More explosive cast

Film review: The Expendables 3

MANILA, Philippines - They are back. Bigger and more expanded than ever. I mean The Expendables, that group of one-time action stars who banded together in the movie also called The Expendables and conquered the box office. So they did it again with The Expendables 2 and now want to do the same with The Expendables 3. This was how it happened. 

Sylvester Stallone of Rambo, Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Terminator, Bruce Willis, John McLane of Die Hard, Jason Statham of The Transporter, Jet Li from Shaolin Temple and Dolph Lungren of He Man, Masters of the Universe, plus Randy Couture and Terry Crews starred in The Expendables, Stallone’s brainchild of an amusing, action-filled romp for movie heroes of a certain age. 

That one proved to be so successful that the gang was back a year later, bigger than ever and equipped with interesting reinforcements. For Expendables 2, added to the ingredients were Chuck Norris of Missing in Action, Jean Claude Van Damme of the Universal Soldier and Liam Hemsworth Well, Liam was too young to meet the criteria although he was also a hero in The Hunger Games. He was not even born yet when Norris was in Delta Force. But he wouId bring in the younger crowd curious to find out what Miley Cyrus’ ex looked like. And so they were all there and all the fans came. Expendables 2 was not only a bigger hit, it was also a better picture.

 And now we come to The Expendables 3 with the original, explosive cast. Stallone, Statham, Schwarzenegger, Li, Lundgren and Couture are back and goody, goody, look at who they brought with them. Mel Gibson, Antonio Banderas, Wesley Snipe and Han Solo himself, Harrison Ford.  But wait, where is Bruce Willis, who as Mr. Church was the “manager” of the Expendables? Well, showbiz gossip has it that the Die Hard star was demanding a million dollars a day to be in 3.  Stallone probably thought “Not cool,” and said something like “Ano siya naloloko?” So he fired Mr. Church and gave the “manager” job to Harrison who also becomes the Expendables’ pilot.

I do not know if Willis regrets not being in 3 but I do know that Stallone is very happy about not having him around. Expendables 3 is one of those rare times in a franchise title when the third picture is better than the first and the second. You know how it goes. And this includes even the great classics like Star Wars or Harry Potter. The first film is always the best. Not in the case of The Expendables though. Writer Stallone, who just in case you have forgotten, wrote the Academy Award winning Rocky in three days, has hit his stride. I can now imagine him breezing along through Expendables 4.

I think another reason is the addition of Banderas and Gibson who have done their share of action roles and are also fine actors. Banderas is handsome and funny and such a kooky, wisecracking delight. He steals every scene he is in.  As for Gibson, The Expendables really hit the jackpot with this guy. But then, there was really no reason for him to miss.  Gibson can act out Jesus and Mad Max rolled into one. As the bad boy of the flick, I can see all the simmering dark energy of Lethal Weapon now ripening to full malevolence.

 It turns out that Stallone’s Barney and Gibson’s Conrad were friends. In fact, they founded the Expendables together and were okay until Conrad fell in with bad elements and Barney had to kill him. So when Conrad is “resurrected,” the Expendables will be dealing not only with their usual villain.  They are facing off against a deadly arms dealer who is also a personal enemy and most of all, who is in every way their equal. To top it all, Gibson plays his part straight which makes him doubly menacing.

As usual this is no let up action with and things go at a fast pace right up to the end. There are also lots of laughs at the dialogue. But the former friendship between Barney and Conrad has boosted the heart element. This is not just the battle of good against evil anymore. An interesting gray line has been drawn.

There is always room at the movies for exciting action flicks like The Expendables and there will always be a fan base for its stars. In fact, doing this series has, I am sure added numbers to the following of Stallone and company. They can do this forever and if I were Stallone I will keep on doing this until I get Clint Eastwood, Dirty Harry, the holy grail of action heroes into the picture. Or easier perhaps, until   Willis begs to be taken back.