The first thing that immediately catches the eye in the third “Expendables” are the consequences of the “children’s” rating PG-13, which does not imply the presence of a high level of violence or at least blood. The previous two films had an R rating and were characterized by a high level of cruelty, which, incidentally, Chuck Norris refused further participation in the projects of the franchise.
The second point that causes confusion concerns the plot construction of the film. The third part follows in the footsteps of its predecessor in the sense that here everything begins exactly the same as there – there is the main villain, aka Mel Gibson, who tries to kill one of the guys Barney Ross, for which he sets out to take revenge. Then it turns out that the Expendables veterans are no longer cake, and Barney needs a new team. Having recruited young punks, Sly goes on the road.
A little annoying the constant claims of this action movie on the drama with a strong plot. Especially since there is no strong story here. The creators clearly gave up their positions in terms of action and other actions, because it all looks kind of dull: a lot of talk, a lot of completely inappropriate moments. In general, the general impression of viewing is that it was filmed not in Hollywood, and not professionals, but amateurs on an amateur camera.
Perhaps the greatest strength of Expendables 3 is the abundance of stars on the screen. To the already familiar guys added Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes and Antonio Banderas. Moreover, Gibson is very good in the role of the main villain, and part-time old friend Barney Ross.
The writers’ attempt to beat the conflict of generations in the film almost fails miserably. I can see why. Because the audience wants to see classic 80s and 90s heroes kicking bad guys ass. And as a result, he receives an incomprehensible prefabricated hodgepodge with a twist on the Mission Impossible franchise. Natural action here appears only in the last minutes 30-40 of all screen time.
On the one hand, it seems that the film has almost everything that was before. But on the other hand, you look and you realize that something is wrong. And that feeling doesn't leave the whole movie. And the reason for this is that the franchise is simply “opopops” completely. Although the previous two films also could not boast of something out of the box out of the box, but here on the screen just a set of banal clichés.
To sum it up, Expendables 3 was the weakest film in the series. It seems that it is worth waiting for the fourth part, where there will be even more eminent old men, but while the second part remains the best by right.
6 out of 10
Stallone and the company continue to beat the old school on modern technologies and fashion trends, and try the old-fashioned way, facing the asphalt. And if the curious viewer suddenly asks the question “who won?”, then the third part gives an unambiguous answer. In the fourth “Die Hard” tireless John MacLaine became convinced by his own experience that it is not enough now to shoot well and have an uppercut perfectly, because high-tech methods of warfare have replaced the good old muzzle. Now instead of a machine gun - a laptop, instead of a butcher's knife hidden behind the sinus - a flash drive. But sometimes it happens differently, as it was in the sixth “Fast and Furious”, and no hard drive will help. After all, when a real tank appears on the horizon, here they come to the arena and they are beloved veterans, in order to show the young that they are not a single motherboard. They are our youth team. They'll never be too old for this shit. They rely more on the ability to break the jaw than on a laptop and the ability to use the Internet. They are the last heroes of the action movie.
The plot is based on the conflict between the leader of the Expendables Barney Ross and Ross’ former partner Stonebanks, who crossed “the other side of the barricades.” Naturally, a person who once betrayed the Expendables cannot walk quietly on the ground, and settle scores with him - now it is a matter of principle for Barney.
“The Hollywood team is back in the game” – this is the slogan of the third part of the film about the adventures of a team of mercenaries led by the hero Sly. The once improbable idea of bringing together old-school action stars this time seems to have been implemented with even greater enthusiasm. But now it looks not so much daring and original as paranoid, besides all this we have already seen, all this we already know. Yes, Stallone and the company are still cool: the main villain of the picture – Mel Gibson – madness in view no less than it was in “Lethal Weapon” a quarter of a century ago (the famous Brussels look with a squint was still missing), Antonio Banderas is still the same macho (although in “The Expendables” plays the role of a clown), and Stallone himself is still the same John Rambo. That's just pleasant nostalgia - this is the only trump card in the sleeve of the authors of the picture, because neither action, nor humor, nor, forgive God, the plot is not able to properly captivate, entertain, intrigue. In an attempt to assemble the most combative team in cinema history, all other aspects have fallen far into the background. It's too far. For if the previous series of the franchise boasted brutal action (rating R), a good sense of humor and Chuck Norris, now we see quite another.
Perhaps unwittingly, the writers convince us that kicking the door and shooting all the scoundrels was cool and relevant in the 80s, but not now; that Chuck Norris is still irreplaceable; and most importantly, that thanks to the PG-13 rating, old-school ruby becomes a high-budget game in a war on an abandoned construction site in the next yard. The level of plausibility is reduced to a minimum, while the level of (self)irony is reduced to primitive (Wesley Snipes jokes about tax evasion, for example). At the same time, in comparison with the previous series, there were several substitutions. But not only that from the rearrangement of the components of the film’s authors managed to change the amount, but also new characters became unbearably many. Some of the heroes of the militants limited themselves to a few lines and a couple of shots, made, so to speak, for a tick. Instead, there was a little remembered gang of modern fighters, which is better not to mention at all. The same Schwarzenegger, it seems, came to the set to say hello to old friends and smoke a cigar. I'm sorry.
"Expendables-3" - it's like a good erotic: watching is not very interesting, but incredibly pleasant. It's like non-alcoholic beer, like beer, and it doesn't have any effect. In the end, the third "Expendables" - like the third month of summer - do not want to say goodbye, but it's time. And after watching the film, you involuntarily wonder: What to do next - wait for the fourth episode or still better to dust off the old VCR? ?
This is probably the most anticipated film of the summer, at least for me. Why did I wait so long for him? - Because he was on his set in Varna (Bulgaria). I remember Sylvester Stallone sitting in a café, wearing his black hat, drinking coffee with someone. Of course, I expected security, but I didn’t expect that the steep strong bodyguards would cover the entire beach. And now, finally, the long-awaited “Expendables 3” came out!
It all begins with the fact that the train transported to prison escaped criminal, who turns out to be a former member of the unstoppable. Of course, a group of tough guys goes to free their comrade. By the way, the fight attracted me very much, the new director did well (but Sylvester also tried well over the first one, as a director, but it is better to let him be an actor). The sound and music are great!
As a result of all the beautiful fight of professionals, another person joins the unstoppable, or rather, their friend. But I didn’t expect to relax, even though it seemed that the most difficult part was overcome. However, I thought they'd soon kill some merchant and not! There was a surprise waiting for them – Stonebanks (played by Mel Gibson). He founded the Expendables with Barney. Unexpectedness awaited me at every step and she will also wait for you when you watch the film.
I was a little disappointed that Bruce Willis went missing and Harrison Ford showed up. But the film, like life, does not stand still, and the disappointment with it goes away. Banderas played well. I thought Barney wouldn't be happy hunting his old friend, and he'd be mad at him for betraying them and selling guns. I believe that their task (by the way, he was assigned to them by the CIA) in the third part, the most dangerous, because the enemy knows them as peeled.
In the middle of the film, I didn’t like the story. I didn’t want Statham and the rest of the team (my countryman among them) to be cut off for half of the movie and replaced by newcomers. But it's still part of the movie! I understand Barney as the hero of the film, because he cares about his guys, they are like a family to him! But still, they are a team, which means that they will reach the end together!
The villains in "The Expendables" are played only by famous actors. I can’t say that Eric Roberts in the first part impressed me, but Van Damme played his part well. Now it's up to Mel Gibson to calculate their every move. He did the job!
But the special effects were much better than in the first two parts, where all the heads were torn half a meter higher than it should have been. Explosions and other special effects, although computer, look very good! They looked best in a shootout in Somalia (a port in Varna) and in a high-rise building at the end of the film. By the way, while there was a shootout and there were explosions in Somali, I thought that I was there quietly (over the port on the road) by car.
As a result, the new movie “The Expendables 3” turned out to be just great! Personally, the second "Expendables" seemed paleer than the first, and the third, again restored their former power! The atmosphere, special effects, entertainment, actors - everything is fine! It is a pity that Schwarzenegger did not wait for “The Expendables 3” and decided to spoil his reputation with “Sabotage”. The Expendables 3 hit theaters on August 14th and I highly recommend you watch them!
9 out of 10
Undoubtedly, the main advantage of the entire franchise “The Expendables” is that it literally revived the long-held dream of all those people who grew up on the cult and eternal action films of the 90s, whose bright era alas has passed. Thus, this film directed by Patrick Hughes becomes the third attempt not only to create a film that will cause considerable nostalgia for people who miss old-school action films, but also noticeably take a break from the overly computerized blockbusters of modernity and all sorts of far-fetched Optimus Primes, who replaced the former heroes of the militants as the saviors of the planet.
Obviously, this movie wasn’t as good as the previous ones. After all, if the first film became a kind of nostalgic discovery, and the second became a concentration of humor and dynamics, then this film directed by Patrick Hughes is not trying to do something new and just follows the already trodden path. Nevertheless, almost a tiny number of visual effects on the screen and all this crazy spectacle in the face of numerous chases, shootouts, fights, explosions and destruction shot in the old-fashioned way can not but cause a sincere smile and notes of nostalgia for those films, the likeness of which is no longer removed.
Bribes the film and a truly magnificent cast, which is perhaps the main advantage of the picture and an unambiguous gift for all fans of militants who have always dreamed of seeing all these cult heroes of the action movie in one film. Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham are still insanely good and cool in their usual images of cool and brave men. Mel Gibson gives a truly impressive image of the main villain, roles like which, with the exception of the sequel “Machete”, he has not previously played. It turned out to be a very charismatic, bright and truly spectacular villain, to whom you imbue with considerable sympathy and sincerely believe that Gibson's career is still being revived.
Harrison Ford fits perfectly into the company with his pompous, but still bright performance. Antonio Banderas dignified most of the humor of the tape. Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews and Randy Couture make the same good impression as when watching other parts, the impression of the game Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jet Lee does not spoil even criminally little allotted screen time throughout the film, and the release of the hero Wesley Snipes appears in a kind of ironic banter over the actor himself, who relatively recently came out of prison after a very long prison sentence for tax evasion.
Definitely one significant drawback of the picture catches the eye for sure. Against the background of such eminent actors, whose films have grown more than one generation of viewers, less eminent and younger actors who joined the composition are not remembered at all and throughout the tape look more like “cannon fodder” and elements of the background interior. In fact, as the plot of the picture, which has never been a strong side of such projects, but in this case is a little boring and sagging spectacle. Since not only that the creators of the tape act long-known stamps of the genre, but also not afraid to overthink the plot with an abundance of everything and everything. What makes you feel better when viewing the tape the most.
8 out of 10
Expendable 3 is another opportunity for the viewer to plunge into the atmosphere of the old and beloved old-school militants of the 90s, on which more than one generation of viewers grew up, the era of which tragically came to an end and the likeness of films that have already ceased to be shot a long time ago. The film is not devoid of certain stupidities of the plot and roughness in the production, but still captivating nostalgic content and a truly stellar cast of real veterans of the genre of action movie, which has repeatedly saved our planet from destruction and I want to believe that they will continue to do this.
The franchise, glorifying the magnificent composition, the actors of which have become beloved by most representatives of the stronger sex since kindergarten times, returns to the screen again. Indomitable Hollywood veterans, seemingly only retired, stand on the tracks, still not lost their physical form, proving that there is still gunpowder in the gunpowder, again clutch at machine guns, and a small handful rush into the den of the enemy. And as usual, inherent in such a canon of the genre are faced with a tens of times greater number of thugs.
This time, the old team replenished its composition much more significant than in the original and sequel. Now the healthy guys who have passed all the circles of hell, who have not yet retired, are joined by a new generation of amateurs who are well versed in modern technologies. Expanding this range of actors, of course, benefited the viewer, but the film itself, as surprising as it sounds, only got worse. Despite all the brutality of the invited actors, this time no one was able to reveal to any extent, not in terms of acting or in hand-to-hand scenes. The blame of what happened lies entirely on the director and screenwriters who could not keep the bar of their predecessors, concoct an adrenaline film and correctly present it to the viewer. Too many characters, from that and too much jumping from one to another, a very unsuccessful manner of shooting battle scenes, rough editing.
The storyline of the confrontation between the antagonist and the protagonist looks very raw and sluggish, the image of Gibson, loses to the same Van Dam and Adkins, who turned out to be ten times more impressive and colorful in terms of acting, and the final fight with Stallone is so generally similar to childish babble. At this point, I wanted to hit the director with a sledgehammer on the head. Well, you can not do this with the most famous and magnificent actors, and certainly not treat the main villain like this. There's not a penny of rigor, not a drop of testosterone. Statham stopped beautifully throwing knives at enemies, Lee no longer demonstrates martial arts, and Schwarzenegger appears in the frame less and less. In the end, everyone shoots, everyone fights, everything explodes, and emotions are zero. However, Antonio Banderas, who earlier attracted attention, much less such giants as Stallone, Statham and Gibson, was the only one who in such a short time managed to somehow defuse the situation, that is, to discourage the viewer.
Thus, if the starting part of the Expendables did not live up to expectations, and yet it turned out to be quite acceptable, and the second fully justified them, then the third in turn, which initially proved itself more powerful than the previous ones, was on the verge of failure. And, despite its shortcomings, “The Expendables” should be watched, especially those who grew up on such films, who dreamed of seeing an impeccable team of beloved action heroes.
An extra point for Banderas and an extra point as a sign of respect for the entire cast.
It’s nice to see more familiar faces for the third time. The film did not depart from the canons laid down in the first parts - it still has a lot of subtle humor that beats the actors in real life or in their other roles, and also began to present a share of drama that makes empathize with some characters. Agree, it would be hard to say goodbye to someone from the cast, which we saw in the previous two parts. I did not like the special effects, which even in comparison with the first part do not look very beautiful. Did the number of new stars affect their quality? Serious cast bribes with its fame. The number of diverse heroes of the militants nicely contrasts with the abundance of jokes in the film, which do not cross borders and do not cause disgust.
But from an exclusively entertaining movie, when watching which the spirit was breathtaking not from the abundance of plot twists or tooth-bending action (although there is plenty of it), but from the number of favorite heroes of militants, the film after the first two parts has grown into a quite serious picture. And that transition, I think, was a success. But does the film need that seriousness? Finally, a central negative character appeared, who was given enough screen time, but did not like the female character, who does not belong in the male company. But it surprised Mel Gibson in the role of antagonist. The chatty Antonio Banderas, whose appearance on the screen was accompanied by energetic music, which is a reference to his role as “desperate”, could not help but cause a smile. There are a lot of such references in the film that make you remember good acting work and cult films.
It is foolish to advise you to watch or not to watch this movie. It will definitely be watched by fans of the first two parts. It is foolish to evaluate the plot component or acting in this film, because this is primarily an entertaining movie that looks easy and without any tension.
But the mind still haunts the spirit of fading realism on the screen. Towards the end of the film, the shooting scenes become more absurd and the unstoppable become invincible. This is what makes the whole impression.
I'm not going to summarize. Let everyone decide for themselves how to evaluate this film, what to evaluate and what to criticize. I'll just ask you one question. When else will we see such a rich cast in one movie?
The answer is obvious. In the fourth part of this action.
Perhaps one of the most anticipated natural action films (i.e., without any fantastic wrapper) of this year should, at a minimum, meet the expectations placed on him, especially when it is a continuation of the series “The Expendables” led by Stallone. However, in fact, it was not so smooth...
This time, during the next mission, the team of the Expendables meets a former friend and partner Barney, whom he believed to be dead, and now a weapons dealer. The hero of Sylvester does not cope with the nerves and misses the goal, which infuriates customers. They give Barney a second chance, finding the fugitive again, but he, fearing for the fate of his team, decides to dissolve it and recruit a new one. With a new team, he goes to perform perhaps his last task.
The writers, of course, did not spend much effort. In the role of the villain recorded a longtime friend of the main character, who terribly annoyed him in the past, and escaped, and then, bam!, and appeared. Well, the main character, remembering his sins, naturally decides to take revenge, especially since finding an arms dealer is not difficult for an unknown secret sharka, about which nothing was really explained, but in which Indiana Jones himself is on the errands. One BUT: Barney, remembering, of course, the story with Billy from Part 2 and looking at Caesar writhing with pain, understands that he will not survive if someone from the team suffers because of his personal interests, so he decides to recruit new young guys who “are not afraid to lie under bullets”, or even disappear into the other world. And so the first hour of the announced two in the timekeeping passes: they give a look at the old "Expendables" in the case, at the villain, and then at the roll of the hero Stallone in search of new fighters, a la some "Step forward": on the screen of the credits indicating the city, next to the main character, a specialist who shows the "product" immediately "in action." Of course, that's not what I was going to look at. Where's the makhach and hardcore? Where are Statham and Lundgren? But there was another hour. And at this hour, the unsuccessful mission of the new team with the supposedly “unexpected turn in the plot”, and Barney’s heroism, and the return of the old squad to the lineup, and the decisive mixing of the “Expendables” against Mel Gibson’s mercenaries were met.
To this mix, just claims minimum, if you are used to the fact that the "Expendable" and one hundred, two hundred and three hundred fighters with tanks and armored vehicles in addition will be teeth. The only thing that in all its glory to show each hero is almost unrealistic, so the camera rushes to one and the other so that sometimes, perhaps, more epic fights do not look so epic and end in a matter of seconds. Same with the final battle of the two Titans. Quickly, without any drama and visual difficulty that could be added to the entertainment, but no.
Because of this forcing of events, the entertainment of the film decreased, although the action was enough. In addition, the wit and subtlety in the jokes and hamstrings of the characters have decreased, so serious dialogues, diluted with second-rate humor, already look neither serious nor deadly, as in the first parts, but something more second-rate and cheap. The only thing that brought freshness to this component of the film is the appearance of the hero Banderas, although the hero-talker is also not new, but Antonio coped with the role perfectly.
Another newcomer is Harrison Ford, who has shown that he can convince, and of course Mel Gibson, whose role, in my opinion, is the best in the film. So kind and smiling on the poster, and so formidable and caustic on the screen. Good Mal!
In general, I cannot say that Expendables 3 failed, but the fact that the bar was dropped, especially in terms of the script, is for sure. Even if the main task to achieve the success of the film for themselves, the creators consider the invitation of the star old men, and not what they will do, then at least do it beautifully, drive, less pathetic, to hide the shortcomings of originality. It's too easy to pick up actors.
And yes, Die Hard would be nice to see... Even though it was almost as pleasant to see ZIL.
Another film I expect for 2014, the only one in its style, which is now made pathetic parodies, something like “Sabotage”, but I can say with full confidence that the new part of the series of Expendables was a success!
This time, a pack of unstoppables had to get their former partner, the Doctor, out of prison to continue their mission. Everything went well and seemed to be going smoothly, but instead of giving him an assignment was another man, the former founder of the brigade of the unstoppables named Conrad Stonebanks, whom Barney Ross allegedly killed earlier for involvement in terrorism. But that wasn't it. Now the unstoppables get another chance to defeat this corrupt psychopath selling guns. .
And of course, we did not do without the involvement of Mother Russia. Of course, there was Moscow. Fortunately, we didn’t seem to be sinister enemies or anything like that. They showed us from a pleasant side, especially emphasized the most basic part, a beautiful and cute girl.
The only, roughly speaking, unsuccessful role, for me personally, was Harrison Ford and bringing a girl into the company. Well, Ford has no place in action movies at all, especially with such large-scale actors. Agree that much better suited to this place Bruce Willis, who unfortunately did not fit into the role due to large requests for payment. And in addition to this, many wonderful actors were planned for the film, but there were always some inconsistencies, but still this did not prevent the film from turning out perfectly.
The new part raised the bar for two hours with a ponytail that will please fans of the series, but too picky for the long duration I want to say that this film can be forgiven, because there is a whole pack of chic and authoritative guys who have a beautiful past behind them, on whom a lot of the present generation grew up. Just watching their roles at that age is a nice feeling, I’m not even talking about the fact that the film as a whole consists of beautiful action.
The cast - The good old guys again please us with their grandiose appearance. There is no point in talking about their game, everything is already clear. This time, a pair of threes was added. I really liked the role of Wesley Snipes and of course Mel Gibson in the role of an evil uncle. The only thing I don’t take into account is the young line-up, you’ll understand. Well, who cares, and for me these are passing roles, of course they play something new in the film, but in fact they are not so important, I hope they will not continue.
This time, the director's chair was taken by Patrick Hughes, who, in fact, has nothing behind him, and it is slightly frightening that the power of attorney for such a magnificent film fell into the hands of a beginner. It was even planned to give the project to Mel Gibson, but he refused to limit himself to his main role. In fact, do not worry, everything turned out well, even very well for such a director.
Result - A strong fighter, saturated with steel actor composition, explosive shootouts and flight chases. There is also a pinch of drama and, of course, an integral bar of the unstoppable - pleasant humor.
What in the 90s and remained an unfulfilled dream, in the early 21st century comes to the screens with two-year regularity. With the third part of the most nostalgic action movie of modern times in the most disgusting way. Just as pirates “leaked” the picture into the network a few weeks before the official premiere, the producers of the tape treated veteran militants in a similarly treacherous way. The franchise is frankly beginning to “merge” – even more Bulgaria in the frame, cheap dilapidated buildings, squalid special effects, some grayness, and less ingenuity on the part of the creators of the picture.
All these “stepping stones” in the form of children’s ratings, cheap decorations of Bulgaria simply pale after watching the picture. Cheap computer special effects and every second scene shot against the background of the green screen with the head give all the insidiousness of the producers that gathered behind the smiling faces of the actors and a beautiful wrapper to quickly hide the cheap and earn money from already proven fans and viewers of the previous parts. But apparently, there is everything — still some supreme justice, which now will not allow them to do it properly — in this case, this video pirates. Thank you so much for being disappointed in what you see.
And most painfully, for those on whom such a movie rests on the magnificent and only heroes, whose names have always been a decoration of posters of action films of the past. It is a shame that such eminent people again have to drag on themselves such a hack, which is "The Expendables 3". The previous two parts were really good. The first took her nostalgia and soulfulness, the second – dynamics and humor. Well, the triquel frankly slipped to the level of thrash, sometimes only the charisma of the main characters of the picture do not give to fall to the bottom of the picture.
The plot in the third part was turned in such a way that the “old men” were pushed into the background, the young came out on the first. The real reason for the appearance, which is due only to another motive to save his oldest guard. The plot is simple again and is needed only to push the main characters against their foreheads, self-irony and humor decreased, added to the drama, but they did not overdo it much. Which is also very good. The action in the frame seems to be in abundance and does not feel such discomfort as in the second part, but the quality of its performance suffers very much. It is not that it is harmless, but that it is made hastily. Lots of computer gas/vapor and scenes shot against a green background. Helicopter chase scenes in the finale are made so wretched that thought creeps in rather than Asylum studios making it. Damn miserable. Hand-to-hand fights in the finals suffer from frequent change in the frame and sometimes it is difficult to know who is in the frame. Shootings due to the bloodless rating already suffer from the incompetence of editors, a lot of blurred moments. And the final brawl between Stallone and Gibson is the final general disappointment, not only that it came out much shorter than the final fight with Van Damme in the second part, so it is still full of general distant plans, in which the actors were replaced by doubles.
As for the leading actors, first of all, it should be noted Antonio Banderas - the only one who really played in the film and immediately disposed to himself, developed the ability to acrobatics and with all his convictions fiercely sought to get into the team of the Expendables. Mel Gibson The second who also sought to portray the game on the face, was very good in the role of the Glavgade. Wesley Snipes finally returned to the movie business after a long time in prison, and it seems that the prison term on him did not affect anyone, looked good - the beginning of the picture is his five-minute benefit. Arnold Schwarzenegger again limited to episodes and shooting from a machine gun. There was no full return again. Well, the producers don't want to use his talent on a par with Sly. It's a shame, man. Sylvester Stallone again takes his beloved more time, but his persistence in action seems to come out sideways this time. Terry Crews now, together with Jet Lee sits on the bench, in the frame they are damn lacking. Harrison Ford was a worthy replacement for Bruce Willis. Well, Jason Statham finally lost not only a sense of humor, but the second half, and in throwing knives he now has a worthy rival. Dolph Lungrent and Randy Couture are again content with supporting roles. Ronda Rousey lacks acting skills and looks masculine in the frame.
From series to series, having more and more action stars, the creators use them only for number, depriving themselves and the audience of a unique in nature opportunity to give each of the presented veterans of action cinema a memorable interesting unusual way. Actors seem abandoned by chance. For example, returned Wesley Snipes is very good in hand-to-hand combat, has its own style, but the maximum you can expect is a few blows at the very beginning of the picture, then he is frankly driven into a gray mass like Dolph Lungrent, given a machine gun and left alone. Realizing the whole situation, only Antonio Banderas seems to have personally prescribed the role and worked out his image. In the end, he is the only one who stands out and is remembered for his game. He gave his hero unexpected features and thus arranged the views of the audience to himself.
"The Expendables 3" - in the fight for the box office, the franchise from the nostalgic brutal action rolled into a teenage shooter. Fresh blood poured in the face of young actors, a radical new nothing brought with them, the situation is again saved by newly invited veterans of action cinema – Antonio Banderas, Mel Gibson, Wesley Snipes, Harrison Ford.
6 out of 10
You may not believe me, but the third part of "The Expendables" in the form in which it was presented by director Hughes, is absolutely of no value to the action genre. Even if it seems to be old school, and Stalone again managed to assemble an impressive "gang" of action stars. I will immediately say that as a separate military action movie about mercenaries, "Expendable material" under number 3 - a worthy representative of the genre, especially in our time. When special value are not such pictures, but solid blockbusters or the other extreme - excessively author's films, where except for the frightening thoughts of their creators, the average viewer does not see anything.
So, there is a new "The Expendables" one trouble, and not a small one: we have already seen all this in the previous parts. That is, before us, in fact, a series with an expensive lineup of former “stars”. Unfortunately, this is true, because apart from Stallone and Statham, there is no one whose militants are popular in the 21st century. There's a lot of action in the movie, mostly shooting and chasing. But at the same time, there are few worthy fights, little new humor, and that is very upsetting, a banal script for a film with such a casting.
Schwarzenegger is once again criminally small, although he is now back in the ranks after the gubernatorial term! Ford in the episodes, except that Gibson is an interesting candidate for the role of a villain. But the fun is that in the recent thrashing second "Machete" he played much more fun ... there is a villain and a villain, nothing special. And then there's Wesley Snipes, who we haven't seen on screen for a hundred years because of his legal problems. Perhaps in the third part most deliver Stalone, Lundgren and Banderas.
All the others are on the second plane, but given the banal story of revenge of the Expendables, it seems that the director stupidly tried to copy the sequel. But the sequel was a banter on the genre, and "The Expendables 3" are trying to make a downright dramatic action movie. It wasn't even. The action is full, but I found only the final showdown of Sly with Gibson really interesting. I have seen everything else a million times in other paintings. It is also disappointing that here the soundtrack does not differ from the previous parts with any new theme.
Well, it really feels like watching another series, and not a full-fledged action movie with an intriguing script and new characters. I’m afraid to admit it, but I was disappointed! I really want to return to the story of John Rambo or try a new franchise for myself. For the fourth time in a couple of years, I don’t want to see Barney Rose. And so, otherwise, it's a good action movie for the summer season. After that, I wanted to revisit the really awesome first part of The Expendables. It seems to have recently come out, and I already perceive it as a classic of the genre!
A completely unknown director – Patrick Hughes has shot another sequel to The Expendables 3, what happened to him in a large-scale blockbuster, I will describe my opinion briefly.
The story of an elite squad of mercenaries begins with an illegal operation in the hot desert. “Brave guys” are released from a secret prison “ex-ex-expendable” nicknamed “Doc” (Wesley Snipes), who served as a prisoner for 8 years, “experienced” sometimes clings, and in fits of anger he becomes inadequate, can destroy everything in his path, asks to call himself “Master of blades”, has the ability to throw knives accurately. The heroes do not have time to rest after the “dirty business” as they are already transferred to the state of “pirates” Somalia, where suffer a crushing fiasco from the recently resurrected “founder of the unstoppable” – Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson), a cold-blooded killer, arms dealer, art collector. For a ridiculous African puncture, the "spets" receive a strict reprimand "from above", the head of secret tasks, the grumpy "tsrunik" - Max Drummer (Harrison Ford) , in appearance of an ordinary cabinet employee, but an amateur to break the rules. In despondency, "Captain" Ross decides to rejuvenate the composition of "advanced" amateurs and dissolve the "cool pensioners" on four sides. Among the newcomers there is a talkative Spanish humorist, a womanis - "Galgo" (Antonio Banderas), who shuffled personal data, as a result, did not pass the casting.
The main character of the film is a reliable leader of "commando" Barney Ross, always with a "stone" face, because of the tormenting past, he independently undertakes to change the unfinished mistakes of youth, but forgets about the proverb: "An old friend is better than the new two." The actor, screenwriter, “unkillable Rambo” – Sylvester Stallone again managed to collect the “star team of Hollywood”, because some of the “old women” of the team need to show, prove, and surprise the viewer that they are still in great shape, plus perfectly cope with their roles – thank you for the work done, I see how “powder bubbles in gunpowder”! The young "recruits" slightly overplay, namely, their characters look unconvincing, stupid images, inexpressive speech, did not come out face: Moon "bouncer" (Ronda Rousey, even though she is a member of MMA, a judo fighter), Mars "rocked smart gun" (Victor Ortiz), Torne "supermega hacker, hacks" (Pallen/i>).
The fairytale action plot this time is of medium platitude, because it is very easy to predict, since it reminds us of a computer game with codes / cheats: missions with endless ammunition, inexhaustible health, pif-puff a bunch of corpses of the enemy, rescue hostages, there is an invariable theme “good conquers evil”. However, a fun adventure action movie is watchable, filled with high-quality stunt tricks, fights, many shootouts, explosions, frantic races on all types of cars, the level of effects is not inferior to the two previous prequels, flies instantly, will not let you get bored. There will be a reason to laugh, because the picture is full of humorous dialogues Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), but in particular I note the specially written role for the “half-human-half-vampire Blade”, which is a reference to real life Wesley Snipes, who served a three-year sentence in the US federal correctional institution ...
The idea of the film tells us that old friends are forever faithful, loyal, irreplaceable, more united, and will always help out in trouble! Hoping to see "more Legends of the 90s" in quadrology on screens, Hughes coped with the task, bravely stock up on popcorn.
Barney Ross and his team are back together! This time, a certain Conrad Stonebanks crosses the road - the ideological inspirer and simultaneously the creator of this organization with the same name, but somehow retrained as an arms dealer and became an international criminal. Conflict is brewing. But who will be the winner of this fight?
Yeah, yeah. The '90s are still out there and they're not going anywhere. But to be honest, it was all pretty annoying. The creators of the film, and Stallone in particular, do not offer us anything new, copying everything you can from film to film. Is that good? Of course not. But people will digest it and say thank you. The franchise is slowly but surely sliding into the abyss, and it seems that nothing will stop it. It's a pity how well it all started...
Now let’s talk about the casting: Sly, without thinking twice, invited Gibson, Ford, Banderas and Snipes to the project, not forgetting to dilute all this with fresh “blood” in the face of the star of the film “Twilight” Luts, a pair of athletes – rockers and a little-known Glenn Powell. But if you can close your eyes on the latter, then it will not work for the first four veterans. Wesley as it is not strangely pleased with his game, sometimes showing command of martial arts, but Banderas on the contrary caused only disgust, resembled more court jester than the star of the 90s. I can't say anything about Harrison. He played at the level, but Mel Gibson surpassed all the others in this cohort. What can not be said about the actors who wander from part to part: they all look gray, faceless mass. Aren't you tired of looking at Statham's stone face, at athletes like Crews and Couture? I'm tired of it and it's starting to look disgusting rather than smiling on my face. It feels like the whole picture is a huge banter on itself.
Bottom line: The film is weak in every way. The picture comes out only due to the stupid jokes of the main characters and endless shooting, and hand-to-hand combat is what all this was created for, no. There is a saying: “Bread and circuses”. That's the spectacle that's missing. The creators clearly need to sit down and rethink the concept of franchise development. You don’t go into the same river twice.
How unpleasant it is to watch a movie when one of the key moments is brazenly copied. If you haven’t seen Mission: Impossible 3 — the part that J.J. Abrams curated — I suggest you watch. The episode on the bridge is almost one-on-one. Maybe it is, of course, nitpicking, but I was hurt and did not let go until the final picture.
The script is raw again. Although it doesn't seem to have been there at all. Just an old group of friends got back together, took Red Epic with them and decided to improvise on camera. That fact could justify the rather mediocre level of CG in the film. Natural explosions and shooting were replaced by special effects, which are made quite clumsy and implausible.
It is silly to talk about realism here. In general, this applies to the entire franchise. But... When a tank shell explodes a couple of meters from Stallone, and the one, as if nothing had happened, runs further - this is surprising, of course, meaningless. This is the norm here, and of course, we all know what a happy ending awaits us. Or not?
However, it is still a shame that even in the last part there was at least some drama - and it looked quite convincing for such an outright banter. I remember the character of Liam Hemsworth - he played his short role much more spectacularly than all the young men in this series. Kellan Lutz, Rhonda Rousey, Glen Powell, Victor Ortiz - all by...
Although perhaps it's a huge blunder by Patrick Hughes, who replaced Simon West in the director's chair. I wasn’t worried about Expendables 2 – Simon had Air Prison, General’s Daughter and Laura Croft behind him – very dynamic and kosher edited pictures shot at the dawn of his career, so it was clear that his overall vision was quite holistic. And here we had a dark horse with a couple of shorts and a full-length movie that few people have ever heard of.
The charm of the past series has simply evaporated. This is especially felt in the intervening, supposedly amusing dialogues between Statham and Stallone - all so much through force. But strikingly hit the goal of the general theme – in the third part of the old people finally realize that they are really old.
Problems of the composition of the frame, ragged editing, stupid dialogues, hulking game - this is all on the conscience of the producers and Stallone personally. It's very bad. One of the advantages is the choreography of the muzzle at the level. And Banderas. Yes, Banderas (who is aging, unfortunately, not as beautiful as Gibson or Ford) was very pleased. The only character without mixcasting. And I'm not mocking - really liked, even if a lot of curves.
5 out of 10
