The Expendables is an interesting franchise. The first movie was a big deal because it was kind of like a wet dream of '80s nostalgia with a super group of over-the-hill '80s action stars coming together for one final ride. But of course, Hollywood is involved and they like milking cows until they run dry so another one came out. Both of the two films were advertised as the "one last ride." Yet we all knew that if they made money they'd be getting back in line for the merry-go-round once again. It didn't really bring anything new to the table. Expendables wanted to stay too close to what made the '80s action movies what they were for better and for worse. You were either on board for something that was not much more than a celebration of what movies that these guys did back in their heyday, or you rolled your eyes and just wished it would be over with.
Staying pretty close to Expendables formula, the third film goes forward without much changing. We get two action set pieces right out of the bat that are fun, but shallow. Really not much invested in whether or not these people are going to make it or not, but then again, it's not really about that. This is just eye candy for people who like action. Not to say they don't have moments of creativity. You don't ever feel like anyone's in any real danger. But it's still entertaining.
First we spend time with some of the old crew. Even though we spent two movies with these characters, no one other than Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham feel like they're really characters. Everyone else just feels like they're there for name sake and a cool piece of the action here and there. Everyone has their own personality, but I don't feel like I know who they are. Now, given there are more than a dozen characters in this film, you can't expect everyone to be fully fleshed out. Guardians of the Galaxy did it with their main 5 plus a couple more, but that movie's focus was the characters. The Expendables 3's main focus is the action.... for the most part.
After the first two action set pieces, probably about 15 minutes of the first 20 of the film, there's a bit of a lull. Terry Crews sort of gets the Jet Li treatment from Expendables 2 and we don't see much of him. There's a lot of talking and "plot development" (I use that term very loosely). Then we get this cool scene with Kelsey Grammer coming in and introducing us to the new, younger members of the team. Now, I can't tell you for the life of me any of the new character's names. Maybe it was the beers I had before coming in or me just not really caring, but it's really not that important. I can tell you there's a hacker/adrenaline junkie, a femme fatale-ish, someone who we were told doesn't like taking orders but I can't recall a moment where he had a problem doing so but he was better than Vin Diesel on a motorcycle with less wire work, and someone else.
Once the new crew is all together we get another action set piece. Here's where this film strays from the previous two.... a bit. Because the old crew is all from the '80s (except Terry Crews who isn't an action star but should be), the style was typical '80s bust in guns blazing, which we get with the first two set pieces. Here we get a nice contrast between the old-school and new-school. Tactical, well-planned, quiet at first but not afraid to kick ass when shit goes down. It was a nice change of pace from all the other moments from all the other Expendables movies. And we actually see a younger Expendable do more than just die for plot purposes (sorry, Thor's younger brother).
Of course things go wrong and the old team has to come in and save the new team. Then the new and the old team work together in the big final set piece. It's all good and fun. It does what it wants to do. There's no real sense of danger. I didn't feel like anyone is going to be killed. But things are just so gloriously destructive that I didn't give a crap. Anonio Banderas and Wesley Snipes are the new older guys to come in, but Antonio Banderas just steals the show. I know this is sort of cliché to say, but he knows exactly what this movie is. While everyone else is being so serious (which works), he's just chewing up the scenery. Everything he does is hilariously brilliant. Even the way he runs from chopper fire had the audience laughing. But he's more than just comic relief, he's a badass while doing so. I would pay to see a movie of Antonio Banderas playing this character as a lead. There just isn't enough of him here.
What else is there to say about this movie? Plot? Something about going after an old friend turned enemy and saving the new crew from him. It's not important. It's just a reason to go from one set piece to the next. The movie starts out fast, then slows down a bit too much in the middle, so if you have to go to the bathroom, you can go and not have to worry about missing anything important. Mel Gibson is servicable, but not as entertaining or as threatening as Jean Claude Van Damme in Expendables 2. He doesn't do anything to make you really hate him.
Is the movie good? Depends on your definition of "good." It's stupid, paper thin and predictable, but it's also well executed, sporadically creative and fun. Just don't expect much new with this one. I think I enjoyed it more than the last two, but then again I can't really remember the other two more than I enjoyed them as cheesy as they were.
RECOMMENDED if you enjoyed the first two movies.
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