You know what kind of movie I like best? The kind of movie that you can simply enjoy but that also gets you thinking about something either emotional, philosophical, political or ideological in any sense wether it be about the historical significance of certain events as in The Last Samurai (2003) or Joan of Arc (1999) or whether it be deeper and more psychological themes of contemplation such as in 2001: A Space Odessy (1968) or basically any film by the legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki. Now in the last two films I reviewed, this was a clear staple of those two films from the lighting to the dialouge and characters. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was essentially a post-apocaliptyc action survival thriller with in-built themes of tolerance, co-existence and ideas about who should lead who in a society that has fallen apart. Sin City: A Dame to Kill for didn't concentrate so much on deep themes like this but it did focus somewhat on political corruption, neo-noire gang violence and making outlaws into heroes (at least that's what the trailers say) while putting this all up against the backdrop of a highly stylised visual world. On the other hand, there are films that aren't really looking for any high-class intellectual recognition like a proverbial black forest gateu made by a 3-star michelin baker but are more like a junky and fun proverbial tub of Ben & Jerry's half baked ice cream. And the latter case is where Expendables 3 comes blazing in.
In fact, this is basically the whole premise and aim of the Expendables franchise so far; get together a wholly star-studded cast of action heroes and professional athletes and shoot up some hammy and memorable (albeit with that not being the case in the first film because the villain there was as memorable as a cucumber sandwich with nothing else on white bread) and shoot your way through legions of inept minions in a trashy and cheesy yet endearing and enjoyable throwback to similar action movies from the 1980s and early 1990s. Now some have said in the past that the second film in the franchise was the weakest by far with the least interesting plot and most uninteresting screenplay but I beg to differ. While the first film was undeniably fun, its story jumped all over the place, the vilains apart from 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin's muscle bound henchman were forgetable as all hell and there simply wasn't enough character drama or shots of Terry Crews ripping up bad guys with his rapid-fire shotgun. This was in part thanks to how the action of Expendables 2 was bigger, the story was bigger and while Jet Li was barely in it, that issue was more than made up for with Jean-Claude Van Damne's darkly enjoyable and badass villain uh...Vilain...seriously? Why not just call him 'Blatantly evil madman'?
But one sentiment that many reviewers and critics are passing around that I simply cannot disagree with is the argument and ideas put forth that point to this entry into the franchise being the best one yet and honestly?...I absolutley agree. Expendables 2 still has the best villain but Mel Gibson does well in this film as the vile and murderous Stonebanks but apart from that, Expendables 3 feels bigger in every way from the quality of the action to the lighting, character development, overall story, final battle and humour as well as the obvious threat that is implied about Gibson's diabolical arms dealer/mass-murderer Stonebanks. So what's the story? This time round, Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) kicks things off by taking his team to free fromer teamate and professional smooth-talker Doc (Wesley Snipes) to then go after a mysterious arms dealer. Unfortunatley for Ross and his team, they're sucker-punched by the sudden appearance of the arms dealer as former co-founder of the expendables team and professional murdering psychopath Conrad Stonebanks who in an enseuing battle wounds ever-lovable Caesar (Terry Crews) and prompts Ross to disband his team of seasoned old veterans and form a new team of young, spunky and highly skilled professionals with different skill sets.
This is perhaps the biggest selling point of the film in every conceivable way. Not only do we have the old guard of the previous installments inevitably return for an action-packed finale but the new young blood of Kellan Lutz, Victor Ortiz, Glen Powell and the beefy yet strikingly beautiful Ronda Rousey as well as some new veterans of old 1980s and 1990s action films in the form of the tough 'n' gruff Agent Drummer (Harrison Ford), the enigmatic Bonaparte (Kelsey Grammer) and the high-octane and energy Galgo (Antonio Banderas) who eats up every scene he's in with bizzare action stunts and crazed humour. And yet, despite how much I have to admit that I gushed over the casts of the last two films, the new entries into the cast both new and old, adds some fresh life into the already expansive and star-studded cast of the franchise. This is perhaps what sets apart the film the most from the previous two in that despite how expansive the last two film's casts were, they were nothing as golden and nostalgia-inspiring as the cast of this latest installment. Add to this the fact that the new, young actors like Rousey or Ortiz add some relatable freshness to the cast and the sheer coolness of adding legends like Ford, Snipes and Banderas into the mix and you have a potent mix that is sure to ensure that the next entries into the franchise will be equally fresh for the forseeable future.
As mentioned before, this means that the action is bigger and by that I also mean more varied. Oh sure we have a climax centring around a sprawling building complex with wave after wave of minions and tanks for our heroes to chew through and a bloody showdown between Stallone and the main villain. But Expendables 3, while still essentially being a cheesy thowback to 80s action flicks includes more than its share of precise computer-hacking, hand-to-hand rampages, vehicular slaughters and some stunts that intially seemed stupid, unrealistic and pointless (like Powell's Thorn juming up the side of an apartment block on a motorbike while blazing away with an MP5 sub-machine gun) which, while ultimatley silly, only serve to highlight the sheer enjoyability of the action segments.
Needless to say as is the case with throwback films to popcorn-munching action flicks from the Regan-era of popular culture, the action segments cover up most of the film's 126 minute run-time but despite that, you feel more invested in the struggles of the main characters this time round thanks to some genuinley shocking moments (in the visual sense) of how evil Gibson's character is, the emotional turmoil Stallone's Ross goes through throughout the film and the clear and stark if somewhat cliche tension between the new and young recruits and Stallone's old team. This elevates Expendables 3 from the status of 'enjoyable and cheesy' as was the case with the first two films to 'COME ON GUYS, LETS FIND THIS EVIL BASTARD AND MAKE HIM PAY!' pumped-up and almost wholly enjoyable in a trashy kind of way.
Now naturally, there are some issues and no film is perfect with exception to Citizen Kane (1941), The Godfather (1972), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and My Neighbour Totoro (1988). As in the last two films, the actors involved are kind of aware that they're making a series of cheesy action flicks and thus, in some places, the acting comes across as a little hammy, cliche or run-of-the-mill. On top of this, it's again disappointing that very little of the film features what are arguably the best actors in the franchise in the shape of Crews and Li. Furthermore, while the storyline is certainly more stable and adept at conveying meaning and enjoyment to the audience than in the first film, some sections of the story move way too quickly and lack any real, emotional and visceral depth as was the case with Liam Hemsworth's shocking death near the beginning of Expendables 2. However, the action, storytelling and development of the characters is certainly up at least a notch over the last two films so you'll definetly see some improvments.
As you guys can tell, I had a blast watching this movie. Not only is it the best entry into the franchise yet; it also includes interesting new and old actors fresh to the franchise, better camerawork, better action-coordination, better directing, superb base-level enjoyment and a story and motivation for the main characters that is suprisingly competent and compelling. I could go on and on about how good this film is and while I certainly wouldn't say that its in any way a groundbreaking or amazing film, I'd be more than confident in saying that its one of the best films of the year so far and worth your time if you're the type of person who'd want to go see this. If you don't, I don't blame you. However, as it is as a straightforward action flick?...I'd give it a thumbs up, a tip of the hat and a salutory puff on one of Stallone's cigars.
Plot/Storyline: 8/10
Acting: 7/10
Directing/Writing: 7.5/10
Action/Set pieces: 9/10
Camerawork/SFX: 7.5/10
Overall score: 39/50
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