After nearly a decade, the Expendables are back in action on the big screen with the film franchise's fourth cinematic installment, the cheekily titled Expend4bles. Paring down the ensemble significantly from the previous two movies and narrowing the primary focus to star Jason Statham, the sequel never matches the old-school action movie ambition of its predecessors. But as one might expect with the '80s action cinema that inspired it, Expend4bles delivers the thrills fans have come to expect.
As the Expendables' longtime leader, Barney Ross, contemplates his future with the team in the face of his advancing age and solitary lifestyle, his right-hand man, Lee Christmas, faces troubles with his fiery girlfriend, Gina. After a mission in Libya to prevent the theft of nuclear warheads goes horribly wrong, the Expendables must pick up the pieces to prevent a terrorist organization from triggering a war between the United States and Russia. However, the group faces betrayal from within as Lee finds himself blamed for the team's recent failure and must move to save his friends in time while saving the world.
After boasting such a large cast for The Expendables 3, trimming it back to a much more manageable size was always something of an inevitability for the franchise. However, even with the smaller cast, the movie doesn't quite take full advantage of the camaraderie and chemistry between its characters, with much of the ensemble sidelined for a significant portion of the film. This, coupled with the absence of several actors who have been a part of the franchise since 2010, makes the whole thing feel like an oddly muted affair for those hoping to see action icons from yesteryear get another chance to shine on the silver screen.
What remains is a largely Statham-centric adventure, as Lee Christmas takes up the baton from Sylvester Stallone's Barney Ross as the clear protagonist of the franchise moving forward. While Statham is certainly capable of this and has been effectively commanding action movies for the past 20 years, it does make Expend4bles feel more like standard solo Statham cinematic fare than a full installment in the franchise, almost like a side-story or spinoff. With Statham also holding a producer role for the sequel, this change in direction makes more sense from a logistical standpoint but may disappoint fans hoping to see other mainstays like Dolph Lundgren play a larger part.
And though the Expendables movies never featured big studio budgets or cutting-edge visual effects, the seams are more visible in Expend4bles. Apart from the reduced cast, there are fewer and less elaborate sets and an overall rushed feel, with only two major action set pieces bookending the movie. To the movie's credit, the last half of the film feels like one extended action sequence, with plenty of fight scenes and gunfights, competently delivered, though perhaps not with the same punch that action scenes in the previous movies had.
If one had to pick one Statham-starring action sequel to watch this year, last month's The Meg 2: The Trench is the superior choice, reveling in how outrageous its own premise is. By comparison, Expend4bles tries to reposition the franchise as a Statham-led line of action movies but at the cost of what made The Expendables such a fun and entertaining series in the first place. There is strength in numbers, and while franchise newcomers like Tony Jaa certainly leave a mark, the movie would really benefit from a wider perspective in its usual popcorn action.
Expend4bles
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.
- Release Date
- September 22, 2023
- Director
- Scott Waugh
- Cast
- Jason Statham, 50 Cent, Megan Fox, Dolph Lundgren, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Randy Couture, Sylvester Stallone
- Runtime
- 103 Minutes
- Genres
- Action, Adventure, Thriller
Directed by Scott Waugh, Expend4bles opens in theaters everywhere on Sept. 22.