Statham adds value as Expend4bles nails gory glory days of action cinema

The Expendables, a franchise set up long, long ago by Sylvester Stallone as an employment centre for decommissioned he-man heavies of yesteryear.

With the likes of Chuck Norris, Wesley Snipes, Mickey Rourke, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Arnold Schwarzenegger picking up pay cheques, the first three Expendables movies plugged into a pining nostalgia for the gory glory days of action cinema.

You know, when men were men, dialogue was optional, and body counts had to hit triple figures by the end of the opening act.

Needless to say, Expend4bles ain’t about to go messing with that winning, wincing formula.

The gang of hacky-go-lucky, good-guy mercenaries is still led in principle by its mumbly patriarch, Barney Ross (Stallone). However, when it comes to the day-to-day dangerous stuff, the lunatic leading the way now is Barney’s great mate Lee Christmas (Jason Statham).

The group’s latest assignment is to stop a bunch of nuclear detonators from falling into the grubby hands of an enigmatic supervillain known as The Ocelot.

This fella wants to make like Oppenheimer and manufacture the kind of mushroom cloud that should start World War 3. You know, because it will be great for business. Or something like that.

Of course, the Expendables are the only ones that can stop the boom-boom from entering the room.

For the most part, Expend4bles maintains a middling standard that leaves it looking no better or worse than a majority of action flicks made these days.

While there is arguably only one extended sequence that truly pays its way (a Die Hard-ish rescue scenario aboard a ship), there is consistent value to be drawn from Statham’s work here. Not only as a leading man, but also a lightning rod to spark his co-stars into action when needed.

Source: News.com.au