killers, Barney (Stallone), and his right-hand man, Christmas (Jason Statham) team up with newcomers Gina (Megan Fox) and Easy Day (50 Cent) as the worlds last line of defence when all other options are off the table.
When terrorist Rahmat (Iko Uwais) infiltrates Gaddafi’s former chemical compound to steal a nuclear warhead, CIA Agent Marsh (Andy Garcia) is forced to recruit the Expendables to track down Rahmat and save the world from nuclear extinction. However, the mission proves more than expected when an ambush unexpectedly tears the team apart, and an old foe remerges from Barney’s past.
In fairness, story has never been a strong suit of this franchise. Every single movie, this fourth included, uses a familiar plot involving some form of terrorist or dictator, who is threatening to kill a group of people, has some form of connection with Barney, thus making the mission to take this evil being down personal for the Expendables. The paper thin stories just serves as some form of cinematic structure to allow for outlandish, shoot-‘em-up action scenes, of which Expend4bles has plenty. The lack of cohesive and interesting plot pushes away any form of genuine engagement into the film that doesn’t involve a shooty-shooty-boom-boom moment.
Learning necessary lessons from the toned-down, bloodless, PG-13 violence of Expendables 3, there’s no lack of blood and guts as the Expendables crew rip and tear their way through hordes of nameless and faceless enemies in the most excessively explosive style possible. Heads exploding on brute force impact, every kind of vehicle (land, sea, air) flipping multiple times in fiery fashion, and an absurd number of sharpened blades penetrating necks like it’s going out of fashion – Expend4bles leaves very little action violence to the imagination.
First time director in this series, Scott Waugh (Act of Valor, Need for Speed), makes a point of excess by frantically throwing the camera around each action set piece, teaming this intense cinematography with the brutal excess. There are moments throughout Expend4bles where the shaky camera movements, especially during hand-to-hand combat moments, make the action tough to see. Which is a pure disappointment considering the martial arts talent on screen during these scenes.
The shaky cam style of filmmaking became popular during the Bourne era, in which director Paul Greengrass seemed to master the art of frantically moving a camera around action to heighten the intensity, while managing to keep the action cohesive and watchable. Unfortunately, not many filmmakers have been able to replicate this style, and Waugh is one of those filmmakers. The action is insane enough, the previous Expendables films have set that foundation already. The incoherent camera work isn’t required to add more intensity where it’s not needed.
This movie is also loud. Like, really loud. The immersive surround sound audio turns guns firing, bullets flying, explosions and rock music up all the way to 11. It’s impossible to not have a full sensory experience when Expend4bles is basically the cinematic equivalent of your drunk uncle recounting his sporting glory days drunkenly to you at Christmas. There is no escape from the explosiveness that is this film’s sound design… even the mumbling voices of Stallone and Lundgreen caused the speakers to crackle.
It’s worth noting that it has been 9 years since the previous Expendables 3, and the timing of this latest film seems out of left field. It’s not as if audiences were screaming from the mountains for another instalment into this franchise, but it’s also not the case that the film isn’t welcomed. But there is an odd feeling with it’s incredibly nonchalant, out-of-nowhere release hitting cinemas with a whimper, and not the bang that this franchise is worthy of, that makes this seem like a movie made to retain the rights. There’s nothing to say this is the case, but the lack of money pumped into the marketing, and into the budget itself is just peculiar.
The reason the budget raises interest is because of some the CGI and special effects in Expend4bles are truly trash. Cheap and unfinished, there are moment of this film that look like early day YouTube animation tutorials. And the frequency that shoddy looking digital helicopters force their way on to the screen is frankly astonishing considering their quality. The same can be said for the digital blood effects that glow a cartoonish red, or the fiery aftermath of an explosion that has some of the cleanest fire you’ve ever seen on film. This is no way a dig at the artists who attempted these visuals, but more so pointing out that considering the films estimated budget is $100 million USD, it’s obvious that the majority of that went to convincing actors to return, rather than making a cool looking action flick.
The Expendables franchise does run on the action-packed star power of Stallone, Statham and the likes, mainly because they’re probably your dads’ favourite actors. However, as the crew have dwindled over time, the idea of this epic throwback group of legends has become less of a draw for later films. Stallone, Statham and Lundgren hold their own (and honestly, most of the film) with reasonably self-aware performances that predominantly consists of corny one-liner banter battles, that honestly became one-note and exhausting by the third film.
Out of the new additions, Megan Fox holds her own against the action legends, however she feels under used. An on-the-nose fight/love scene with Statham early in the film showcases her physicality, which unfortunately isn’t really used again, leaving much to be desired from her character of Gina. If the franchise is to continue past this fourth film, Fox would be a welcomed return if she gets more to do. 50 Cent however… well, he’s there. His flat line delivery during his introduction, which involves his new character asking returning characters who the other new characters are, so the audience can quickly get up to speed in one exposition filled scene, doesn’t inspire confidence for his performance in the rest of the film. However, his addition in to the franchise does lend to a very on-the-nose, meta use of his song P.I.M.P. during the final battle.
Expend4bles unfortunately follows the trajectory that this franchise has been on, by not being able to hold a candle to the what the first two films offered action fans. The lack of legends returning the to the screen should serve as a warning for the quality of film that was to come, even with the addition of some serviceable new characters. Despite bringing the violence back to it’s bloody and brutal roots, it’s not enough to warrant sprinting through the array of bullets and explosions to plant yourself down in a cinema seat for 100 minutes. But, when it inevitably hits DVD by Christmas, it’s probably worth picking up for your dad as a stocking filler.
Expend4bles is in Australian cinemas now.
