The Expendables 4
Armed with every weapon they can get their hands on and the skills to use them, The Expendables are the world’s last line of defense and the team that gets called when all other options are off the table. But new team members with new styles and tactics are going to give “new blood” a whole new meaning.
- Released: 2023-09-22
- Runtime: 103 minutes
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Thrillers
- Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, 50 Cent, Randy Couture, Levy Tran, Sheila Shah, Jacob Scipio, Liam Neeson, Steven Seagal, Mike Möller, Cokey Falkow, Iko Uwais, Nicole Andrews, Dan Chupong, Jason Lines, Tjaša Perko
- Director: Scott Waugh
Comments
- darrenbjones - 22 June 2024
The bar has always been low for these, but seriously???
The plot is simple enough, mercenaries steal nuclear detonators from Libyan terrorists so they can rig a nuclear bomb to start WW3. The Expendables are tasked with stopping this.
Stallone is back for a bit, as are Couture, and Lundgren, but they are all supporting characters to the Jason Statham show. Megan Fox, 50 cent, Tony Jaa, and Iko Uwais also join the cast along with Jacob Scipio doing a good Antonio Banderas impression as his son, and Andy Garcia is also here as the obligatory guest villain.
Also taking centre stage are some of the worst cgi and green screen effects of the last decade, and the editing slows the action sequences to an embarrassing level.
There are some great moments, one guy gets shot in the head, his brains exploding, before he screams as the motorbike he is riding ends up over the side of a tanker. There's a 5 second pause while the characters, surrounded by armed foes with guns pointed directly at them, give each other knowing nods then get close enough to engage in hand to hand combat.
These films are fun with a lowercase f, but the low bar they've set over the last 3 films is easily limbo danced under by this one. Leave it at the trilogy and give this one a miss. - Falko_h1 - 23 May 2024
A nostalgic ride that misses the mark
"The Expend4bles" attempts to recapture the magic of its action-packed predecessors but ultimately falls short. With a cast of aging action stars, the film aims to deliver the same high-octane thrills and explosive set pieces that fans have come to expect. While the nostalgia factor is undeniable, the film struggles to bring anything fresh to the table.
The plot follows the familiar formula of a group of elite mercenaries on a dangerous mission. Despite the star-studded cast, including some new additions, the character development is shallow, leaving little room for audiences to connect with the heroes. The dialogue is often clichéd, and the humor feels forced, detracting from the overall impact.
Action sequences, a staple of the franchise, are abundant but lack the innovative choreography and intensity that made the earlier films stand out. The overreliance on CGI effects also diminishes the visceral thrill that practical stunts used to provide.
In the end, "The Expend4bles" feels like a missed opportunity. While it offers moments of entertainment and nostalgia for fans of the genre, it fails to live up to the high standards set by its predecessors, resulting in a somewhat underwhelming experience. - Leofwine_draca - 7 May 2024
The least of the four
The fourth in the by now long-running series and, sad to say, it's the least of the lot. This one has a non-existent storyline which involves some bad guys getting their hands on nuclear detonators and the good guys trying to stop them. Jason Statham takes centre stage here, with Stallone appearing in little more than an extended cameo, and while I like Statham, this is far below the quality of solo vehicles like THE BEEKEEPER. While I was engaged by seeing my screen favourites like Tony Jaa and Iko Uwais, they don't get a whole amount of screen time and the action feels largely routine, too reliant on bad CGI and explosions. There are also far too many lapses and plot holes for this to be remotely plausible.
