Release Date: August 15, 2014
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson, Jason Statham, Wesley Snipes, Harrison Ford, Antonio Banderas, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Kelsey Grammer, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Rhonda Rousey, Kellan Lutz,
Directed By: Patrick Hughes (Red Hill)
Plot: Barney (Stallone), Christmas (Statham) and the rest of the team comes face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill… or so he thought. Stonebanks, who eluded death once before, now is making it his mission to end The Expendables — but Barney has other plans. Barney decides that he has to fight old blood with new blood, and brings in a new era of Expendables team members, recruiting individuals who are younger, faster and more tech-savvy. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in the Expendables’ most personal battle yet.
Pre-Trailer Thoughts: Another movie featuring a bunch of famous action movie stars kicking ass and stuff blowing up. –LJF
Pre-Trailer Thoughts: Excited can’t even describe how I feel about this movie. I legitimately enjoy the hell out of all the Expendables movies. Sure, they can get silly, but these movies aren’t meant to be examinations of the human condition. No, they’re supposed to be (and are) fun as hell. Can’t wait. –BB
Rate the Trailer (1-5): Two out of five. The trailer doesn’t lie to us; it showcases exactly what we are supposed to see. One liners, guns, macho stuff. Why did they use the font from The Fast and the Furious though? Yeah, apparently that really bothered me. –LJF
Rate the Trailer (1-5): FIVE out of five. Helllllllls yes! This trailer did exactly what it needed to do — reinforce the fact this movie is going to be about guns, violence and explosion as well as introduce all the new faces to the film. It showcased Banderas, Snipes, Ford, Gibson, Rousey and some of the younger dudes pretty well. The Eminem song really added to the fun aspect of the trailer, too.
Theater, Rent, No Thanks, Undecided? I still haven’t seen the first two flicks, but interest will be there, so I’ll go with Rent. I remember the day Bill Bodkin and I decided (or rather, I demanded and brought him along with me) to see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World over the original Expendables, opening the same day. He may hate me for it, but let’s be honest, Pilgrim is quality even if he doesn’t agree. I’d take that movie any day over any Expendables outing. These action movies are made for a certain audience and maybe I don’t just don’t see the appeal. But I’ll still give them a chance. Someday. –LJF
Theater, Rent, No Thanks, Undecided? THEATER I’ve seen both Expendables movies in theaters and as I mentioned throughout this column, I loved every second of them. What I think EX3 has going for it, compared to the others, is this the inclusion of a credible bad guy. Mel Gibson, for all that’s happened throughout the years, can still act. He was the brightest part of Machete Kills, taking a terrible movie on his back and making it somewhat entertaining. Here, I think he’s really going to have a lot of fun and he’s going to be much more of a compelling villain than Eric Roberts in EX1 and JCVD in EX2. Also, the Expendables themselves have added some acting power to their ranks as Kelsey Grammer, Wesley Snipes, Harrison Ford and Antonio Banderas join up. Sure, they’ve all been in some really terrible movies, but they can still go. So while this might not be an Oscar-winning written and acted film, EX3 is going to be huge fun and will be vastly better than it’s already enjoyable predecessors. –BB
Related Articles:
Review: Expendables 2 (Bill Bodkin)
Trailer Tuesday: The Expendables 2 (Bill Bodkin & Logan J. Fowler)
