As this, the fourth instalment in the series, gets underway a group of ne'er-do-wells is attacking a base in Libya and stealing nuclear triggers. The Expendables are sent in to stop them but the mission does not go to plan; not only do the villains get away with the triggers but one of our protagonists is killed. The team are tasked with going after the attackers to prevent a nuclear conflict and identify 'Ocelot' the man behind the attack. They will be one man short though; Lee Christmas has been removed for disobeying orders on the previous mission... that won't stop him though. They will be reunited on a freighter heading into Russian waters with a nuclear bomb primed to detonate.
If you want plenty of violent action and aren't too demanding this is okay... of course that means it will be somewhat disappointing to fans of previous instalments, in particular the first two. There may be lots of action but the CGI isn't that great. Action fans know what they are seeing isn't real but it should at least look real. The story is okay; it serves to justify the action and has a couple of twists. The cast can clearly do the action and Jason Statham steps up to take the lead in impressively. There are some fine additions to the cast, most notably Iko Uwais, best known to Western views from 'The Raid', as Suarto Rahma and Tony Jaa, of 'Ong Bak' fame as Decha Unai, a former Expendable. The action is fairly mixed, as stated before the CGI is disappointing but the close-quarter fighting and much of the stunt work is still pretty good. Overall not a great film but it passes the time well enough if you just want some meat-headed action.
If you want plenty of violent action and aren't too demanding this is okay... of course that means it will be somewhat disappointing to fans of previous instalments, in particular the first two. There may be lots of action but the CGI isn't that great. Action fans know what they are seeing isn't real but it should at least look real. The story is okay; it serves to justify the action and has a couple of twists. The cast can clearly do the action and Jason Statham steps up to take the lead in impressively. There are some fine additions to the cast, most notably Iko Uwais, best known to Western views from 'The Raid', as Suarto Rahma and Tony Jaa, of 'Ong Bak' fame as Decha Unai, a former Expendable. The action is fairly mixed, as stated before the CGI is disappointing but the close-quarter fighting and much of the stunt work is still pretty good. Overall not a great film but it passes the time well enough if you just want some meat-headed action.