Expend4bles (also known as The Expendables 4) is a 2023 action film directed by Scott Waugh, with a script co-written by Kurt Wimmer, Tad Daggerhart and Max Adams, from an original story by Spenser Cohen, Wimmer and Daggerhart. It is the fourth installment in The Expendables franchise and the sequel to The Expendables (2010), The Expendables 2 (2012) and The Expendables 3 (2014).

Armed with every weapon they can get their hands on and the skills to use them, The Expendables are the world's last line of defense and the team that gets called when all other options are off the table. But new team members with new styles and tactics are going to give "new blood" a whole new meaning.

Starring Jason Statham, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Megan Fox, Dolph Lundgren, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Randy Couture, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran, with Andy Garcia, and Sylvester Stallone.

Expend4bles made its debut in theaters September 22nd, courtesy of Lionsgate.

THE GOOD

Way back in 2010 which feels like a million years ago, The Expendables released in theaters with a cast that had everyone who grew up watching 80’s and 90’s action films salivating. The cast was stacked, consisting of Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, and Mickey Rourke. I’m pretty sure the casting team just brought on the actors who reported the highest levels of testosterone.

But in all seriousness, I was pumped when the trailer dropped because I am a sucker for throwback shoot-em-up style action films, and this was that and then some. It was more about the action and the cast than it was the story, but that was the point. So am I surprised that now 13-years later we have the 4th film in the franchise making its debut in theaters? Nope, not at all. I always felt like these films have a market, and as long as they keep making them I will keep showing up to the theater. So, was the latest entry in the franchise a lazy and unnecessary addition or a worthy sendoff for a fun all around action franchise? Keep reading to find out!

I admittedly showed up with tempered expectations, but ultimately I was pleased with Expend4bles. It was violent, action-packed, simple and effective, and actually had a few twists and turns that although I sort of saw them coming I still enjoyed. The story was fairly straight forward which was fine because it didn’t take away from the fun of the film which often goes back and forth between action thriller and action comedy.

Overall the cast was great yet again, and it was clear that all involved had a blast with this film. The action sequences were a bit much at times which I will talk about later in the review, but Expend4bles never overstays its welcome and kept me entertained from start to finish. Also as I talked about in the intro the film does welcome some new faces and I thought everyone fit in pretty well. Whether you fancy yourself a hefty dose of excessive violence or a ride or die chick who looks the part, this film has a little something for everyone.

A big reason why people go see these films is the cast, and although the 4th entry may not have the star power the previous entries offered, it still has plenty. The strength of the cast is undoubtedly Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham. Stallone is the ultimate 80’s/90’s action star who seemingly doesn’t age, and if you haven’t seen him in the Paramount Plus original series Tulsa King, you’re missing out. He does his thing here yet again as he proves that without him, you likely wouldn’t have this franchise at all.

Leading the way with the most screen time among the cast is my guy Jason Statham, who I have been a big fan of since the Transporter films. You can argue that Statham isn’t the best actor, but as someone who offers a unique element of versatility in terms of the types of roles he plays, he is one of the best. I talked about how he was severely underutilized in Meg 2: The Trench (our full review here), so it was refreshing to see him back doing what he does best. Statham is best served playing the badass that always gets the girl even though he is usually to busy beating the crap out of people to actually pay her any attention. I thought he was great here and one of the primary bright spots of the film.

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Megan Fox, and I have since she starred alongside Shia LaBeouf in the earlier Michael Bay Transformers films. Back in those days she was easily on my top 5 list in terms of “talented” actresses (thats not masogonistic by the way), but for one reason or another she fell from grace. And I’m not just talking about getting blacklisted from my childish hot list, she wasn’t really getting a ton of good movie roles either.

Now I’m not going to sit here and act like Megan Fox is an actress that is on the cusp of winning an Oscar, because if I were to say that I would have a straight jacket and a padded room in my future, but I’ll be damned if Expendables Megan Fox didn’t find her way back into my good graces. I don’t know if it was just the fact that she was working that sexy badass role hard, or maybe it was because something seemed to click as she teamed up with my guy Jason Statham, but either way I was really feeling her in this movie and loved the addition.

The supporting cast was solid and all served their purpose, from Mr. MMA himself Randy Couture who loves talking about his cauliflower ear, Levy Tran who was mirroring that sexy badass look along with Fox, Dolph Lundgren who is always a treat, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson who I have come to enjoy as an actor and liked him here as well, veteran actor Andy Garcia who is always great although he’s no Bruce Willis, and solid performances all around from Tony Jaa and Jacob Scipio, as well as Iko Uwais as one of the primary protagonists in the film.

All things considered I was pleased with the story. Similar to the most recent Fast and Furious films, the storyline in this franchise is often just place setter for the action sequences. I was expecting straight forward and to the point which it was, but the story actually added a few wrinkles that caught me by surprise. It added an emotional element which I thought helped to drive the story and added enough meat on the bone to keep viewers invested. Although the final act was mostly about the explosions and bodies dropping, the story coming full circle the way it did was satisfying.

The technical elements shine as expected in Expend4bles. I mean, this film wouldn’t even exist if not for the necessary and ultra-violent demise of several bad guys, as well as enough explosions to rival any Michael Bay film. We were promised more blood and that is exactly what we got, with several heads and often entire bodies exploding thanks to a .50 Cal machine gun, or just old fashioned knives.

I can’t even count how many people died in this film at the hands of a razor sharp blade. The hand-to-hand combat sequences were amazing throughout the film, with some real edge of your seat moments during the final act. Although surely not on the level of the John Wick films, I thought the shooting sequences were very well done and felt in your face and exciting. Plus I thought the final act, which played out like a live-action game of Call of Duty, was extremely entertaining.

THE BAD

Expend4bles is not a perfect film but at the end of the day it does what it sets out to do, and for that reason I won’t spend too much time picking it apart. If it was meant to be this nuanced experience with groundbreaking visuals and exceptional acting that would be one thing, but clearly that is not the case here. I’m a firm believer in trying to look at a film objectively but also fairly in terms of its objective and target audience, and for that reason Expend4bles delivers, simple as that. With that being said I will still touch on the faults that you can expect to encounter when you see the movie.

First and foremost, the film is littered with corny dialogue whether it be character interactions or the usual “rah rah” moments we have come to expect from these movies. I wouldn’t say that the cast was mailing it in or anything like that, but the tone of the film seemed to feel a bit more reserved compared to prior entries, or maybe the cast is just finally starting to show their age. I do wish it was a bit more gritty at times and the tone was definitely inconsistent.

In general I enjoyed the special effects mainly because I knew what to expect for the most part, which was more often than not over-the-top and incredibly unrealistic. Expend4bles has several head scratching moments where a small explosion causes a car to fly miles into the air, but because the movie is often ridiculous it becomes pretty easy to ignore these moments. Now I did like the story and the plot twists, but I will say that they were pretty predictable at least for me.

THE VERDICT

A bloody and action-packed return for the franchise after a lengthy hiatus, Expend4bles plays to its strengths with a flawed but fun turn your brain off 90’s era action thriller that is almost entirely style over substance. It would be easy to pick this film apart, but I enjoyed it just as I enjoyed all of the films before it. As I mentioned during the review, I go in to a film like Expend4bles knowing what to expect which tends to work out more often than not.

If you can appreciate the film for what it is I say go check it out, but if you are expecting more than the franchise has been serving up since 2010 you will be disappointed. I’m a movie fan first and a film critic second, and when the critic and audience score is incredibly lopsided for a movie like it is for Expend4bles, that is usually a sign to give it a chance and form your own opinion, especially if you enjoy the genre.