The third Expendables movie has expanded it’s cast. Including the old favourites (quite literally) of Rocky, Kindergarten Cop, Ivan Drago and Chev Chelios, the crew has now increased to a whopping sixteen hard nosed bad asses. Some of the new faces include Frasier, Han Solo, Blade and Puss ‘n Boots.
For their third outing Rocky and company take on Martin Riggs in a movie that delivers the same old beats time and time again. There is nothing new here as the stunts seem as old as some of the cast, but none the less, The Expendables 3 delivers plenty of bang for your buck. Movies like this are almost review proof. With a huge installed fan base and Sylvester Stallone rounding everybody up (with the exception of a moody Bruce Willis, who proved too difficult to get back), this will keep action movie fans grinning from ear to ear. With a spectacular opening that revolves around Rocky rescuing Blade from a prison to an explosive finale that sees Rocky take on Martin Riggs while a small war breaks out around them, there is some really well realised set pieces here.
It’s just as well the set pieces are entertaining as the story itself is about as predictable and bland as they come. Rocky tells Chev Chelios and his buddies that they are too old and hires some new guys instead. Cue predictable new guys getting their ass handed to them by Riggs and Rocky has to round up the old guys again and go on a rescue mission. But when Han Solo is on air support in a helicopter, complete with Kindergarten cop and Wah Sing Ku (Come on Lethal Weapon fans, you know this guy) unleashing death from above, audiences will soon forget the abysmal story.
As per usual, things aren’t taking seriously with characters taking pops at their big screen personas time and time again, from references to Sly’s speech to Arnie’s “Get to the chopppahhhh”, these little quips add to the action.
With a huge cast, it’s no mean feat to balance them all together, and while every cast member has limited screen time, there is enough balance here to ensure none of them outstay their welcome, with the exception of Puss ‘n Boots, who delivers a performance that is as annoying as a blow torch in the eyeball. Mel Gibson though, provides a rather inspired performance and is the best thing here by a long shot. The rest of the cast are only playing themselves and if you like them in general, you’ll love them here. Otherwise, you’ll despise them even more, with the only consolation being most of them are used quite sparingly.
The Expendables 3 is perfectly watchable and entertains where it should. Movies like this aren’t known for their story, and this is no exception. While it offers nothing new and is nowhere near as inventive as the last one , you liked the last two movies, you’ll certainly enjoy this.
