Expend4bles

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I can still remember a time when the idea of gathering a dream team of action heroes from films from my generation's childhood and our parent's adulthood was an amazing concept. And I have to say, the first couple of them back in 2010 and 2012, respectively, are still a hell of a lot of fun. By the third, I wondered if perhaps it was getting out of hand, but in fairness, it was the third of a box office money-making franchise of epic proportions, and it was still released in 2014. At that point, things really should have probably just stopped.

Here we are, almost ten years after 'Expendables 3' for a fourth chapter that, as far as I can tell, not many people were asking for. Now, I'll be the first guy to admit that I enjoy a fun action romp of epic proportions, even if a lot of it is "bad" in its own way. This could have fallen into that category if only I didn't have that very concept and drive it into the ground when it already worked fine for the first three films. When it's all said and done, this is a simple revenge movie with a twist ending that will make you want to rage-throw your popcorn at the screen. No spoilers, just a fair warning.

The Expendables team is sent to Libya to intercept a nuclear weapons thief named Suarto Rahmat (Iko Uwais), who is stealing some warheads for a terrorist known only as Ocelot - a name any 'Metal Gear: Solid' fan might cringe at as it feels so very stolen. The mission brings back old favourites Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Toll Road (Randy Couture) and Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren). It also introduces us to the noobies Easy Day (50 Cent) and Galan (Jacob Scipio). So, thank God, at least a few of them have made a return.

Everything's business as usual, but in the firefight, Rahmat shoots down the Expendables' plane, only to leave one of the team members dead (without throwing too many early spoilers at you). The CIA reveals that the Expendables will go after Rahmat to finish what they started and get revenge without Christmas, as he apparently jeopardized the mission. Insult to injury is added when Christmas is replaced by Gina (Megan Fox), his former lover, who, herself, brings in Lash (Levy Tran), another talented female operative. As the Expendables tackle the mission, Christmas tracks them, knowing he'll be needed more than they think.

I really wanted to have more fun than I did with this. It carries a feeling of "too little, too late" with it (especially with the first three being a solid 2 years apart from each other), and the casting kind of throws away what made these movies so good to begin with and I'm afraid this is where I have to get into a bit of controversial territory. But the fact of the matter is, the original 'Expendables' concept was that it was a testosterone-loaded action flick that starred all of our favourite action heroes, and its main target was definitely dudes.

This is absolutely not to say that women can't or shouldn't enjoy these or be a part of them. But when Megan Fox takes the lead AND brings on another woman, which feels a bit forced, things get a little too "woke" when they don't need to be for a film that was always initially catered towards men. I'm all for an all-female action movie with a stellar cast that shows the strength of women without forcing things to be perfectly clear. It just felt very out of place here, especially with someone like Megan Fox, who I've never considered an action star.

Even if I were to accept all of that and take it with a grain of salt, it wouldn't change the overall poor execution of things. At best, I can say that if you just feel like some high-octane action, it still delivers on that level fairly well. But the writing and dialogue are pretty rough, and, again, it ends on such a "middle finger" note that leaves you sitting there wondering, "Wait, that's it?" For my money, the first two of these are still a great time, and the third is okay, just for fun. But this felt altogether completely unnecessary.

2/5

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