"The Expendables 3" Movie Review

"The Expendables 3" Movie Review
Introduction

(Summarized Review can be found here: http://www.wljack.com/2014/08/movie-review-expendables-3.html)

Barney (Stallone) is back with his team of tough men, The Expendables! This time, they come face to face with Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson) who was one of the co-founder for The Expendables! Currently, Stonebanks is a war criminal and The Expendables is tasked to capture him.

This time around, 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!

How will The Expendables deal with Stonebanks?

Who are the new members for The Expendables?

Let’s find out all the action in your nearest cinema!

Review:

“The Expendables 3” is the third instalment to the franchise. The film is directed by Patrick Hughes.

The fundamental concept for the film is almost the same as the previous two movies. The plot is not the winning point for this movie as it is predictable and it is basically what you could expect for “The Expendables” series. Do expect to see the boom, the bam and the “Heroes Save The Day” plotline as anticipated.

As for the pacing of the show, it is a little bit inconsistent. It starts off with subtle action scenes in the beginning, then being interrupted by some boring moments in the middle of the film. Aside from the mid-part of the movie, the show itself is actually quite action-packed in overall and the choreography of the action sequence is as good as it was in the past 2 films.

The main problem of the film is the introduction of the younger generations into the film. As mentioned above in the pacing aspect, the dull moment is actually the part when the film is trying to introduce these new characters one by one in a linear manner.

Of course, I do appreciate the involvement of Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Harrison Ford and especially Mel Gibson into the series. Mel Gibson has delivered a convincing acting as the villain in the show. In fact, his acting is one of the best amongst the casts in the show.

But seriously, I think that the younger ones are a little bit lacking of charisma compared to the old action stars. It’s not that they are really bad but they did not perform good enough to impress the audience or the fans of the series. As for the original casts such as Stallone, Statham, Lundgren and etc, all of those old-timer action superstars deliver great actions which every fans would want to see.

Plus, the script is actually quite cheesy. However, some of these lines can be quite funny and provide some gag time to the audience.

The visual and sound effects are overall decent. However, the CGI effect during the helicopter fight near the end looks a bit choppy in my opinion. But it is compensated by the great visual effects during the earlier helicopter-train scene and later tank-destroying-building scenes. The soundtracks and background music harmonize well with the film too.

However, another difference about this third movie is that they have toned down the brutality in every scene. In the previous instalments, they have involved more realistic bloodshed scenes which are not too gory or fake. But these scenes are nowhere to be found in this third one. Thus, it becomes more kids-friendly but less fans-friendly.  (A lot of fans for this franchise have actually enjoyed the realistic bloody moment in the past films just like how Mortal Kombat fans enjoy watching “Fatality” in Mortal Kombat games!)

In addition, this movie has less nostalgic moments which could relate us with the 80s actions classics!

What I like about the movie:

1. As massive as previous movies, packed with solid actions
2. Great Cast of Old-timer Action Superstars
3. Funny moments
4. Decent visual and sound effects in overall
5. Kids-friendly

What I dislike about the movie:

1. No-brainer plot
2. Inconsistent pacing
3. Younger Generation Expendables Lacking of Charisma
4. Toned down brutality and Let Down For Fans
5. Lacking of nostalgic moments resembling 80s classic

Verdict:

This movie deserves a 6.5/10.0!

“Still packed with great action but it’s a Kid-Friendly “The Expendables” movie! ” –WLJack

“The movie is okay but I don’t enjoy it as much as the previous two movies. Mel Gibson is great as the villain though!”– Fellow reviewer, Jose Yap

Highly recommended to those who love action movies or are fans to any of the old-timer action superstars in this film!

If you are expecting the magical gimmick which could relate you with the nostalgic 80s action movies moments, then you are most probably going to be disappointed. The Expendables fans who hunger for bloodshed scenes would be disappointed too.

Million thanks to Nuffnang for the opportunity to attend the #NNPremiereScreening of the movie!  #TheExpendables3

Published by WLJack.