Stars A truck load of testosterone (or just refer to the cool teaser above, or the poster to the right) Directed by Patrick Hughes The Expendables had a cool concept when it first came out in 2010. It pooled some of the top action stars from across three decades and turned on the blender, putting out some tough action beats hanging on a paper thin plot - just like they used to back in the day. It’s all about the star power and the action then. Two years later, they did it again by pulling in an action star from the 70s (going back an extra decade) while shining the light on a few rising stars. At this point, it might be considered as “The Leftovers” (although, I hear that title is taken by some TV show) although one particular action star we’d like to see in the mix is still missing. Having wrangled his Rocky IV co-star (that’s Dolph Lundgren) Stallone has now brought along his Assassins co-star, El Mariachi (version 2), Antonio Banderas, and his Demolition Man co-star, Wesley Snipes, into the mix while managing to snag Frasier himself, Kelsey Grammar, and one Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford. And on villain duties, who better than ‘Mad' Max Rockastansy himself; crazy Martin Riggs; the hearty William Wallace; gentlemen, strap your boots for Mr Mel Gibson! With less showboating this time around, we’re treated with some truly cool action beats that lead to the all-out finale that actually focusses on the action rather than the ‘cool’ factor of having Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis striding along side-by-side and mowing down the bad guys in a hail of gunfire. The plot is still paper thin, but the story does provides some great zingers and one-liners although it’s Antonio Banderas who steals every scene he’s in and walks away with the movie, much like how he did it in Shrek 2 as Puss in Boots. The movie has three very distinctive acts. The first part features a jailbreak from a speeding train, and that brings in exExpendable, “Doc” (Wesley Snipes). Snipes owns the first act. They go from that ‘rescue’ to an on-going mission that introduces Mel’s mad villain, Conrad Stonebanks, who is not only an exExpendable but one of the co-founders! Once that mission goes south, Sly’s Barney Ross disbands the current team and puts together a new team to take out Stonebanks. That’s where we get our rising stars such as Kellan Lutz (last seen in The Legend of Hercules and the more recent animated Tarzan), Glen Powell, boxer Victor Ortiz and MMA fighter Ronda Rousey who does little to dilute the testosterone levels. This is also when Gibson starts to shine as the bad guy, reminding us of the star power he used to carry and still has, and we even get a cameo from Mr. Robert Davi! The third act is all hands on deck which includes Harrison Ford’s Major Drummer as the company man replacing Mr Church (Bruce Willis - who does not appear at all), and Antonio Banderas’ Galgo, all heading into an extended action sequence that could put most war movies to shame. Every character gets their moment to shine and Banderas still swipes some from others, providing much of the humour in this last act. It’s also very evident that Ford is having the time of his life, clearly relishing the opportunity to be a part of this. When his character says that this is the most fun he’s had, you can believe it’s Ford saying it himself. For an action movie fan, you really can’t ask for more than to have fun with these guys. Aussie director Patrick Hughes (who made the excellent Red Hill) manages the action very well, surpassing the efforts by previous action director, Simon West. He also manages to carry some of the drama through, especially with Stallone’s help. The Bulgarian locations also lend to some very attractive cinematography, be it in the city (the Museum assault) or the countryside (hiking to Stonebank’s War Zone). The action beats have an intense edginess without going overboard although the costume design makes it a little difficult to tell the good guys from the bad guys once all hell breaks loose. In all, Hughes delivers a snappily paced action movie with some strong character moments for a few of them If this is the last hurrah for these guys - Schwarzenegger is looking rather weary - then it’s a fine way to cap the series, even with the promise of a next generation. Fans of the stars will have their moments, the humour works and the action delivers where it counts this time. There’s a real boost from the new additions unlike with Chuck Norris’ token appearance or Van Damme seemingly phoning in his performance in the last flick. What we get here is a reminder of why these stars ruled back in the day, even if they acknowledge that it may be time to step down. And yet, there’s fun to be had. Rating: ***1/2 Add (Aug 16)- Did an additional write-up here. For Comparison The Expendables [2010] *** The Expendables 2 [2012] **
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