The Expendables 4 (film)

[Neil]

Don't think I've seen 3 yet... Do I need to?

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[MinionZombie]

Well, it'd make sense to see #3 - although the theatrical version was PG-13 and the extended R-Rated version doesn't add all that much violence or blood. #3 was the weakest of the first three, for sure, but it still has plenty of fun to enjoy, so certainly give it a squiz, but just be aware that it doesn't match the first two.

Hopefully #4 will be good, even with certain cast members of previous films being missing.

[MinionZombie]

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Back to being R-rated - GOOD! :thumbsup:

There are some missing parts here - no Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, or Terry Crews - and with Stallone second-billed to Statham, I wonder if Sly won't be in it as much?

Still, though - looks awesome!

[MinionZombie]

Well that was a big fucking stinker.

Just gave it a watch and geeeeeeeeeez. The structure/editing of the film is awful, the pacing is poor (94 minutes felt like a bit of a slog), the extensive use of green screen is about as obvious as Godzilla stomping through your living room, and the continual attempts at one-liners and witty banter is just cringe-inducingly dreadful (displaying an evident lack of wit or even basic logic amongst the writing team).

Stallone sits out most of the movie, while the new additions to the team fit in about as well as a London bus up one's arsehole - 50 Cent lacks on-screen charisma and any connection with the other characters, Megan Fox looks like she's playing 'Action Barbie' from underneath an Instagram filter, Tony Jaa and Iko Uwais are both wasted, and Jacob Scipio playing the son of Antonio Banderas' character from the third movie smacks of catastrophic laziness on the writers' parts, while Levy Tran is just there. Every single character is saddled with bone-crunchingly shit dialogue and the film lumbers around underneath the weight of a story that is clobbered with plot holes, logic gaps, and lazy storytelling ... I mean, the attempt at making that creaky old ship (on which half the damn movie occurs) to look like an active aircraft carrier is just laughably stupid (quarter-sized cardboard cut-outs of military jets ... really?! - and what sort of aircraft carrier is going to have its deck cluttered with shitty old crates and cargo containers?).

The trailer posted earlier in this thread boasted about bringing back the gory violence (after the idiotic attempt to pull in the PG-13 crowd with #3), but beyond a couple of juicy moments it's just a load of CGI bullet hits and fuck all else for 95% of the time.

The action is mostly pretty bland, the filming of fight scenes lacks panache or excitement, and a moment at the end ... ... well...
The 'death' of Barney is, shock horror, not true for convoluted and vague reasons - but how he fakes his death basically involves him kidnapping and murdering an innocent (as far as I could tell) man. Er ... what?! Just because he's a short arsehole from a bar that means the hero of the franchise can just do that?! U wot m8?

It just got worse and worse as it went on. They should've left the franchise well alone. #3 has it's fair share of flaws, but it's a masterpiece compared to this fucking garbage.

[Neil]

Was on my list of watch. After your comment, and others, it's off.

[MinionZombie]

Was on my list of watch. After your comment, and others, it's off.

I was expecting at least something decent, but it completely flew waaaaaay under my already tempered expectations.

I'm a big fan of the first two movies, and even the third is a solid and entertaining movie (albeit with the idiotic idea to go PG-13 and the bloated running time and the kind of awkward structure and mixed introduction of newbies). The third movie coming hot on the heels of the first two did it a lot of favours, I think, because #4 being 10 years on suffers from the usual pitfalls of 'belated sequel-itis'.

In some ways it has to be seen to be believed just how much they ballsed it up. The green screen work alone is shockingly bad.

I watched the making of on YouTube and fuck me they're all just lying through their teeth about the movie, going on about how it's bigger and better than ever, how it's so much more that the first three etc etc etc - all the usual twaddle - and they're utterly incorrect on all fronts.