The Expendables 3 (2014)

Barney (Stallone), Christmas (Statham) and the rest of the team comes face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill... or so he thought. Stonebanks, who eluded death once before, now is making it his mission to end The Expendables -- but Barney has other plans. Barney decides that he has to fight old blood with new blood, and brings in a new era of Expendables team members, recruiting individuals who are younger, faster and more tech-savvy. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in the Expendables' most personal battle yet. - synopsis from IMDB

 Cast  - full listing

• Sylvester Stallone  
• Jason Statham  
• Arnold Schwarzenegger  
• Harrison Ford  
• Mel Gibson  
• Antonio Banderas  
• Wesley Snipes  
• Dolph Lundgren  
• Randy Couture  
• Jet Li  
• Terry Crews  
• Kelsey Grammer  

 Genres

action, crime

 Facts & Figures

Directed by Patrick Hughes.

Rated 6.1 on IMDB from 136012 votes.

Runtime: 126 min.

 Review

For your off-switching viewing pleasure, The Expendables 3 brings back the whole host of action heroes from times gone by, fully intent on blowing (more) stuff up. Fortunately, as with the previous editions, they’re really not taking themselves very seriously. A proper serving of self-parody is welcome though, because it would otherwise have come across as rather pathetic.

Still, the new installment is entertaining and fortunately not too long-winded, of which there seems to be a lot going around recently. Don’t expect an intriguing storyline and especially don’t look forward to any depth of character, but really, if you were, what were you thinking? Supposedly, it’s the old geezers teaming up with the new kids on the block, which is really unnecessary, but doesn’t get in the way of things exploding on screen.

We are not disappointed this time around and get to see another series of completely over-the-top action scenes, with the occasional intermezzo for a funny one-liner. And you know Statham and Stallone can deliver those.

The most memorable role is for Banderas as Galgo the Spanish guy who just can’t seem to shut up except when he’s killing people. Somehow, I can’t stop associating the voice with that purring one, but hey, stereotyping can be funny, even if slightly offensive. It’s not like he needed the cash and had to take the role. You like quirky characters? Have fun.

Seen: 16 Nov 2014