Film Review - The Expendables 3

Retirement Plans 

Film: The Expendables 3

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Mel Gibson, Antonio Banderas

Directed by: Patrick Hughes

Duration: 2 hrs 9 mins

Rating: * *

The Expendables 2 was decent fun because it didn’t take itself too seriously unlike the first installment and part 3 also suffers from the same problem. Laborious and too long, there isn’t much excitement in this enterprise either even though it has got more than handful action heroes on the scene. 

When you don’t have much of a story to tell, a film like this has to be snappy, instead, this drags its feet for over two hours. In the opening action scene, Doc (Wesley Snipes) a former Expendable is rescued from a high security prison. In one of the genuinely funny scenes, when asked why he was in jail, he replies “tax evasion” referring to his real life ordeal. 

After taking a break from his old team (Statham, Lundgreen et al) Barney (Stallone) discovers that his old friend Stonebanks (Mel Gibson) has become an  arms dealers and turned into an enemy.  His new team includes a lady (Ronda Rousey, a martial arts expert and Olympic medalist) but since the story has to tie up together, the old timers have to make an appearance to save the day.

Barring the character of a bumbling Antonio Banderas who is desperate to join the team, the rest don’t have much of a spark. Harrison Ford plays a CIA agent while the likes of Schwarznegger and Statham reprise their roles.  Mel Gibson as the villain adds some zing in this otherwise routine enterprise.  The action, especially the climax in a deserted building is over the top. While cross cutting is usually used to show action at two different places, here it alternates between three places along with ultra fast cutting.

If at all the Expendables come back, I hope they have a better outing next time. 

Published in The Navhind Times on 24th Aug 2014

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