by James Reed

The summer blockbuster season is winding down, August is here, which means this is when some late tent-pole movies may have more hits and misses with audiences. Expendable s 3 was a little bit of both in that sense. It was like a roller coaster you heard of, got hyped about but when you finally ride it, you leave it feeling not disappointed, but you know it could’ve been better. The Expendables was just that type of movie as it struggled to find an identity with not only hardcore fans but be family friendly at the same time. Initially there was a big debate with Chuck Norris’ return or not, but after 2012 when he said he had enough due to its R rating and it not being family friendly , the studios decided that they wanted to reach a bigger audience. And a bigger audience means more money, thus the PG-13 for this outing.

Now most audiences and fans of this genre knows the plot of these movies are very dumbed down to the point to where we just ask ourselves, “What is the plot?’ However, in this one we actually have a main plot, but just not executed well at all. This time around, Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and the Expendables team has to go head to head with Conrad Stonebanks, the Expendables’ co-founder (Mel Gibson) who is hell-bent on destroying the team.

The movie did have a few bright points however. For instance, the Stallone and Gibson tension in one scene even though it was an exact rip off from the airplane scene in Mission Impossible 3, the tension still had enough substance that you could tell it was there.

As for the new generation of Expendables , they served their purpose but I think I would’ve enjoyed this movie more if they gave us the action stars we already knew and loved. Sometimes, ‘more stars’ is not better. So, was it better than the others? The honest answer I can really give, is that its Wesley Snipes’ movie in the first half, and then the action baton is passed to Antonio Banderas for the second; both actors outshine everyone else and pretty much did all the work.

So in closing this review, maybe the writers should read the article in where Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson said he would love to join the franchise, only if he could hunt and kill the Expendables, now that’s a movie I would love to see… I think only then I would get my money’s worth, watching my favorite action stars kick ass and make corny one liner and that’s what this installment was missing. Again, there were a few moments, but nothing shocking or funny that left a smile on your face. But the biggest thing was that this movie was missing was an identity. If you’re going to have the best action stars we know and loved, even if they are past their prime, make them unique between each other, which it barely did in this movie.

2 out of 5 stars