The Expendables 3 Is Actually Expendable

Keywords: action, killing mission, secret team, age gap

Audience: PG-13

Violent content: lots of shots and explosions and some blood (mild visualization)

Sexual content: almost none

I suddenly went to the cinema today. I wished to see Guardians of the Galaxy but it was Sunday, so tickets for the trending movies had gone. Expecting some fun, I watched The Expendables 3 instead.

In short, it's actually expendable--something you can skip easily. Sometimes it's funny. Sometimes it's boring. Nothing is extraordinary. I love the cast, and they did act well, so this is a pity that I can't say the movie is great.

[WARNING: mild spoilers ahead]

Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) is the leader of The Expendables, a team of aged men of war who are frequently hired by CIA to do their dirty jobs. In the latest mission, Ross finds out that the dangerous man, Stonebanks, he thought he had killed in the previous movie is still alive. Ross fails in the mission, sending one of his men to the hospital. Not wanting to risk his friends' lives anymore, Ross gathers a new team consists of young bloods to pursue Stonebanks (Mel Gibson) once again.

I don't mind with plot holes, but they should have made the plot move faster. The opening scene is supposed to be an awesome mission, but it is mediocre at best and it takes too much time. I knew nothing about the previous movies, so I was clueless for the first 15 minutes and I wasn't happy about it. In many scenes, some dialogues are too long that I wanted to shout, "Shut up and do something please!"

The story is too simple for my liking. At one point Stonebanks' speech tickles the moral of the new team, but they seem to forget it in the next scene. I suspect the experienced vs rookie theme in this sequel is meant to tell something about "both old and young fellows have their own superiority, so all of us have to work together to achieve greatness". Well, they definitely can do better than that.

However, if you're not busy, this movie is worth to watch. The actors seem to have fun working on it. Among the older guys, Galgo (Antonio Banderas) saves the day with his can't-stop-talking character. Among the rookies, Luna (Ronda Rousey) definitely will catch your eyes. She's genuinely strong and I'm glad she's almost not sexually exploited in this movie (only one sexy dress and some flirts). I am looking forward to her next movies.

Last but not least, the ending scene is actually pretty cool if it's not too predictable.