Mildly entertaining "Expendables" as old and tired as its stars
Sylvester Stallone has a way with formulas, as in taking them and running them into the ground. He did it with the popular "Rocky" series and is now following suit with "The Expendables" franchise. The latest offering, "The Expendables 3" is certainly not devoid of action or the gazillion familiar faces who appear in it, but it's as old, tiresome and washed up as many of them who appear here, not to mention big, loud and dumb, though that is to be expected. In this outing, Barney (Stallone), Christmas (Jason Statham) and the rest of the team come face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks has became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney is forced to go head-to-head with once more, using resources old and new. Directed by newcomer Patrick Hughes and co-written and produced by Stallone, "The Expendables 3" is the epitome of excessive, silly action flicks; while it's certainly not dull, it's overlong, mindless and filled with too many over-the-hill actors fighting for screen time. The standout of the large ensemble cast is Gibson, whose crazy persona comes in handy as the chief baddie, who has the best lines (he refers to The Expendables as "The Deletables") and seems the only one truly having fun. Wesley Snipes and Antonio Banderas are also decent additions, with Banderas providing some comic relief as the talkiest Expendable yet, and oh yea, Harrison Ford is also on board to replace Bruce Willis, who Stallone fired for asking for too much money, a silly footnote given the movie's $100 million-plus budget, so what's a few mill more. Speaking of silly, there are two primary reasons "Expendables 3" is less effective than some in this genre: the first, unsurprisingly, is due to Stallone (who along with Schwarznegger, looks really, really...old) taking this way, way too seriously; with more tongue-in-cheek humor and less of the earnest shouting and grimaces he calls acting, this could've gone down a little easier. Second, unlike the previous two installments and perhaps to appeal to a wider audience, this is Rated PG-13. The gratuitous violence is toned down (and admittedly - with those big knives that Snipes carries - that rating is often pushed to the limit), which is what made the other two films work well with its preposterous premise; now the mostly bloodless violence feels bland and generic, much like everything else in the movie. "The Expendables 3" isn't boring (but at 127 minutes, still too long) and is best when it doesn't take itself too seriously, which is usually anytime Gibson is onscreen. Stallone, we're really talking about you here, but given the talent involved, it could've been much more fun.
Wes's Grade: C-
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