Watch the SPOILER review on YouTube
The fourth outing of this mostly forgettable franchise attempts to make itself standout from the other films by turning into a Jason Statham solo film while making the rest of the team feel expendable. The plot is pretty standard as far as this film series goes: Big action sequence early, something goes wrong, a double cross or two, and then the big action finale. This time around, they make a pretty bold decision that puts Statham’s character in the lead for the bulk of the movie. This is a mixed bag, as while he’s fine leading an action film, losing Stallone’s star power really changes the vibe and makes everything feel less special. Not only that, but the rest of the Expendables team really feel like they don’t get a lot to do. There are quite a few newcomers, and most of them don’t get a chance to shine. The weakest link is Megan Fox, who is brought in like she’s an established character that we should know, and never feels like she fits in with a gang of action stars. (Not to mention her few action scenes are edited in a way that in looks like it’s almost all done by a stunt double…and her hair and makeup are always pristine no matter what her character has been through.) The action has very few standout moments, and much of it is ruined by blatant CG-blood and gore filmed presumably in front of a green screen. So basically, a film expected to deliver, big bloody action sequences performed by Stallone and a handful of past and present action stars fails to deliver any of that satisfactorily.
*1/2 out of *****