Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

The Expendables 3 Blu-ray Movie Review

If they're so expendable, why do they keep coming back?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 21, 2014

With a formula as set in stone as some of the Botoxed faces on display in The Expendables 3, it’s probably a shortcut of sorts that provides an opportunity of sorts, perhaps not even necessitating the fineries of an actual screenplay. That may then beg the question as to why it evidently took three people instead of a mere algorithm to come up with the predictable pile of excess that is this film. Resolutely unambitious but just as undeniably slick and manufactured as might be expected (maybe a better name for this franchise would be The Expectedles), The Expendables 3 expends—er, make that expands its list of yesterday’s heroes to include such stalwarts as Harrison Ford and (heaven forfend) Mel Gibson, at least cast here as the bad buy to trade in on his tarnished image. The film kicks off with what is its stock in trade, a spectacularly staged action set piece that sees Barney (Sylvester Stallone), Christmas (Jason Statham), Jensen (Dolph Lundgren) and Toll Road (Randy Couture) engaging in a take no prisoners assault on a train which is in fact a mission to free a prisoner held on board, a former member of this elite squad named Doctor Death (Wesley Snipes). This opening sequence is everything that Expendables fans have come to relish about the series—it’s big, noisy, flashily accomplished and completely improbable. Someone with a stopwatch probably planned and edited this film, for like clockwork little bursts of violence or grander, longer sequences built on similar action hyperbole tend to erupt every 20 minutes or so, but that still leaves close to two hours of other material that the film needs to slog through, and the increasingly tired banter of aging males bonding just isn’t enough to carry this installment.

Doctor Death may have visions of returning to his home and former life after apparent years of captivity, but of course Barney has other plans. That ultimately brings in returnee Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) to help in a job involving bombs, where Barney is shocked to discover his long ago partner and present day nemesis Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson) is behind the arms trading. The mission goes badly and an Expendable does indeed seem to be so much “red shirt” disposable material.

With one man down and other former ally seemingly gone to the dark side, Barney is in a quandary, though ironically it’s Harrison Ford, no stranger to dark side drifters, who sets the main plot in motion. Ford’s character Drummer is Barney’s black-ops mentor, and he not so surprisingly if oh, so coincidentally tasks Barney with capturing Stonebanks and bringing him to justice. Barney decides he needs a younger crew to accomplish the feat, and so the film actually becomes a kind of The Expendables: The Next Generation, with a gaggle of young hunks (and hunkettes) added to the mix of geriatric and middle aged stars.

Virtually every subsequent plot point works out pretty much as might be expected. The young Expendables (played by Kellan Lutz, Glen Powell, Victor Ortiz and Ronda Rousey) actually do help Barney capture Stonebanks, at least for a time, but then of course the tables are turned, the young ‘uns are put in peril, and Barney has to call the old gang together again to put everything right.

Stallone, who reportedly has a rather altruistic view of casting for these films, wanting to offer work to people supposedly past their cinematic prime, once again stuffs the film full of little quasi-cameos. Returning Expendables vet Arnold Schwarznegger is joined by newcomers Kelsey Grammer and Antonio Banderas in supporting roles. But even this element grows tiresome after a while, especially since no character development is ever offered. That's especially ironic given the fact that even in its somewhat shorter theatrical version the film runs over two hours.

The lame, increasingly unnatural “camaraderie” of The Expendables 3 would perhaps be tolerable, or at least more tolerable, if the film had attempted to deliver more than types for its “new, improved” (and younger) Expendables. Instead it’s as if Stallone simply went over a bunch of Q-ratings and decided on age appropriate actors to fill completely generic roles. That leaves whatever momentum the film manages to fitfully attain to the action sequences, and again unsurprisingly, the film more than lives up to its boisterous predecessors. Excellent stunt work and lots of floorboard shattering gun power help to at least divert attention from the fact that other than these relatively brief moments of flash and noise, there’s not much else going on here.

The Expendables 3 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Expendables 3 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. Digitally shot with Red Epic cameras, the film looks fantastic in high definition, with a deep and burnished palette that exploits some particularly notable amber and sienna hues. Close-ups offer excellent fine detail, and well above average detail even in rather dark environments. A hyperkinetic filming and editing style can sometimes add the appearance of softness to the most manic action sequences, but the image is typically sharp, clear and very precise looking. Exterior location footage offers very substantial depth of field. Some of the CGI elements are slightly soft looking, but are woven organically into the film. There are no issues with inappropriate digital tweaking of the image and similarly no problems with compression artifacts.

The Expendables 3 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Expendables 3's Dolby Atmos (core Dolby TrueHD 7.1) mix is astoundingly effective, from the first moment when a train passes over a camera and a clear and thunderous panning sound wave accompanies it. Low end is absolutely shattering at several key instances throughout the film, offering an almost physical punch to things like explosions, gunfire and other mayhem. Perhaps surprisingly, dialogue comes through loudly and clearly even in the most boisterous sequences. Surround placement is ubiquitous and extremely well handled, offering an onslaught of effects in the busiest scenes.

The Expendables 3 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Expendables 3 Documentary (1080p; 51:56) may be a glorified EPK, but it's an EPK nonetheless, with okay interviews and behind the scenes footage.


• New Blood: Stacked and Jacked (1080p; 16:11) profiles some of the new cast members.


• The Total Action Package (1080p; 6:40) looks at some of the set pieces.


• Gag Reel (1080p; 5:41)


• Extended Scene: Christmas Runs the Gauntlet (1080p; 2:46)


• Theatrical (2:06:27) and Unrated Extended (2:11:31) Versions

The Expendables 3 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Expendables 3 will almost certainly satisfy any action junkie's need for things that go "boom", but by the third film in a franchise, there's only so many gunfights and demolition derbies that can be sat through before everything just starts to feel old hat. There's the expected amount of banter in this film, which boils down more to blather quite a bit of the time, but director Patrick Hughes knows where his bread is buttered and serves up some slickly packaged action sequences every few minutes. The Expendables 3 is resolutely unambitious, lowbrow action fare, and taken on that level, it succeeds perfectly well. Technical merits here are first rate, and for those jonesin' for wild and crazy guys marauding through yet another overseas locale if for no one else, The Expendables 3 comes Recommended.