Expend4bles is more of a visual experience than a movie to watch. It contains exploding scenes, gun fights, and some punchlines that are not as funny as expected. The first release in 2010 was a throwback to the action movies of the 80s and 90s, and the following releases were enjoyable but not as good as the original. After almost a decade in “development hell,” the fourth installment finally arrives. Sylvester Stallone and producer Jason Statham are back, along with Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture, playing mercenaries who exchange wisecracks when not wreaking havoc. Stallone’s involvement is minimal, with Statham having more screen time. The team is on a mission to retrieve nuclear detonators, but things go wrong, and the detonators end up with the bad guy Rahmat (Iko Uwais). Megan Fox joins the cast as Statham’s girlfriend, but her performance is lacking, with no changes in expression, even when faced with an atomic bomb ticking away. Tony Jaa is a non-official member who lends a helping hand. The rest of the cast goes through the motions, and the direction of Scott Waugh is uninspired. The action sequences are decent, with some looking cheap for a movie reportedly costing $100 million. Even with the Expendables being betrayed twice, nothing ever feels at stake. The franchise is running on fumes, and it’s time to pull the plug. Expend4bles exemplifies this sentiment.
