| Expend4bles | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Scott Waugh |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Based on | Characters byDavid Callaham |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Tim Maurice-Jones |
| Edited by | Michael J. Duthie |
| Music by | Guillaume Roussel |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Lionsgate |
Release dates |
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Running time | 104 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $100 million[2] |
| Box office | $51.1 million[3] |
Expend4bles (also known asThe Expendables 4) is a 2023 Americanaction film and the fourth installment inThe Expendables franchise. The film stars anensemble cast consisting ofJason Statham,Sylvester Stallone,Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson,Megan Fox,Dolph Lundgren,Tony Jaa,Iko Uwais,Randy Couture andAndy Garcia. It is directed byScott Waugh from a screenplay byKurt Wimmer, Tad Daggerhart andMax D. Adams, based on a story bySpenser Cohen, Wimmer and Daggerhart.
Expend4bles was released inmainland China on September 15, 2023, and in the United States a week later, byLionsgate. The film received negative reviews from critics with praise for Statham’s performance and action sequences, but criticism for its script, Stallone's limited screen time, the direction, some of the new characters and the visual effects. It has grossed $51 million worldwide against a budget of $100 million, making it abox-office bomb. It was nominated for sevenGolden Raspberry Awards, winning two, forWorst Supporting Actor andWorst Supporting Actress.
The Expendables are sent toLibya to prevent mercenary Suarto Rahmat from stealingnuclear warheads for a mysterious terrorist named Ocelot. The team is led by Barney Ross and formed of members Lee Christmas, Toll Road, and Gunner Jensen, with Easy Day and Galan as their recruits. However, they are incapacitated when all of their vehicles are destroyed in the ensuing fight. When Rahmat shoots their plane down, the team finds what appears to be Barney's burned corpse in the wreckage, identified solely by his ring.
At Barney's memorial service, CIA operative Marsh reveals that the team will pursue Ocelot and Rahmat, but without Christmas, who jeopardized the mission trying to save Barney. He is replaced by Gina, his former lover, who also brings an operative named Lash into the team. The team travels to Asia, but is secretly tracked by Christmas, who had slipped Gina a tracking device in her belly button earlier. Barney's apparent death opened a sealed file which states that there is an eyewitness that could identify Ocelot.
Ocelot plans to provokeWorld War III by letting the nuclear warheads explode in theRussian Far East, transporting them on a ship disguised as an Americanaircraft carrier. As the Expendables and Marsh board the ship, they are ambushed and taken hostage. Marsh is taken away to negotiate a prisoner-exchange for the eyewitness.
Meanwhile, Christmas travels to Thailand to recruit former Expendable Decha, who has turned towardspacifism but agrees to bring him to the ship to avenge Barney. As Christmas fights his way through the ship, Decha has a change of heart and helps him rescue the rest of the team. They launch an attack on Rahmat's forces, during which Christmas fights and kills him. However, Toll has been severely stabbed and needs immediate medical care.
During the prisoner exchange, Marsh kills the eyewitness, which acknowledges him to be Ocelot. Marsh hopes to profit financially by igniting World War III. While the team leaves on Decha's boat to save Toll, Christmas stays behind to turn the ship around to avoid a global conflict. He confronts Marsh before the latter is killed by Barney, who faked his death by surviving the plane crash. They escape the nuclear explosion and celebrate with the team.
Additionally, Sheila Shah was cast as Mandy / Adele, alongsideEddie Hall as a bouncer.[4][12]
AfterThe Expendables 3 (2014) underperformed at the box office, the future of the series was left in doubt[13] and production stalled over several years. By November 2014, it was announced that the project was being developed with intent to retain its R-rating like the first two films.[14] In December 2016,Sylvester Stallone announced that the fourth installment would be the final film in the series, while a scheduled tentative release date was set for 2018.[15] By March 2017, Stallone had left the project and the franchise, due to creative differences over the script and direction for continuing the franchise.[16] In January 2018, after vocal support from other cast members (includingArnold Schwarzenegger), Stallone announced his return to the series with a post to his social media platforms; confirming new developments on the fourth movie.[17]
By August 2020, Vértice Cine announced their involvement as a production studio on the movie, alongsideLionsgate andMillennium Films. They also revealed thatPatrick Hughes was going to return to the series as director.[18] In November 2020, the president of Millennium Media, Jeffrey Greenstein, stated that the studio was continuing to work onThe Expendables 4 after various delays within the industry worldwide due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[19] In August 2021,The Hollywood Reporter reported thatScott Waugh would be directing the film, replacing Hughes, as well as Statham serving as a producer of the film,[4] while Stallone confirmed his involvement with the project, and thatThe Expendables 4 was the same project asThe Expendables: A Christmas Story, previously reported as aspin-off but in fact the film's working-title during development. Stallone further stated that production was set to commence in October of that year.[20][21] According toDolph Lundgren, the film had a budget of $100 million.[7]
In July 2018,Gregory Poirier announced his role as screenwriter.[22] Production was tentatively scheduled to begin by April 2019, though it wasn't until July of that year that Stallone announced that he was continuing to work on the script for the project.[23] The script was completed later that year, though negotiations with producers were ongoing.[24] In August 2021, it was announced thatSpenser Cohen wrote the most recent draft of the script withMax Adams, from a story by Cohen.[4]
Over the years, multiple actors reported interest or claimed they were approached to star in a fourth installment. In March 2014,Pierce Brosnan stated that he had agreed with producerAvi Lerner to star in a fourth installment.[25] By April of the same year, Sylvester Stallone revealed his first choice for the villain wasJack Nicholson, while mentioning his interest in convincingClint Eastwood to join the production.[26][27] According toJackie Chan, he was approached to star in the film by Stallone but was unsure about having limited screen time in an ensemble film, which is why he had turned down roles in the previous two entries.[28]Dwayne Johnson publicly expressed interest to play a villainous character in a new installment during a 2014 Q&A[29] and reiterated his interest to join the series in 2022.[30] In May 2015,Hulk Hogan claimed that he was in talks with Stallone to play the film's main villain.[13]
In June 2020,Jean-Claude Van Damme expressed interest in returning to the franchise, publicly pitching his idea of playing Claude Vilain, the brother to his villain character, Jean Vilain, fromThe Expendables 2.[31] Despite discontent with how his character was handled inThe Expendables 3, Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed he was interested in returning to the series if he liked the script.[32] However; on May 29, 2023, Schwarzenegger confirmed that he would not be returning to the franchise, citing a general uninterest.[33]While he was not included in the fourth movie,Kellan Lutz proclaimed interest to return in a fifth installment in anInstagram post.[34] On the other hand,Terry Crews, who had starred in all previous films, refused to appear in any new entries after claiming he was sexually assaulted by Stallone's agent, Adam Venit, alleging he was pressured by producer Avi Lerner to drop the case if he wanted to stay in the series.[35]
However, none of the actors mentioned above were subsequently cast, and the cast was announced to include returning stars Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham,Randy Couture, and Dolph Lundgren, while new cast members were revealed to beEddie Hall,Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson,Megan Fox,Tony Jaa,Andy García, Sheila Shah,Jacob Scipio andLevy Tran,[4][12] withIko Uwais playing the villain.[10]
In August 2021, it was stated thatprincipal photography would begin in October.[4] Filming officially commenced on September 29, 2021.[36][37] In October 2021, Stallone announced on social media that he had finished filming his scenes for the movie.[9] The film was shot in London and Bulgaria and theJackie Chan Stunt Team handled stunt choreography.[38] In November 2021, production was shot inGreece, including the city ofThessaloniki.[39] Members of theGreek Armed Forces were used asextras and alleged they were not compensated for their month-long official deployment, despite working overtime.[40] On December 3, 2021, Tony Jaa confirmed filming had wrapped.[41]
The film title had been retitledExpend4bles by June 2023,[42][43][44] a name that was widely ridiculed by commentators.[a] When asked why they chose this title, producer Les Weldon stated that it had always been the filmmakers' desire while retainingThe Expendables'sbrand identity.[50]
On April 26, 2023, Guillaume Roussel announced that he would be composing the film's score, replacingBrian Tyler from the previous three installments.[51]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The New Squad" | 2:01 |
| 2. | "A Horrible Loss" | 2:27 |
| 3. | "Here We Go" | 1:50 |
| 4. | "Introducing Decha" | 2:12 |
| 5. | "Marsh Runs the Show" | 2:40 |
| 6. | "Trouble Ahead" | 2:14 |
| 7. | "Bike, Explosions and Death" | 3:13 |
| 8. | "Battle on the Deck" | 2:12 |
| 9. | "The Final Duel" | 1:41 |
| 10. | "Finding Ocelot" | 1:12 |
| 11. | "Redemption" | 1:57 |
| 12. | "Expend4bles Main Theme" | 2:43 |
| Total length: | 26:22 | |
Expend4bles was released in mainland China on September 15, 2023, and was theatrically released byLionsgate Films on September 22, 2023.[53] The film was originally scheduled to be released in 2022.[54]
Expend4bles was released for digital platforms on October 13, 2023, followed by aDVD,Blu-ray, andUltra HD Blu-ray release on November 21, 2023.[55][56]
In April 2022, the firststandee posters for the film were unveiled atCinemaCon.[57] The first teaser trailer footage was released exclusively to the attendees at Lionsgate's presentation at the convention.[58][59] On June 6, 2023, the first poster for the film was released, with the first trailer releasing a day later.[60] A second trailer advertising the film's R rating was released August 23, 2023.[61]
As of November 5, 2023[update],Expend4bles has grossed $16.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $34.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $51 million.[3]
In the United States and Canada,Expend4bles was initially projected to gross $15–17 million from 3,518 theaters in its opening weekend.[2] After making $3.1 million on its first day (including $750,000 from Thursday night previews), estimates were lowered, and it went on debut to $8 million, finishing second behind holdoverThe Nun II.[62] The film fell 69% to $2.5 million in its second weekend, finishing in ninth place.[63]
In China, the film opened to $10.7 million, narrowly finishing first before a Chinese film.[64]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 14% of 124 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Solid work from Jason Statham and some halfway decent set pieces aren't enough to make up forExpend4bles' lackluster action and cheap-looking effects."[65]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 30 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[66][67] Audiences surveyed byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale, the lowest of the series, while those polled atPostTrak gave it a 64% overall positive score.[62]
Owen Gleiberman, writing forVariety, said: "This is true 21st-century trash: a movie in which the action itself is expendable."[68] Referencing the poor CGI effects,Collider wrote thatExpend4bles was "[o]ften resembling more of a mobile game than a movie";[69] several reviewers compared it toHidden Strike, another film by Waugh with similarly bad CGI.[69][70] Simon Thompson ofIGN voiced similar complaints, stating: "the special effects, [...] look either unfinished or just so bad that it's sad, [...] like they were ripped from the graphics package of a mid-to-low-budget video game from the early 2000s".[71]
The acting, plot, dialogue, and violence were criticized by various reviewers. Thompson called the "clunky and uninspired dialogue" awful, concluding that the film was overall a "crushing disappointment that lacks any of the nostalgia, charisma, and charm that made the franchise appealing".[71]Todd McCarthy ofDeadline criticized that the movie was lazily executed, feeling that especially the final battle was an exact copy ofMeg 2, another 2023 action film starring Statham.[72]
Furthermore, multiple reviews criticized the overall weak cast in comparison to its predecessors, with many noting that the movie hardly retains the franchise's original selling point of featuring an all-star cast of action legends.[73][69][70] A review inPaste noted that "Statham opts to accept a promotion to series lead" but added "RefashioningThe Expendables into a Statham star vehicle only highlights the wrong kind of expendability from many of his long-time costars; whycan't we just watch our man kick ass on his own or in various duos?"[74]
An otherwise negative review at/Film conceded however that the film might be the best of the franchise,[75] while a review fromDigital Spy stated while "the sense of cheesy throwback fun is restored in both the gleefully violent action and the script... It's absolutely not enough to save a movie that is two-thirds boring, but it does at least elevateThe Expendables 4 above the irredeemable third movie. You'll be left on such an adrenaline high that you wouldn't be surprised if – like the aforementioned STI – the Expendables will be back for another round."[70]
| Award / Film Festival | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Raspberry Awards | March 9, 2024 | Worst Picture | Kevin King-Templeton, Les Weldon, Yariv Lerner, andJason Statham | Nominated | [76] |
| Worst Director | Scott Waugh | Nominated | |||
| Worst Supporting Actor | Sylvester Stallone | Won | |||
| Worst Supporting Actress | Megan Fox | Won | |||
| Worst Screenplay | Kurt Wimmer, Tad Daggerhart,Max Adams, andSpenser Cohen | Nominated | |||
| Worst Screen Couple | Any two "Merciless Mercenaries" | Nominated | |||
| Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel | Expend4bles | Nominated |
{{cite web}}:|last= has generic name (help){{cite web}}:|last= has generic name (help)Gravity is setting in throughoutExpend4bles, a movie whose most enticing mystery is not the secret identity of its shadowy villain, but how you pronounce the film's title. Are we supposed to enunciate the mid-word numeral, or is it merely visual? Is this what stands for a smart new spin on a tired franchise? Will we soon haveMy Big F4t Greek Wedding? Are these questions supposed to distract us from how stunningly mediocre the film is?
The first thing you need to know aboutExpendables 4 is that its studio somehow made the grating decision to fashion its title asExpend4bles. It's a needless spelling challenge for a dull and vulgar flick with a lot of empty-calories muscle, but little-to-no skill or fun to spare. The second thing you need to know is, that insertion of "4" is, unfortunately, just about the most clever thing the fourth installment of this star-studded action series has to offer.
The fourth installment of the action movie franchiseThe Expendables arrived in theaters on Sept. 22, under a ridiculous title,Expend4bles.
Expend4bles—pronounced ecks-pen-d-for-bulls—opened to just $8.3 million.
Expend4bles (yes, that's really the on-screen title) aims to recapture that spirit, even down to bringing back the R rating after the bloodless third movie.
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