What’s It About
Armed with every weapon they can get their hands on, the Expendables are the world’s last line of defense and the team that gets called when all other options are off the table. The Expendables are assigned on a mission to stop Suarto, who runs a terrorist organization, from smuggling nuclear warheads that will ignite a conflict between Russia and US.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
They’re back, but I think they’ve gone a bit off-topic with the casting. I thought The Expendables were a group of actors that had action-star cred. In the first movie, people like Stallone, Statham, Lundgren, Couture, Crews, and Li made the team. The second one added Van Damme, Willis, Norris, Schwarzenegger, and a few others. Number three gave us Snipes, Gibson, Ford, and Banderas, along with some lesser-known actors. The team needed someone to fight, so why not? Now we’re on the fourth in the series, and it feels like they’ve run out of action stars. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the movie, but why are Megan Fox, Andy Garcia, and 50 Cent a major part of the Expendables team? 50 Cent is an action wannabe, Garcia has more of a cop vibe, and Fox is only in it as eye candy. They got Tony Jaa (Ong Bak, Monster Hunter) and Iko Uwais (The Raid, Wu Assassins) and, for whatever reasons, did not use them as much as they should have. The Expendables franchise has always been about putting as much action in a two-hour time frame along with some weak plot to get things going. Expend4bles lives up to its namesake, but after three installments, you would think they would try and up the ante from the previous films. Unfortunately, this fourth film is no better or worse than the others. They just added a few new faces to their proven formula. On one hand, it’s safe, and it works. On the other hand, it’s a been there, done that, and I would really need to like Stallone to pay full price to see this. Stallone fans may rejoice. Everyone else, wait and watch it on Starz.
OUR RATING – A BARNEY ROSS 6
MEDIA
- Genre – Action
- Street date
- Digital – October 13th, 2023
- DVD/Blu-Ray – November 21st, 2023
- Video – 1080p
- Screen size – 1.78:1
- Sound – English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, Audio descriptive
- Subtitles – English SDH, French, Spanish
Extras
- Audio Commentary with Director Scott Waugh
- Bigger, Bolder, Badder: The Expendables in Action (16:57) – Several producers, crew, and cast, discuss the developing the film’s action sequences and stunt work, trying to deliver a fresh experience in an established franchise. Special attention is paid to the film’s vehicular action.
- More Than an Team: New Blood Meets Old Blood (19:07) – An exploration of the film’s large cast of characters, with emphasis on the newer members.
- Theatrical Trailer (1:52) – A fun red band trailer that emphasizes the R rating, coming off of the third film’s unpopular choice to release as PG-13.
- Costuming the Expendables (11:33) – Costume Designer Neal McClean describes his method and choices for gearing up the Expendables, starting from military and tactical styles and incorporating character personalities and styles. Several cast members also join in to briefly discuss their wardrobe.
- We Get the Job Done: Breaking Down the Fighting Styles (8:57) – Producer Kevin King Templeton, director Scott Waugh, and cast members describe the film’s many character-based fight styles, and incorporating martial arts.