Expend4bles, the fourth movie in ‘The Expendables’ franchise is a disappointing one. And it’s disappointing not because of just one reason; this movie fails across the board to be entertaining or fun.
When the first Expendables movie came out in 2010, everybody knew what it was. It was an attempt for ageing action stars of the 90s to relive their glory days once more. But to everyone’s surprise, the movie was a huge hit. The next four years saw two more sequels to the franchise come out, each time adding a new ageing star to the cast.
But to release a sequel almost 10 years after the last one came out, and on such a small budget was a bad idea, and the results are on the screen for all to see.
The failings of this movie have to do with fundamental things that the first three movies did relatively well.
To start, the visual effects of this movie are just not good. It’s not even that they are bad visual effects, they’re just embarrassing to look at. The audience is so acutely aware of any time any visual effects are used on screen, that the suspension of disbelief that a movie like this needs to enjoy it is affected.
The action in this movie isn’t fun to watch either. The first three movies had some stand-out action scenes, whether it was a car chase or a hand-to-hand combat scene. None of the action scenes in this fourth iteration are good. They are all shot using a shaky cam, and the editing in the action scenes is so haphazard that rather than being excited by what’s happening on screen, the audience is left confused and at times nauseous.
And this is a shame when you consider the talents of some of the stars involved in this series.
Iko Uwais and Tony Jaa are two of the most talented action stars working today. Both Uwais and Jaa are capable martial artists who’ve displayed their talents on screen in other movies such as The Raid and the ‘Ong Bak’ franchise. If these actors had gotten the opportunity to display their skills, and if the editing wasn’t as horrible as it is, this movie wouldn’t have been half bad.
Megan Fox is the biggest new addition to the movie, and she doesn’t add anything worthwhile.
Fox’s acting chops are not utilised at all, and neither are her capabilities as an action star. It’s almost like the makers of the movie needed to add another big Hollywood name, and they picked Fox’s name out of a bucket.
One of the best parts about the previous movies was the banter that Sylvester Stallone’s Barney Ross and Jason Statham’s Lee Christmas share in the movie, and honestly that was the only enjoyable part of this one too. It’s a shame that there’s so less of it this time around.
VERDICT: Skip this movie at the theatres and on streaming. It’s not worth the effort.
– Deviprasad Nair
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