This weekend not only did I see the Ninja Turtles but I also saw another franchise favorite of mine. When I first heard about the Expendables project WAY back in 2008 I thought it was the greatest idea ever! I was so psyched for that movie and all in all it didn't disappoint. I loved it! Watched it multiple times in a theater, bought it the day it came out on Blu-Ray, and have since watched every special feature and commentary on the disc.
Two years ago we saw Expendables II. My enthusiasm for part II fell quite a bit when I heard it was going to be rated PG-13. I know why they did it. They were trying to increase ticket sales. These movies should be rated R though. Well, fan outcry on the internet was so uproarious that they changed the rating back to R. I went to it and it felt like a PG-13 movie (which is how it was intended when they shot it). It was still good but it felt like a piece of its essence had faded away. I still bought it on Blu-Ray and still watched all the special features. I just don't watch it as much as the first one.
In beautiful (every two years) tradition this August (they're always released mid-August) we were delivered THE EXPENDABLES III. They finally did it. They actually knocked it down to PG-13. It really felt like that period in the late 1980's when the MPAA cracked down on all rated R films watering them down to bare bones destroying what could have been far more intense films and even destroying the filmmaker's vision. Looking at those film nowadays like Tango & Cash or Friday The 13th part VII they are barely passable as R-Rated films in terms of violence. In fact the only scenes that earn them the R rating are quick flashes of nudity.
That was a horrible time in cinematic history, in particular for the horror and action film genres (not because the movies were bad but because of what the MPAA did to those films). Expendables III feels like a film made circa 1988 or 1989. It feels watered down compared to its predecessors. The potential for something great is still present and in fact there are many fine moments in the film but in terms of action it falls short. The way the action shots are framed, the movement of the camera and its focal points feel inappropriate and ill-timed. I asked myself while watching the film if they chose the wrong director or cinematographer because both seemed unfamiliar with filming action (a problem not present in the previous two films). Brian Tyler's music is spot on per usual and the plot has plenty of potential.
SPOILERS!!! The Expendables crew breaks out of prison one of their own, Doctor Death (Wesley Snipes), for a mission. It is revealed that Dr. Death was one of the original members of Barney's team way back in the day. The mission: a routine assassination, turns into a fight for survival. The target turns out to be Stonebanks (Mel Gibson), a man Barney thought long dead. Stonebanks shoots Caesar (Terry Crews) twice as the group escapes. Barney fears for the lives of his men and dismisses them before any others are hurt or killed. Government Agent Drummer (Harrison Ford) confronts Barney on the mission's failure. It is revealed that Agent Drummer helped The Expendables recently by removing the government spook Church (Bruce Willis) from the picture (literally). Church was always manipulating them and a thorn in Barney's side. Drummer commands Barney fix this latest screw-up or he'll make Church look like a picnic before the day's through.
Many times in the movie I am reminded of classic action films from my early years. Wesley Snipes does a great job at recreating his character from Demolition Man. His scenes are good and he's a welcomed addition save for the fact that he wasn't given his own badass hand to hand fight scene at the end. In fact that is a major problem of the film for me. Aside from Mel Gibson there isn't much for the other actors to do aside from blow shit up and fire their guns a lot. What this film really needed was a team just as powerful going up against them and a lot more hand to hand combat. Harrison Ford is perfect in his role as Drummer. His lines are commanding and performance brims over with authority and badassness. Mel Gibson really shines too, channeling the crazy side of Martin Riggs in many instances. I even liked Antonio Banderas as the comic relief, reminding me of the 90's film Assassins. And Robert Davi's appearance was a wonderful surprise.
All in all I enjoyed the film simply for the nostalgia it inspired within me. But the series has suffered from being watered down too much. I liked the actors involved and they all did an excellent job with what they were given, they just weren't given enough nor was it filmed the best possible way. The series seemed to follow the scope of Stallone's action career in the 1980's. Like First Blood, Expendables was darker and more violent. Like Cobra, Expendables II boasted bigger action sequences but lacked the hard edge of the first. Like Lock-Up, Expendables III had potential that was left untapped, a film destroyed by the MPAA rating and the studio. These guys are still great but someone is holding them back.
Overall Ranking: 5 out of 10.
Honestly they should have taken a page from Fast & Furious 6.
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