The plane carrying the founder of PMC crashed. This is not just news at the end of August 2023, but also the finale of the first act of the new Expendables, which lasted nearly nine years and now returns to the big screen with its fourth episode. The reason is not entirely clear.
The return of a series of films about a frankly incompetent team of mercenaries who, for some inexplicable reason, keep taking government orders now seems forced and inappropriate – which of course isn’t the case in the case of a franchise that was tortured and inappropriate to begin with. playing hands.
However, before this whole enterprise it at least made some sense. The Expendables were the Avengers to video store kids. The cast includes Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and Terry Crews, and includes Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Mickey Rourke, Harrison Ford, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mel Gibson, and others. The actors in the regime action films did not work as an ensemble at all because there was no chemistry between the actors – and all these legends, out of habit, acted as if they were in their own separate movies. are not very consistent with each other.
Never mind that the absurdity of the plot and dialogue (consisting almost entirely of cringe-worthy and categorically unfunny one-liners) don’t even live up to the genre’s modest standards. It doesn’t matter that these films portray unprincipled scoundrels and murderers as heroes who are not without nobility (and even deserve heaven). It was clear that all this had some appeal to connoisseurs, and there were enough of them for The Expendables to become a success: each of the parts collected a pretty decent box office – even the third was made under a treacherous PG-13 rating instead of the usual R (whatever although it performs worse than its predecessors).
It was an unbearable movie for the most part, but there were bright moments that made you crave it. Despite Stallone’s mediocre direction and a demonic presence that clearly brings down generally decent cameraman Jeffrey Kimball (“Top Gun”, “Mission: Impossible 2”), as well as editors Ken Blackwell and Paul Harb, the original film featured spectacularly staged stunts: the legendary Chad Stahelski, who worked on The Matrix and later directed John Wick, was responsible for them.
Second episode directed by Simon West instead of Stallone (“Con Air”, “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”, “Handyman”), naturally he upped the ante of directing, and the picture improved as well (cinematographer Shelley Johnson had previously successfully stood behind the camera on The First Avenger). And in the third “The Expendables,” a good villain, played by Mel Gibson, showed up for a change and made some pretty accurate statements about the double moral standards of the heroes (and the franchise itself).
In the end, it was clear what it was and who it was for: the first three films had a nostalgic appeal and recalled the glory days of action movies of the 80s and 90s, as if closing this chapter. And literally: the third “The Expendables” was released two months before the premiere of the first “John Wick,” which set a new genre standard (both series are owned by Lionsgate, by the way).
After that, the series appeared to be retired: The Expendables’ series spin-off, which has been talked about since 2012, has yet to see the light of day (we’re sure it will stay that way), but the hilarious comic book series “The Expendables Go to Hell”, in which the heroes are killed off – naturally – In Doom mode, he tries to get out of the underworld by crushing demons, Valkyries, Nazis, dragons, knights and other fantastic creatures.
It’s an open question who needs a fourth “The Expendables,” including everyone else in the production. Thankfully the R rating is back, but the series has nothing to be nostalgic about anymore, so it’s mostly nostalgic on its own, referencing its own old jokes (almost no one remembers them). Don’t dismiss the quote from Statham and Megan Fox’s clumsy “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” and rapper 50 Cent’s vocal “PIMP” as homage to the next period in chronology (i.e. zero). who is in the cast for a reason. Adding to these sorrows is the withdrawal of more old-timers from The Expendables (the process began after the second film, but has now surpassed the limits of logic): neither Schwarzenegger, nor Lee, nor Crews are in the frame. After them, only Wesley Snipes and Antonio Banderas, who appeared in the previous episode, left (by the way, all the young animals recruited at the same time also disappeared). Instead, Fox and 50 Cent appeared, as well as Andy Garcia; They were generally good people, but understandably they were more influenced by desperation.
The most worrying thing is that the film seems to be transferring the reins of power from Stallone (in the plot the heroes avenge him) to Statham, but in reality it is not. It looks like Stallone has been making a testament of sorts in recent years: “Rocky” aka “Creed” definitely goes to Michael B. Jordan, “The Expendables” could go to Statham (but let’s look at his behavior), and “Rambo” has “Grandpa for now.” he will live alone (“Last Blood” may not be the last), only the shared apartment is yours. There is a certain internal logic in this – after all, Statham is the only full-fledged character with at least some kind of screen life. However, in other respects, “The Expendables 4” looks, if not pathetic, then absolutely helpless, and with its children’s rating it manages to make an even more depressing impression than its predecessors.
There were no good movies in this series, but there were some good moments. The fourth movement has become a sponge that absorbs the worst: a picture so empty that its middle forgets its beginning. And you might end up with much more enjoyable things to do in 2023 than watching a movie about “good Chevekas.” “Try to keep them like that” – yes they tried.