The Expendables 3 Review: Plenty of Dumb Action As The Franchise Matures

The Expendables 3 is a mostly successful blend of the franchises first two films. Its filled with the wanton mayhem and destruction of the second film, but also plenty of terrible dialogue and overall cheesiness of the first movie. Despite those flaws, thePatrick Hughessequel works because its constantly fun and features a story that builds off the fact the franchise was in danger of getting stale, leading it into a new era. Read the rest of our Expendables 3 review below.

When the first Expendables came out, the joke of it was it starred aging action stars. In The Expendables 3, thats finally caught up to the narrative. As the film begins, the core team (Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Randy Couture, Terry Crews and Dolph Lundgren) complete a dangerous mission that has Barney (Stallone) questioning everyones mortality. Maybe everyone is just getting too old and he doesnt want to lose more friends. That sets up a story where he leaves his friends behind to recruit a new, young version of The Expendables (newcomers Kellen Lutz,Ronda Rousey, Victor Ortiz and Glen Powell). Theyre tasked with taking down the baddest bad guy yet, played by Mel Gibson andthings, of course, go horribly wrong. I bet you cant guess who is called in to save the day.

That idea of old vs. new, coupled with Barneys guilt, gives the film a not-so-subtle, but welcome, emotional core. Theres both the generation gap to deal with as well as the idea of friendship and family being more important than business. Its nice that the film has even an inkling of pathos to go along with the trademark humor and action.

The script by Stallone,Creighton RothenbergandKatrin Benediktgivesevery member of this cast multiple times to shine. New additions such as Antonio Banderas, Wesley Snipes and Harrison Ford, all have pretty sizable parts with plenty of scenery to chew on. (Kelsey Grammaris the one person who gets the short end of the stick, unfortunately.) Its Gibson though, as the heavy of the piece, who is the star among stars. Hes channelling some of that Lethal Weapon wackiness blended with William Wallaces charisma and its great. You really miss having Gibson as a movie star in The Expendables 3.

But its not all smooth sailing. The film is filled with an incessant amount of awful one liners and the whole second act is bogged down by its own creation. The Expendables 3 is built around this great self-aware narrative idea but that idea back them into a few corners. First, the self-awareness frequently goes too far. For example, Arnold Schwarzeneggers character actually says Get to the Chopper instead of just winking at it. Plus, because Barney has to recruit a new team, were forced to relive the same scene four times to introduce all these characters. Once theyre on board, you have these new, young characters who are smart and modern. That means, when they go on their first mission and use a bunch of new technology, the ease of it almost feels lazy when compared to the big boom of the old Expendables.

Thats not to say the new team is boring. They have a swagger and energy thats nicely opposed to the old team. However, theyre seriously short changed on backstory and their entire second act feels like nothing more than an obvious, dialed down place holder to bridge the gap between the opening and the climax.

Despite the predictability of it all, the third act is probablythe best overall actionscene in the entire franchise. Its massive and the way everyone gets a heroic moment is commendable. The stunts and explosions are off the charts and though they get punctuated with some really eye-rolling dialogue and unbelievable set pieces, its just fun to see how this massive cast can come together in a way that makes narrative sense.

Much was made about the fact The Expendables 3 was rated PG-13 and not R, but you dont really notice. More people die in this movie than most R rated movies. You just dont see the blood. And despite what may or may not be available on the internet, The Expendables 3 is a must see on the big screen.

Overall, The Expendables 3 is a your basic, solid, fun, summer action movie. Its exactly what you expect and while there are plenty of bad parts, the good ones more than balance them out. Itll be nice to see how the franchise moves forward now that its been infused with this new blood.

Go here to read the rest:
The Expendables 3 Review: Plenty of Dumb Action As The Franchise Matures