★★
Need a shot of testosterone drizzled over a bucket of movie theater popcorn? Look no further than Expend4bles, the fourth chapter in the Expendables franchise. Directed by Scott Waugh (Act of Valor) and written by Kurt Wimmer (Law Abiding Citizen), Tad Daggerhart (Black Lotus), and Max Adams (Extraction), Expend4bles stars Jason Statham (The Meg), Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson (Den of Thieves), Megan Fox (Transformers), Dolph Lundgren (Rocky IV), Toney Jaa (Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior), Iko Uwais (The Raid 2), Randy Couture (Outlaw Johnny Black), Andy Garcia (Ocean’s Eleven), and Sylvester Stallone (Rocky).
In Expend4bles, the Expendable crew is tasked with fighting terrorists who are threatening to start World War III with a perfectly placed (and stolen) nuclear weapon. It is up to the team of elite mercenaries to save the day. Will they get there in time? Will they be able to unmask the face behind the threat? What happened to the new members from Expendables 3? How does Megan Fox fit into all of this?
There are a lot of fresh faces in the fourth installment of the Expendables series. Unfortunately, what made the first few movies unique, and fun were the familiar faces. The distinctive aspect of The Expendables was the nostalgia that washed over the audience whenever they saw one of their favorite “older” action heroes grace the silver screen again, in their typical mercenary roles, blasting away bad guys.
So the question stands: how can one satisfy the audience’s expectations while also bringing something new? A viable answer might be to only bring in one or two new faces instead of replacing most of the cast. Balance and moderation, people. Balance and moderation. That being said, the diversity of the actors is quite admirable. They do a wonderful job in their roles. Action fans who are not aware of these foreign talents will have a slew of new stars to watch for.
The plot is trite and has already been done by a number of other action movies. In order to escape a regression in quality, the aim has to be set higher. But that doesn’t just mean a higher body count or more red dye #5. Unfortunately, there isn’t much that Expend4bles brings to the table other than some fresh faces (with a lackluster script, filled with mediocre one-liners) and a lot of fake blood packs and questionable special effects. A certain amount of physics-defying action is expected with most Jason Statham movies, but Expend4bles abuses that privilege.
Expend4bles leaves room for more sequels if the cast and crew are amenable, but the audience may not be there for it. Fans of the series may find some interesting fight sequences and a couple of witty expressions (out of the many failed attempts). The theater experience isn’t necessary for this one; it can wait to be seen at home on the couch.
