The Expendables series has always worked well due to the whole concept of it being veteran action stars proving they still have what it takes. We’ve had some terrific action heroes join the series in the first three entries which has included Liam Neeson, Harrison Ford, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and many more. All of which have made these films big action blockbusters. Usually, a trilogy is enough and it marks a three point progression for the characters to go through, but that hasn’t stopped them from making a fourth film which is what I am here today to talk about. The only problem is that I really wish they didn’t make another film.
The Expendables 4 is bad. I have seen a lot of action films in my lifetime so far and there have been some truly horribly made ones and now I can add another film to that list. The action is nothing we haven’t seen before. The scriptwriting is really generic too and has some very lazy and bad writing. There’s an unnecessary part of the film where one of the characters has to urinate on a grate to escape, that’s how bad the writing is. Megan Fox is part of the film and instead of having a fleshed out role she’s relegated to being the “eye candy” of the film. This is a very masculine film with a lot of testosterone on display and she does look out of place in every scene she’s in. I have to say that there is literally no saving grace with this film.
The plot of the film is very timely one with a threat of an oncoming war between Russia and USA if a nuclear bomb is set off in Russian waters. It is basically a plot device that is borrowed from a lot of other action films, with no real substance to the story. Sylvester Stallone returns as the leader of the Expendables crew, Barney Ross. Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture all return as members of the team. Statham takes over as lead of the film instead of Stallone’s Barney Ross. Together Statham’s Lee Christmas and his team must find and stop terrorist Suarto Rahmat, played by Iko Uwais, from detonating a nuclear bomb. Andy Garcia, Tony Jaa and 50 Cent also star in the film, in less than memorable roles.
It is a shame to see filmmaker Scott Waugh create a film so bland as The Expendables 4. Throughout the film I was bored. The twists and turns are predictable and don’t add anything to the film’s plot, instead you’re just wondering why it all seems familiar. It is because you’ve probably seen other films do the same story but better. The film is barely watchable and the visual effects are badly put together too. Plane crashes and weaponised boats are laughably awful and noticeably bad. This is the kind of film you’d expect to find at the bottom of a list on a streaming service. In fact a streaming service would’ve been a better home for this film. There are zero redeeming qualities about this film, and I wouldn’t recommend it unless you literally have nothing better to watch but trust me, there are a lot of other bad films to watch which are better than this one.
★☆☆☆☆
1/5
Final Verdict:
The Expendables 4 is a mess of a film and a very unnecessary sequel. The bland effects, generic action set pieces and pointless scripting results with a very forgettable film. Jason Statham takes over the leading role from Sylvester Stallone and as a result, this could easily have been a completely different film instead of an Expendables sequel. The jokes don’t land, there’s a lot of sexist remarks and there is no character progression at all in the film. It’s a very pointless film with no saving grace. I would stick to the first three films and just pretend they never made a fourth, but if you like generic action then at least you’ll get your action fix with this film.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
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