HOLLYWOOD—I am not sure who thought we needed another entry into “The Expendables” franchise, but this fourth entry is proof it is time for this action extravaganza to go away. If there is one thing “The Expendables 4” has going for it, it is the high-octane action. You get it and you get a lot of it, but the dialogue, the narrative, even the jokes just fall flat and are disappointing.
“The Expendables” and “The Expendables 2” were great entries in the franchise because you had these iconic action-heroes working side-by-side with Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, Jet Li, Randy Couture, Dolph Lundgren and even Jean-Claude Van Damme, all in one movie. After the first two entries, some of the big names started to drop out and you’re finding replacements where you say, “Hmm is that person really an action-star?
This fourth one proves that better than any of the other flicks, with only Stallone, Statham, Lundgren and Couture back for more action. Stallone feels like an afterthought in this entry, and Statham, as much as I love the guy when it comes to action flicks, he is unable to carry a flick like “The Expendables” all on his own. It just doesn’t work or at least it didn’t for me.
Lundgren and Couture feel like afterthoughts in the movie. Hello, these guys are huge action icons. There could have been some more potent writing to give these characters a bit more to do. I wanted to see them more on the screen and chop it up. Instead, we have 50 Cent, aka Curtis Jackson, who forgive me for saying, but what action movie was he in that made him a top tier star to be part of this club? Yeah, I’m waiting for you to name one.
There is a scene where he is fighting the bad guys, while his music plays in the background. It is just cheesy, and it does not work. Not to mention the dialogue this go around feels like it was tossed in a blender and just spit out. There is no chemistry, it just doesn’t work for this outing. These people just feel like they were thrown together and expected to work, and it don’t work.
The whole Jason Statham and Megan Fox pairing was horrid. Thier scenes don’t work because the chemistry is lacking in a huge way. There is a moment where a Mr. and Mrs. Smith moment gets you a little excited, but it doesn’t land the same way as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (and that is because they had chemistry on the screen). Even when the audience discovers who the big bad is in this fourth outing, it is a bit laughable. I even told myself, “That is the best you guys got. C’mon you got to give me more.”
As much as I wanted the action to propel the movie to at least an average rating, it doesn’t. It is there, but it doesn’t have that purpose you want it to have as an action fan. “The Expendables 4” is proof that this franchise might have finally run out of steam. Do I think a fifth outing could work? Yes, but you have to bring back that star caliber and let this be an all-out war to the finish, where some of the action stars you like don’t survive. Raise the stakes and you’ll have a story that the viewers will be invested in.
