Expendables 3

So Expendables 3, the latest instalment in the Expendables franchise. Before I go any further I guess I should fill you in on my opinion of the first 2. The original as far as I was concerned was over-hyped, all action no story didn’t really interest me but it was generally ok, good action scenes and a stellar cast, a 6 out of 10 in my book. The second one I wasn’t going to bother with until the opportunity to review it came about. I sat down expecting the worst and I was blown away, the second film had a good fast paced vibe to it and a couple of excellent cameos it was great to see Chuck Norris on screen, I walked away surprisingly happy and it was one of the best action films I seen that year 8 out of 10 from me.

So after the second Expendables I had expectations, these expectations were lifted further by the fact one of my favourite actors Kelsey Grammer was in it as well as Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford. I could list all the stars in it but these three were the reason I was excited about this one. You can see its full star power on the picture at the top! One of the things I did always like about the Expendables films was the usage of their cast. They have a massive cast, no doubt one of the most successful set of actors ever if you look at box office numbers and longevity. It’s not like some films where they have this extraordinary cast and then they just have a fleeting cameo and you wonder what the point really was.

So this brings me to Expendables 3, which again uses its cast well. The crew are tracking down a former Expendable who is wanted badly for war crimes at The Hague, I could tell you more about the plot but there is not a lot of it and I’d rather not spoil it and if you’ve seen the first two you’ll have the gist of what’s going to happen. Explosions, lots of testosterone, comic relief and Sylvester Stallone opening his mouth just enough so words actually come out.

It opened much like the 2^nd film; action packed quick paced, couple of jokes, and really quickly moved in to the story. However unlike the second one it slows down a couple of times. I mean really slows down. There’s a section after a recruiting expedition where it really drags quite a bit and I found myself checking the time however it did start to pick up pace again and the more and more Mel Gibson is in the film the more I got reinvested. He is fantastic in this, a wonderful blend of suave, cerebral and tough in the character which is well written.

The cast were all excellent, even Ronda Rousey who I was worried may be a bit wooden and in a couple of scenes she was but for the most part she did well. She’s excellent to watch in the UFC by the way absolutely destroying her last opponent, she’s one of the reasons Marie (My other half) has got in to it a bit.

I think my criticism is that one of the things I really enjoyed about the first 2 were the wee cheesy insider jokes and there really was only one in the whole film. The other complaint was it was clearly a building film. Building for the next few films by introducing a new batch of characters and this is fine. You’ve got to protect the franchise, from a business point of view you need to keep looking forward and we all make jokes etc. but some of the cast won’t be able to carry on believably for much longer. It was very noticeable though, lacking any form of subtlety in this regard.

Overall it’s an enjoyable flick, I’d recommend it to everyone who enjoyed the first two and give it a solid 7 out of 10. Not as good as the second but better than the first, I look forward to Expendables 4 and probably 5 and 6 and . . . .