Movie Breakdown: The Expendables 3

People are doing traditional-style reviews all over the web, so we decided to try something different.  In each “breakdown” we’ll take a look at what a film’s marketing led us to believe, how the movie actually played, and then what we learned from it all.  Read on!

The Impression:

The Expendables are back for a third round of explosions and whatnot.  Mel Gibson is the villain.

The Reality:

Let’s face it, the Expendables films just are what they are, and you know that when you sit down to watch one you’re going to get something that’s loud, dumb, violent, weirdly meta and thoroughly ridiculous.  With that being said, I did go into the third entry hoping for something a little more than what the first two films in the series delivered.  I wanted to see a break in the formula (film opens with crazy Expendables mission, something terrible happens, the team gets inspired and enters a battle they can’t possibly win) and a real attempt to just make the wildest action movie of all time.  But it didn’t happen.  I will say this about The Expendables 3 though, it’s the most fun flick in the trilogy.  While it’s about 20 minutes too long and does nothing fresh story-wise, the selection of new old faces (Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Kelsey Grammar, Harrison Ford) and young ones (Victor Ortiz, Glen Powell, Ronda Rousey, Kellan Lutz) is totally on point.  They each churn out enthusiastic performances, so the movie often has an infectious amount of energy driving it.  It’s just too bad the lot of them didn’t get to appear in a better film.

So, should you see it?  If you just want to see stuff blow up, then the answer is yes.  If you’re looking for something that will re-arrange your “favorite action films of all time” list, then I think you’re better off skipping it.

The Lesson:

Keep ’em coming, I guess.