The Expendables franchise is valorous fun: unblushing in its for-the-boys creed and yes, sometimes clichéd as such, but even so, through every thunderous, benevolent step, tip-top entertainment from start to end.
The Expend4bles is the latest no-exception (and if rumors are true, the last in the high-adrenalin queue). Some of the older/prior characters are no longer employed for this non-costumed Suicide Squad, but thanks to Scott (Act of Valor) Waugh's crackling direction and a pragmatic script by Kurt (The Misfits '21) Wimmer, Max Adams and Tad Daggerhart, the leanness doesn't hurt the connective construction one bit.
Sylvester Stallone's upstanding Barney Ross returns, along with Jason Statham's blade-maestro, Lee Christmas; Randy Couture's forever-reliable, Toll Road; and Dolph Lundgren's short-fused (though now sober) Gunner Jenson.
They're joined by Andy Garcia's CIA operative, Marsh; Lucy Newman-Williams' Agent Russo; 50 Cent's Easy Day; Tony (Ong Bak) Jaa's Decha; Jacob (Last Looks) Sipio's Galan (son of Antonio Banderas' Galgo from Expendables 3); and in the irrepressible, eye-candy department, Megan Fox's ultra-limber Gina (Christmas' big squeeze) and Levy Tran's lethal Lash (Toll Road's potential, big squeeze).
The plot is basic and viable in its what-if relevance: The band is dispatched to Libya to stop a mercenary, arms dealer, Iko (The Raid) Uwais' Suarto Rahmat, who steals detonators to create a larger, earth-shattering weapon, all for implied, financial gain. (Rahmat, in truth, takes the weaponry torch from Mel Gibson's cultivated but scorned Conrad Stonebanks of Expendables 3, only the former is much more ruthless in his Luthor-ian plan.)
The race-to-the-finish is rendered through sizzling, action sequences (spirited shootouts, careening cycles, mega-explosions and dagger duels), which more than hold their own with any cathartic DC, Marvel or 007 installment. To rephrase, we're talkin' over-the-top thrills through ninety-percent of the run, and when the action isn't swinging high, the melodramatic bridges still captivate.
The bond shared by Ross, Christmas (who spearheads most of the action this round), Toll Road and Gunner stays cozy (equivalent to Kirk, Spock and McCoy, plus one), forging an ambiance of old friends and family, which though fictional, still strikes close to the homespun bone. We care about these ballsy eccentrics and come to care about their nuanced descendants, embracing them with equal respect. The pact defines Expend4ble's shared peril, energizing its heart-pounding ascent, even though we're pretty assured that all, or at least most, will survive. (For the record, the plot features a misleading kill, but it's best not to spoil the catch.)
Expend4bles is, above all, duty-bound, which let's face it, also characterizes the previous chapters. The movies' let's-get-'er-done execution isn't as earnest as in the Rambo features, but each chapter presses enough vigilance and principle to make any red-blooded American proud, recalling the cinematic anthems that John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Tom Laughlin and Charles Bronson made great. That's reason enough to see Expend4bles, but hey, for those who believe this brand of escapism too austere, there's more than enough Disney-princess and Potter fodder to pluck.
PS: That thing with the ring, now that was an interesting plot device.
ReplyDeletePS Part 2: EXPEND4BLES features an IRON MAN 3/Mandarian element or sorts, but even so, its main bad guy remains just that.
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