Expend4bles (2023) Review
Just when I thought The Expendables 3 made a colossal mistake trying to reach broader audiences with a mainstream-friendly rating was bad enough, franchise newcomer Scott Waugh does the impossible in Expend4bles. The return of the 18 (R)-rating may look as if the franchise has course-corrected its route as it meant to be. But guess what, Waugh’s inept direction manages to turn this otherwise violent action thriller into a listless bore.
Let’s start with the plot. I understand that going in for a nostalgia-heavy ’80s and ’90s-style old-school action movie like The Expendables franchise shouldn’t bother much of the story. But that doesn’t mean the story has to be bland and flat-footed. It begins with Rahmat (Iko Uwais) leading his mercenaries to steal the nuclear warheads and the opening action sequence is already a disappointment with the obligatory shootouts and explosions. Considering Scott Waugh’s experience in the action department from his stunt background to directing the likes of Act of Valor and Need for Speed, I’m surprised the set piece here feels dull and lacklustre.
Soon, the Expendables team led by Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and Lee Christmas (Jason Statham) are assigned on a mission to stop Rahmat at all costs. Joining them includes their recurring team members, Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren) and Toll Road (Randy Couture), and a newcomer named Easy Day (Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson). With Terry Crews nowhere to be seen and Wesley Snipes, who appeared in the third movie, missing in action as well, Waugh could have gone for a better choice than the bored-looking Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
Their mission takes them to Libya but Christmas botches it over a hasty decision, leaving the agent-in-charge Marsh (Andy Garcia) to fire him for his negligence. Christmas’s girlfriend, Gina (Megan Fox) subsequently takes over the team as the new leader and continues the mission with two added newcomers, Galan (Jacob Scipio) and Lash (Levy Tran).
The remainder of the movie takes place mostly aboard a cargo ship, where we see the old and new Expendables team trying to take down Rahmat and his men. In what could have been a potential Die Hard-like scenario, given its predominantly single setting, Waugh does little to ratchet up the excitement. Sure, there is plenty of action but most of them are poorly edited with lots of shaky-cam and quick cuts.
This time, Jason Statham is given a bigger role while Stallone is reduced to a small role (hardly a spoiler since it’s already been long confirmed he’s intended for the former to take over the franchise moving forward). Statham tries his best here but isn’t enough to salvage this train wreck of a movie. Stallone’s limited role defeats the purpose of watching an Expendables movie since his star power matters a lot. Besides, he’s the one who started it all since the first movie back in 2010.
The other recurring cast including Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture are relegated to thankless roles than ever before. Some of the newcomers to the franchise such as Megan Fox are woefully miscast as the new leader (?) of the Expendables team. The way she acts all sexy and feisty comes across as someone who tries so hard to make an impression. Jacob Scipio’s Galan, who turns out to be the son of Galgo (that would be Antonio Banderas’s role in The Expendables 3), attempts to emulate the latter’s neurotic acting style with little success. But frankly, it would have been better to have Antonio Banderas back in the team instead.
Enlisting Iko Uwais and Tony Jaa sounds like a good idea on paper. But Waugh misses the opportunity to make good use of them. While the two manage to showcase their respective martial arts skills, the jittery camerawork ruins everything here. Tim Maurice-Jones’s DTV-style cinematography alongside Michael J. Duthie’s slapdash editing and the movie’s overreliance on shoddy CGI made Expen4bles the least enjoyable one so far.
It was easily the worst movie in the franchise. At least the otherwise ill-fated Expendables 3 has a gleeful Mel Gibson playing the main antagonist and an elaborate, thrillingly staged final battle.