Movies…with a little bit of obscure culture and sports mixed in
“The Expendables will square up against: an arms dealer who commands the might of a massive private army.“ Director: Scott WaughWriters: Kurt Wimmer, Tad Daggerhart, Max Adams, Dave Callaham, Spenser […]
“The Expendables will square up against: an arms dealer who commands the might of a massive private army.“
Director: Scott Waugh
Writers: Kurt Wimmer, Tad Daggerhart, Max Adams, Dave Callaham, Spenser Cohen
Staring: Jason Statham, 50 Cent, Megan Fox, Dolph Lundgren, Tony Jae, Iko Uwais, Randy Couture, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran, Andy Garcia, Sylvester Stallone, Caroline Wilde
Release Date: September 22, 2023
IMDB
No need for steroids. No need for those over the counter pills or fancy teas. Your testosterone levels are officially fully restored.
The first trailer for Expend4bles (2023) has been released and it looks as fantastic, and awful, as one would expect. The cast of familiar characters are back, as well as some new blood (which they are not shy about telling you in the trailer). The plot seems super simple; the bad guys have nukes and if they use them then the planet will plunge into World War III. The special effects look…fine… and outrageous stunts are a plenty. Cheesy one-liners are flying and attractive people are doing attractive people things.
This is the Expend4bles experience.
Jason Statham is back as Lee Christmas. Dolph Lundgren is back as Gunner Jensen. Randy Couture is back as Toll Road and Sylvester Stallone is back as Barney Ross. Those core four individuals are used to dealing out the pain, and they need to teach some of the young bucks and newcomers how it is done.
Megan Fox, 50 Cent, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran and Andy Garcia are all new members to the Expendables franchise. Some have the action movie qualifications, and some do not. But who gives a shit if they are experienced in the art of looking cool not looking at explosions. The Expendables are back in Expend4bles, and the incredibly niche audience is very happy to have them back.
Who had this premiere trailer for Expend4bles starting out with 45 seconds of Jason Statham and Megan Fox doing some sexy fighting with over-the-top Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) style editing and font graphics?
I for one, did not.
The real movie starts when Barney comes to Christmas’s doors and says that he needs his help. We get introduced to 50 Cent’s character, still unnamed, and we get cheesy action movie comedy with Gunner needing glasses. Moving along, CIA Agent Andy Garcia lets everyone know that terrorists have some nuclear weapons off “the coast” (we don’t know what coast) and we can not let them set them off.
So we have established a bit of a crew, the stakes, and where it is happening. What’s next?
TIME FOR A BARNEY PUMP-UP SPEECH. Need it. Absolutely need it. There is plenty of B-roll of explosions, gun fire and punching to go around.
We do get glimpses of Tony Jaa’s character, but he is not decked out in all of the crazy protection of Barney’s crew. He is going to be local help; either a local warrior they hired as a guide or someone held captive that they free.
I guess now would be the time to cue in The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Again, not on my bingo card. Can’t Stop starts blaring and its time for some cleverly placed edits. We have punches lined up with drum beats. We have grunts that are extra gravely. We have tons of knife wielding badassery, lots of fire and numerous projectiles.
As the song begins to go to its remix, this is where I have to point out that the special effects have me a bit worried.
50 Cent in the tank, the boat being plunged at an angle all that has me really worried.
BUT, my concerns are immediately blown away by the face, and karate skills, of Iko Uwais. Arguably the most talented martial artists appearing in movies today (I am not expert but I do use my eyes), Uwais appears to be with the bad guys seeing how he and Christmas are going mono-et-mono with knives. It would seem like Christmas got him good as he is pulling out a blade, but this wouldn’t be the Expend4bles if there wasn’t an innuendo to a dick joke.
Expend4bles is written by the trio of Max Adams, Tad Daggerhart, and Kurt Wimmer. They are all relatively young writers with not a lot of experience. Adams was just part of Amazon Prime’s The Terminal List, and Wimmer has written on his own fair share of action screen plays. Now, with that being said, not all of them were great. Total Recall (2012) and Point Break (2015) were not super well received, but his time dates back to The Thomas Crowne Affair (1999), and Equilibrium (2002), both of which people still have great respect for.
What will the writing on Expend4bles be like? I think more along the playful vein is a safe bet.
Oh, and Daggerhart has only written for one movie called Black Lotus (2023). We don’t need to talk about the reception of that.
Expend4bles is is being directed by Scott Waugh, another newcomer to the directing scene. He has directed Act Of Valor (2012), Need For Seed (2014) and 6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017), and now he. hasthe chance to wirk with by far the biggest cast he has ever had. I do have to think that this choice for director is for Stallone to still have a voice as to how Expend4bles comes out. It is a little bit like hiring a puppet. Not necessarily a bad thing, and it definitely the right move for Waugh’s career.
Okay, so what are we expecting from Expend4bles?
I am not insane enough to think that this movie is going to be “good.” All I really want is for this movie to be is entertaining and understanding of what people want. Fans of the action movies that The Expandables is paying homage too want massive carnage, so do. not make this a PG-13 affair.
Pretty please. The Expendables (2014) was really bad, even for someone who loves this kinda slop like myself. The Expendables 2 (2012) was outstanding at the peak of the franchise thus far. There is no rating yet for this fourth installment, but I am immediately going to be freaking out if I don’t get ample enough violence and carnage.
Expend4bles comes out in theaters on September 22, 2023.
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