- Director: Scott Waugh
- Actors : Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren
- Studio : Lionsgate Home Entertainment
- Country of Origin : USA
- Number of discs : 1
- MPAA rating : R (Restricted)
- Media Format : Subtitled, 4K, DVD+Blu-ray, Digital_copy
- Run time : 1 hour and 44 minutes
- Release date : November 21, 2023
When the first film in The
Expendables franchise was released, it was both ahead of its time and
simultaneously felt intentionally dated. Often humorous—occasionally
unintentionally—The Expendables films resemble action releases from the
1980s, which is fitting considering the impressive cast of veteran action
stars. While the films seem to belong to another decade, this franchise was
also the first to benefit from the novelty of a beefed-up ensemble cast of
movie stars. Simply put, without The Expendables, there may never have
been The Avengers. With that being said, The Expendables 4 (released
as Expend4bles) has slipped in quality even more than the Marvel Cinematic
Universe in recent years.
The Expendables 4 brings some of the gang
back, along with several newcomers, as has been the pattern for the films.
Although he takes a backseat in the narrative, the team is initially headed up
by Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) until they fail to stop a mercenary named
Suarto Rahmat (Iko Uwais) from stealing nuclear warheads in Libya. The reason
for the failure lands entirely on the shoulders of Lee Christmas (Jason Statham)
when he puts the team ahead of the mission, resulting in him being benched as
the others set out to stop a mysterious terrorist named Ocelot from using the
nuclear warheads.
In addition to
the return of Stallone and Statham, the fourth film also brings back Dolph
Lundgren and Randy Couture as the only other original members of the team. They
are joined by newcomers Gina and Easy Day, played by Megan Fox and Curtis
"50 Cent" Jackson. Although Christmas is left out of the mission,
this doesn’t stop him from going on a rogue to assist the team aboard a ship
disguised as an American aircraft carrier. He joins the team with the help of a
former Expendable named Decha (played by Thai action star Tony Jaa) A majority
of the film takes place in this single location, which also rarely feels like
an actual location due to shoddy CGI peppered throughout.
The plots of these films are never
complex, as little else matters beyond each action sequence and the one-liners
spoken in-between. Each installment in The Expendables franchise contains an
excessive amount of masculinity, extremely violent action, nearly always
combined with campiness and self-aware jokes. With over-the-top action being
the primary highlight of each film, the 4K Ultra HD is the ideal way to watch The
Expendables 4. With that being said, the shortcomings in filmmaking are
even more apparent with enhanced visuals.
The HDR makes the colors of each practical explosion jump
right off the screen. It is brighter with even more depth than the Blu-ray
release (which is also included as a supplemental disc to the package). The
sound is another highlight of the enhanced presentation, as these movies are
both filled with thunderously macho soundtracks filled with roaring engines,
massive explosions, and high caliber gunfire.
The latest film in the franchise was
also the most disappointing at the box office, which may explain why it is
lacking the same efforts in the special features. Even without the same effort
as the first three films, The Expendables 4 does contain an audio
commentary with director Scott Waugh and two behind-the-scenes promotional
featurettes. Each of these extras are included on both the 4K and Blu-ray
discs. A digital copy of the film is also included in the package.
Entertainment Value:
6.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 4/10
Historical
Significance: 2/10
Special Features: 7/10
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