I must say that I was in complete awe and amazement that Stallone managed to get Harrison Ford to appear in the movie, and real coup for sure. And the other new 'mature' cast members are also quite impressive.
The film opens with a big style prison break. Well a movie train prison break, as former Expendable 'Doc' is being transferred, and his former colleagues want him back to join the group, so they engineer an audacious prison break from a heavily armoured and well manned train. There are more than a few passing nods to a cast members recent incarceration !!!
With 'Doc' safely out of Prison, the gang head on to a simple matter of an arms deal, all is going fine until the dealer arrives. It turns out to be 'Conrad Stonebanks', former Co-Founder of The Expendables, and longtime nemesis of Barney Ross, who believed his former friend was dead, by his hand. But he is very much alive, and now Stonebanks aims to make the group history. With one of the crew in Hospital, and Trench being sidelined, Ross has to decide what course of action to take, and deal with his new boss, Drummer (Ford). Ross believes that given the suicide nature of the mission, he does not want to endanger the lives of his best friends, so goes it alone, but hiring some new blood, some younger carefree blood, with the help of 'Bonaparte' (Grammer). So with a new team in place, and they bringing technology and know how way over Ross's head, they head after Stonebanks.
All goes well, in fact a little too well. And soon Ross and the team are attacked, and he is left for dead.
The Fed's are not too happy that Ross has once again failed to deliver his arch nemesis. But they find the location that Stonebanks is holding his young team, and Ross heads off, and has a few extra passengers!!
This all leads to the big finale showdown, and what an action packed piece it is. One of the biggest finales I have ever seen, it really is quite something, but how does this compare with the rest of the film?
As much as I really wanted to love this movie as much as I did the second one, it is not in the same league. The biggest issue I have is that it does not feel like an Expendables movie. It is a nice idea having the new young blood, now whether it was the idea to have them permanantly take over, or that they would need rescuing by the older members that Ross leaves behind I do not know, but the whole fun of the first two films was this gang of aged characters, working together, the great banter, and these great names from the 1980's all on screen together. And that chemistry is well and truly lost here.I appreciate that the elder cast are not getting any younger and may find it difficult to the more action packed or stunt related work, so maybe did they they go a film too far?
The main body of the original expendables are benched for the main centre of the film. Blink and you miss the likes of Jet Li and Robert Davi.
I also have to say that one the biggest letdowns is Mel Gibson as 'Stonebanks'. I cannot decide whether we cannot relate to him as a villain, or that he is just not nasty enough. A huge step down from the brilliant Jean Claude Van Damme in the second movie.
There are some things to enjoy. The opening prison break is great, as is the follow on job. The hugely action packed finale is worth watching. And there is, as ever, a great score from Brian Tyler.
If there is to be a fourth film, and judging by the newly released opening box office takings that will be a HUGE IF, then they need to take the film back to the style of the second. If they cannot fulfil a film with mature leads, and recreate that great banter and in-film jokes, then maybe it is best to leave the franchise at three films.
Good but much room for improvement.....7 out of 10
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