First off, nobody expects a film like The Expendables to be amazing. Even the cast and writers are aware of it, which is why the first two movies in the series succeeded. They were merely an excuse for our favourite childhood action stars to blast people's brains apart and utter cringe-worthy one-liners, and sold themselves as such, and that's why the series worked in the first place. The series was pure trash and it embraced it, and so did we. I mean, how can anyone expect a film with a scene where Chuck Norris makes a Chuck Norris joke to be anything deep? If we want Shakespeare, we'll watch Shakespeare, simple as that. And so it leads you to wonder exactly how on earth The Expendables 3 ended up the way it did. The first red flags were raised when it was announced earlier this year that the film would be rated PG-13, and that was just the start
First off, the plot is pretty much the same as Expendables II, but with less action and more boring revenge BS. Then there's the moment where Sly Stallone (let's just say it's easier to remember the stars by their real names rather than their character names) disavows the team and brings in all these boring new people. The Spider-Man wannabe who can climb elevators- so what? The chick. There's no other reason for her to be in the film other than to be the chick. I can't remember any of the others right now because they're THAT forgettable. From there on, there's pretty much no reason for Stallone to continue with the mission. Other than revenge, etc. But of course, naturally, he continues, gets himself in trouble with his own stupid actions, blah, blubbety blip, and we get one of the most boring action sequences in history this side of Man of Steel, complete with dreadful editing and camera too close to the action
There's also the fact that the film is PG-13, and it shows- the violence is not only toned down, but it also constrains the plot from being any more interesting in any way. We get boring gunfight after boring gunfight with some hand to hand here and there. Speaking of which, there's very little action here- there's a grand total of 4 action scenes in the film and the only one of which is interesting, being the end one- but even then, it's not as interesting as it should be. When Stallone and Gibson finally square off, the fight lasts for like a minute and then boom. Over.
The one saving grace of the film is the addition of Snipes, Banderas, and Gibson. There's not much for them to work with in the first place, but they make the most of what they're given to work with, and they really do try. Banderas is an annoying loudmouth, but at least his endless talking in his scenes do liven up the pace. Snipes is always a pleasure to watch and his fight scenes are the best thing about the film, but he's under-used. Gibson always has even one of my favourite actors and his portrayal of a villain here is brilliant. I've always thought he's been the perfect guy to play a villain, and despite the cringe worthy dialogues he's given here he does what he can to brighten the atmosphere with his portrayal
Otherwise there's really no reason to see this film. It's pretty much The Godfather 3 of the franchise- the sequel that was not needed and did nothing to advance any character or plot, was just recycled and had no reason to exist. And furthermore there's an Expendables 4 in production. This is despite the fact that the film leaked onto the web early two weeks before its release. To me, whoever did that must have realized just how awful the film is and leaked it as a warning, that or Lionsgate is doing this for more PR and is disguising it as an accidental leak just to cause more publicity. Either way, avoid this one like the plague.
First off, the plot is pretty much the same as Expendables II, but with less action and more boring revenge BS. Then there's the moment where Sly Stallone (let's just say it's easier to remember the stars by their real names rather than their character names) disavows the team and brings in all these boring new people. The Spider-Man wannabe who can climb elevators- so what? The chick. There's no other reason for her to be in the film other than to be the chick. I can't remember any of the others right now because they're THAT forgettable. From there on, there's pretty much no reason for Stallone to continue with the mission. Other than revenge, etc. But of course, naturally, he continues, gets himself in trouble with his own stupid actions, blah, blubbety blip, and we get one of the most boring action sequences in history this side of Man of Steel, complete with dreadful editing and camera too close to the action
There's also the fact that the film is PG-13, and it shows- the violence is not only toned down, but it also constrains the plot from being any more interesting in any way. We get boring gunfight after boring gunfight with some hand to hand here and there. Speaking of which, there's very little action here- there's a grand total of 4 action scenes in the film and the only one of which is interesting, being the end one- but even then, it's not as interesting as it should be. When Stallone and Gibson finally square off, the fight lasts for like a minute and then boom. Over.
The one saving grace of the film is the addition of Snipes, Banderas, and Gibson. There's not much for them to work with in the first place, but they make the most of what they're given to work with, and they really do try. Banderas is an annoying loudmouth, but at least his endless talking in his scenes do liven up the pace. Snipes is always a pleasure to watch and his fight scenes are the best thing about the film, but he's under-used. Gibson always has even one of my favourite actors and his portrayal of a villain here is brilliant. I've always thought he's been the perfect guy to play a villain, and despite the cringe worthy dialogues he's given here he does what he can to brighten the atmosphere with his portrayal
Otherwise there's really no reason to see this film. It's pretty much The Godfather 3 of the franchise- the sequel that was not needed and did nothing to advance any character or plot, was just recycled and had no reason to exist. And furthermore there's an Expendables 4 in production. This is despite the fact that the film leaked onto the web early two weeks before its release. To me, whoever did that must have realized just how awful the film is and leaked it as a warning, that or Lionsgate is doing this for more PR and is disguising it as an accidental leak just to cause more publicity. Either way, avoid this one like the plague.