When the first Expendables was announced, it was supposed to be a throwback to the early years of action cinema - gratuitous violence, one liners and major carnage. The first two films lived up to this. The third is just awful.
Instead of spending more time with the aging heroes we've come to love, we get stuck with a bunch of whiny youngsters who don't do anything and aren't very interesting. I seriously doubt the so called "broader" audience this film is aimed at are gonna care about it. And the people who were interested in the series are going to be bitterly disappointed. Nice one, Sly!!!
Some of the new additions to the cast aren't that bad: Banderas, Snipes, Ford, Grammar, but Gibson completely owns the film - which dies whenever he is not around.
How's the action? Instead of being focused and over-the-top like the other two films, we get bland MTV style kills, thanks mainly to the new PG-13 rating. Who thought giving the film this lame rating was a good idea? Hey, lets take a series that is aimed at adults, starring aging action heroes who only the older audience will remember, and turn it into a dumb teen movie where the target audience WILL NOT CARE who they are or what they have done. Surely one of the worst business decisions in recent memory.
Newcomer director Patrick Hughes has not done anything with this film, but its really hard to tell if that was intentional or if the PG-13 hack job done to the film has made it bland.
Overall, this film is just a waste. Too soft for its hardcore fans, and not "hip" enough for its intended young audience. No one will be happy. Sure, it might puts bums on seats for the first week, but it will quickly disappear after that...and with good cause.
"What mean Expendable?" "It's like when you're invited to a party and don't show up and nobody really cares".
I suspect theater owners are gonna know the meaning of this come August 15.
Instead of spending more time with the aging heroes we've come to love, we get stuck with a bunch of whiny youngsters who don't do anything and aren't very interesting. I seriously doubt the so called "broader" audience this film is aimed at are gonna care about it. And the people who were interested in the series are going to be bitterly disappointed. Nice one, Sly!!!
Some of the new additions to the cast aren't that bad: Banderas, Snipes, Ford, Grammar, but Gibson completely owns the film - which dies whenever he is not around.
How's the action? Instead of being focused and over-the-top like the other two films, we get bland MTV style kills, thanks mainly to the new PG-13 rating. Who thought giving the film this lame rating was a good idea? Hey, lets take a series that is aimed at adults, starring aging action heroes who only the older audience will remember, and turn it into a dumb teen movie where the target audience WILL NOT CARE who they are or what they have done. Surely one of the worst business decisions in recent memory.
Newcomer director Patrick Hughes has not done anything with this film, but its really hard to tell if that was intentional or if the PG-13 hack job done to the film has made it bland.
Overall, this film is just a waste. Too soft for its hardcore fans, and not "hip" enough for its intended young audience. No one will be happy. Sure, it might puts bums on seats for the first week, but it will quickly disappear after that...and with good cause.
"What mean Expendable?" "It's like when you're invited to a party and don't show up and nobody really cares".
I suspect theater owners are gonna know the meaning of this come August 15.