The Expendables 3

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The Expendables 3
Starring Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson, Jason Statham, Wesley Snipes
Directed by Patrick Hughes

Synopsis:
The boys are back!  After rescuing fellow Expendable Doc (Wesley Snipes), the old gang - led by fearless leader Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) - set out to stop a shipment of bombs meant to be delivered to a warlord in Somalia.  Barney learns that the man they're after is Stonebanks (Mel Gibson), an Expendable co-founder who went rogue, and someone Barney thought was long dead.  The attack goes terribly wrong and Stonebanks escapes.

Barney, upset that he put his friends' lives in jeopardy, decides to re-start the Expendables with a new, younger breed of soldiers, but this too ends terribly as they're captured by Stonebanks, and Barney relies on his old crew to free them and stop Stonebanks' evil plan.

Review:
"The Expendables" series has never been something you see in hopes of plot, character development or acting.  It's always been a great action series that heralded back to the classic 80s action films, something nostalgic for older filmgoers such as myself.  The cast is an impeccable who's-who of classic action stars, and it always worked out well.

Unfortunately, in the third installment, it seems that the powers-that-be decided to do away with what made the previous two films such an enjoying experience and instead try to reach out to the "younger generation" by spending most of the film focused on the four new young stars (Kellan Lutz, Glen Powell, Victor Ortiz and Ronda Rousey).  Instead of the classic banter between Stallone, Statham, Lundgren, Crews and Couture, the film focuses around the cocky arrogance of youth and it becomes another "modern" action film where over-the-top explosions and epic gun battles are replaced by technology and stealth, which isn't what "The Expendables" are all about.

The beginning scene with Doc's release was amazing.  The final scene with the Expendables battling Stonebanks and an entire country's army was equally as amazing.  The middle part where the young guns take the stage is the worst part, completely unnecessary, and drags down the film. 

Not to mention it's watered-down with a PG-13 rating, while the first two had an appropriate R-rating.

Summary:
The third "Expendables" tries to pander to the younger audience, and in the end it not only failed at that, but managed to alienate its main fanbase.

My Rating: B+

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