Even more legends grace the screen one more time for The Expendables 3. Just like the two prior films, the action is fantastic, the one liners are fun, and its overall an amazing joyride. With new younger actors(and some non actors) taking bigger roles some may get upset. Need not worry, the attention is still on the characters we have come to love over the decades. This is my review of The Expendables 3.
Not only does Sylvester Stallone take part once again in writing the script but, he adds newer stars of the action genre, Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt. Rothenberger and Benedikt(actually married to each other by the way) both wrote the smash 2013 action film, Olympus Has Fallen. To be honest going into the film I knew there was going to be a lot of downtime because the runtime comes in at just over two hours. However, the entire franchise has lent itself to this problem, and of the three films so far, Expendables 3 takes the cake for biggest downtime. This can be a problem for some but, I thought the characters and the progression was nice. Having actors like Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, and Antonio Banderas fill that time makes it worth sticking through. While the story takes a good bit to introduce the newer characters it leads to some fantastic action scenes and an overall fantastic time at the movie theater. The one liners are good in number and will leave big action fans laughing each time one comes out. Stallone, Rothenberger, and Benedikt deserve some good credit for writing a fantastic action movie for us 80s/90s action fans, and I give them a good grade.
This time around the film is directed by Patrick Hughes, who recently directed Red Hill in 2010. While I have never seen this movie, it apparently is a nice action movie. While I cannot speak of his previous work, I can say he does a fantastic job. While not the best outing in terms of directing in this franchise, the action scenes are fluid and he really takes control when there is a lot going on in some of the more massive scenes. I personally love over the top action in films like this, and towards the beginning of the film something so over the top happens that you will be talking about it for some time after you left the theater. It was that amazing. To trim down on the budget, you could tell more CG was use. I am not a fan of a big CG fest in my action movies. Thankfully the CG only comes in spots here and there, nothing harmful. Now onto these amazing actors. New additions to the franchise are Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Kesley Grammar, Antonio Banderas, and of course the man himself, Wesley Snipes. After a few years off, he is finally back and better than ever. While I cannot say he dominates the film, there are some very nice action scenes with him. As a huge fan of his action films, I am just glad to see him back on the big screen. Mel Gibson plays the bad guy in this film, and frankly does an amazing job. While I would have rather seen him play a good guy, he easily is the most well rounded villain of the franchise. Younger actors who were added to the casting this time around are Glen Powell, Victor Ortiz, Kellan Lutz, and Ronda Rousey. While I cannot say I like the additions of all these younger actors, I cannot say they really hurt the film. Also keep an eye out for one of my favorite actors of all time, Robert Davi, who has an appearance in this film. Overall, in this department, Hughes does a fine job of directing some intense action scenes, and gives us fans something to watch over and over again down the road. He gets a big thumps up in my opinion.
Brian Tyler is back for his third outing scoring these films. Just like the previous films, they are good but, nothing special or memorable that us hardcore action fans remember from those great 80s/90s action films. I'm not trying to bring him down at all, he is one of the better composers today, and he gets the job done in this film. He really shines in those high impact action scenes. Tyler gets a good grade from me in scoring of this film.
In closing, these films are made for the action fans of the 80s/90s when stars like Stallone and Schwarzenegger were huge. For fans like me, we just get a joy of seeing some amazing action scenes with stars that were on top of the world in the genre just a couple decades ago. For those on the fence, starting out watching the first two films is what I recommend just so you get use to the feel of the franchise. Watching some classic action films as well wouldn't hurt. So, go out there and see this movie, it is well worth it in my opinion.
8/10
Not only does Sylvester Stallone take part once again in writing the script but, he adds newer stars of the action genre, Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt. Rothenberger and Benedikt(actually married to each other by the way) both wrote the smash 2013 action film, Olympus Has Fallen. To be honest going into the film I knew there was going to be a lot of downtime because the runtime comes in at just over two hours. However, the entire franchise has lent itself to this problem, and of the three films so far, Expendables 3 takes the cake for biggest downtime. This can be a problem for some but, I thought the characters and the progression was nice. Having actors like Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, and Antonio Banderas fill that time makes it worth sticking through. While the story takes a good bit to introduce the newer characters it leads to some fantastic action scenes and an overall fantastic time at the movie theater. The one liners are good in number and will leave big action fans laughing each time one comes out. Stallone, Rothenberger, and Benedikt deserve some good credit for writing a fantastic action movie for us 80s/90s action fans, and I give them a good grade.
This time around the film is directed by Patrick Hughes, who recently directed Red Hill in 2010. While I have never seen this movie, it apparently is a nice action movie. While I cannot speak of his previous work, I can say he does a fantastic job. While not the best outing in terms of directing in this franchise, the action scenes are fluid and he really takes control when there is a lot going on in some of the more massive scenes. I personally love over the top action in films like this, and towards the beginning of the film something so over the top happens that you will be talking about it for some time after you left the theater. It was that amazing. To trim down on the budget, you could tell more CG was use. I am not a fan of a big CG fest in my action movies. Thankfully the CG only comes in spots here and there, nothing harmful. Now onto these amazing actors. New additions to the franchise are Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Kesley Grammar, Antonio Banderas, and of course the man himself, Wesley Snipes. After a few years off, he is finally back and better than ever. While I cannot say he dominates the film, there are some very nice action scenes with him. As a huge fan of his action films, I am just glad to see him back on the big screen. Mel Gibson plays the bad guy in this film, and frankly does an amazing job. While I would have rather seen him play a good guy, he easily is the most well rounded villain of the franchise. Younger actors who were added to the casting this time around are Glen Powell, Victor Ortiz, Kellan Lutz, and Ronda Rousey. While I cannot say I like the additions of all these younger actors, I cannot say they really hurt the film. Also keep an eye out for one of my favorite actors of all time, Robert Davi, who has an appearance in this film. Overall, in this department, Hughes does a fine job of directing some intense action scenes, and gives us fans something to watch over and over again down the road. He gets a big thumps up in my opinion.
Brian Tyler is back for his third outing scoring these films. Just like the previous films, they are good but, nothing special or memorable that us hardcore action fans remember from those great 80s/90s action films. I'm not trying to bring him down at all, he is one of the better composers today, and he gets the job done in this film. He really shines in those high impact action scenes. Tyler gets a good grade from me in scoring of this film.
In closing, these films are made for the action fans of the 80s/90s when stars like Stallone and Schwarzenegger were huge. For fans like me, we just get a joy of seeing some amazing action scenes with stars that were on top of the world in the genre just a couple decades ago. For those on the fence, starting out watching the first two films is what I recommend just so you get use to the feel of the franchise. Watching some classic action films as well wouldn't hurt. So, go out there and see this movie, it is well worth it in my opinion.
8/10