I have greatly enjoyed the first two entries in this series and I went into the theater last night expecting another good showing from the action gods of my childhood. Good news, peeps: I wasn’t disappointed.
I have greatly enjoyed the first two entries in this series and I went into the theater last night expecting another good showing from the action gods of my childhood. Good news, peeps: I wasn’t disappointed. The first entry still sits atop the mountain, but I thought The Expendables 3 was vastly superior to the first sequel. The first was the most brutal of the bunch, and it was also buoyed by Sly’s direction. The second was fast, furious, and full of laughs, but I felt that the action choreography wasn’t as strong, and there was a bit too much winking at the camera for my taste.
While this latest Expendables yarn still falls short of the initial offering, the choreography was better this time out and the tongue-in-cheek factor wasn’t as noticeable–though it was still there. The movie had been playing for maybe five minutes or so when the character played by Wesley Snipes (who had just been rescued from some top secret prison) was asked why he had been locked away. The response? “Tax evasion.” Yet The Expendables 3 is a smooth and polished thrill ride that delivers the goods. If I didn’t have the first one to compare it to, I might think this was the best thing an old school action lover like myself could hope for.
I was worried about this latest entry largely because of the PG-13 rating and the large cast. Would I prefer that they include a bunch of f-bombs and paint the set red with blood? Fuck yeah, but I’m being sincere when I say that the movie didn’t suffer from a lack of these elements. It may have provided me with a bit more satisfaction if there was an emphasis on crude language and bleeding, but this was no tame action fare by anyone’s standards, and there was plenty of carnage on display. The film is also wisely broken into sections, which essentially negated my worries about allotting ample time for such a big ensemble; the first third is all about the old guard, the middle is about the new guard, and both the old and the new Expendables join forces for the grand finale. It’s simple but effective, and it allows all of the characters enough space to breathe. No one is wasted and the chemistry is nice.
So let’s talk about the cast, since bringing these titans together is really what the Expendables series is all about. We’ll start with the big bad for Barney Ross and company’s third romp on the big screen: Mel Gibson as Conrad Stonebanks. Look, say what you want about Mel’s off-the-screen behavior; we know he’s a badass when it comes to acting (or directing) and his performance here is no exception. Is he the best villain of the series? I’m still going with Eric Roberts from the first one, but I’ve got a soft spot for Eric, and he had Stone Cold and Gary Daniels backing his play. Having said that, it’s damn close, and most will probably feel that Gibson is better. Having bulked up considerably, Mel looks ready to take on the world. His character here is as impressive as the actor’s new and improved biceps, and Mel is awesome in a rich part. It turns out that Stonebanks and Barney co-founded the team once upon a when, before he went bad and Barney had to take him out–or so everyone thought. He and Sly work well together and Mel is totally dialed in, setting himself up as an adequate foe for a team populated by action heroes. Yes, Mel is still one of the very best in the business, and his Stonebanks is one bad hombre. The fight he has with Sly at the end of the film is much better than the JCVD throwdown that closed out The Expendables 2.
Obviously, there are several newcomers to the series. The first act doesn’t go so well, and when one of the good guys suffers a serious injury Barney decides that he isn’t going to keep leading these guys into the fray until they get killed. So he cuts them loose, but having learned that Stonebanks is still alive, he is compelled to recruit a younger team to hunt his old partner down. Note: Doc, the character played by Snipes, is rescued in the first act, and despite being new to this series, he is thereby lumped in with the old guard. So thirty minutes in, he has been rescued, welcomed back into the group, and promptly retired. Anyway, Barney turns to Bonaparte, a retired mercenary played by Kelsey Grammer, who helps him scout some new blood. Grammer has fun with his part, and thanks to his character we get to meet Smilee, Thorn, Luna, and Mars, played by Kellan Lutz, Glen Powell, Ronda Rousey, and Victor Ortiz. Antonio Banderas also shows up as Galgo, a talkative mercenary who is desperate for work, but Barney initially turns him down. All of these newcomers who Barney immediately welcomes into the fold are game, but I found Rousey and Lutz to be the most entertaining. I was particularly impressed by Rousey–she is already slated to appear in multiple upcoming films and I think she could make some serious noise on the big screen.
Of course, despite the fact that this new edition of Barney’s Expendables team is pretty damn badass and initially shows Stonebanks a thing or two when they catch him off-guard, things go south in a hurry. This sets up the third act of the film, another massive conclusion for the franchise, with the old Expendables and the new Expendables teaming up to try and take Stonebanks and his army of goons down. This balls-to-the-wall go-home sequence is a delight, deftly intertwining a series of gripping chases, gnarly fights, fast-paced shootouts, and massive explosions. Harrison Ford steps in for Bruce Willis, with his Max Drummer character replacing Church. Allegedly Willis was offered three million bucks for four days of work and demanded a million per day, and as much as I like Bruce’s work I can’t say that his absence hurts The Expendables 3. The Drummer character is much like the Church character, and Ford does a fine job with it. Arnold is back in the mix as Trench Mauser, and Jet Li even pops up for a glorified cameo. I think Arnold might have had more screen time in this entry, but he was a bit more impressive in the second one. He’s still great, and as is the case with every entry in this series, it’s a joy watching all of these heavyweights unleash hell together.
Stallone is definitely the star of the show, and while Barney doesn’t have the depth of Rambo or the heart of Rocky, I love seeing Sly in this role. Jason Statham is back to kick lots of ass and sling blades as Lee Christmas, though I felt that if anyone’s presence suffered from all the added firepower to the cast, it was probably his. I love Dolph Lundgren as Gunnar–this is my favorite role of all time for that big blonde asskicker, and Randy Couture (Toll Road) and Terry Crewes (Hale Ceasar) obviously have the routine down at this point. I liked seeing Wesley Snipes as Doc, and he surely still has it. That brings me to Galgo (Banderas), who Barney hires for the big showdown in the third act. Honestly, I thought Antonio stole the show. He was funny, he looked great doing the action bits, and his character was just really entertaining and likable. I haven’t seen him like this since… I don’t know, maybe Desperado, and that was a long time ago, my friends. Banderas was awesome in The Expendables 3 and I can only hope that he’ll find something equally cool to do as a follow-up.
In summary, The Expendables 3 was better than the second one, but not as good as the first, which is honestly what I expected. Having said that, it was surely better than I anticipated, and I was really impressed with the way Patrick Hughes kept things moving and still found time to give each character their due. I still think that Sly should have remained in the director’s chair for this series, but I applaud Patrick for nullifying my worries that screen time would be spread too thin and the PG-13 rating would dampen the mood. If you liked the first two, you’re going to like this one. If you like any of the guys in the cast (or Ronda), you’re going to like it. Hell, if you like action movies, you don’t need to read any reviews, you know you’re going to like it. It’s exciting, it’s fun, and it has a cast that reads like the Action Heroes Hall of Fame.
It’s The Expendables 3, it’s like Christmas in August for people who like to watch movies where a lot of shit gets blown up. Is it perfect? Of course not. Is it as advertised? Absolutely. Beyond that: is there room for improvement for the series? I ask because there is already talk concerning at least two more Expendables pictures. Honestly, it’s going to be hard to top Roberts or Gibson as villains go (and I’m not hating on JCVD, he was fun too), but maybe it can be done. Maybe they’ll bring Mickey Rourke back and somehow crank things up a little more. I would like that. I don’t know how much higher Sly and the gang can take things, but I know this: like the two films that preceded it, The Expendables 3 kicks some serious ass. If you like this type of movie, you can’t afford to miss this one. Put on your lucky ring and get ready to have a blast.
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James Wayland is the author of Trailer Park Trash & Vampires and Dirty Southside Jam, and the writer and director of Never Look Back Again from Pirate Pug Productions. For more on James and his work outside of RVA, visit jameswayland.com.
