EXPEND4BLES (Scott Waugh, 2023)

[Moltisanti]

Proves my theory. Audiences love scary nuns.

[bomaz]

If you mean Dolph should do a nun movie, i agree with you. I think the Expendables are dead, worldwide box-office will struggle to cross the 100m$ in my opinion.

[Jox]

It might also have repercussions on the action DTV genre, although I guess it depends how well does EX4 on VOD and physical formats (where it's got a better chance to sell at least okay, despite the negative word of mouths)... Which I don't mind regarding useless stuff like THE BEST MAN, but am more concerned when it comes to Dolph's pet projects, already not easy to get off the ground...

‘Expend4bles’ Signals the End of the Elderly Action Hero
https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/ ... 234826906/



Vern's review
https://outlawvern.com/2023/09/25/expend4bles/

It’s hard to believe that this series has now been going for 13 years – the first one is as old as COP LAND, ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA AND AMERICA, THE PEACEKEEPER, THE JACKAL, BATMAN & ROBIN and DOUBLE TEAM were when it came out.

Funny

As always, Dolph is a highlight. He’s mostly comic relief here. In the past he was the crazy one (and a traitor) and now he’s trying to be enlightened. As a guy much younger than Dolph whose eyesight is starting to get worse, I like that he wears round glasses and is having trouble aiming (though he jokes that his sniper scope is prescription). Sadly he solves that problem by breaking his six month sobriety streak and instantly powering up like Popeye eating spinach.

But his most memorable shtick here is that he’s excited about bringing an ax on the mission and later he refers to it as “The Traumahawk.”

[alex.sp89]

I am sure during theatrical run this movie will recover its 100 millions, but profit this is the question?! I am sure t will sell well on BD and DVD, VOD. Sort of last RAMBO which made only 91 million theatrical, AND PRETTY GOOD ON VIDEO SALES. Today this type of action movies is better to watch at home in your basement on projector with your friends, a beer can and barbeque than staying in noisy movie theater.... TIMES CHANGED
Regarding EX4 I do not know why they made it more like a comics book. They always switch the genre in their sequels, 1st was darker, 2nd less dark and comic in parts and the 3rd ones again a little bit more serious vengeance movie and EX4 COMICS. And one more thing i felt lack of the 2nd act - it has 1 act and it goes straight to the ending 3rd act on the big boat, It has one big minus - one big action scene in the middle of the movie is missing. This is the main concern of viewers the first trilogy has plenty action scenes during the movie and here all the money were spent for opening and end act and middle felt abrupt, rushed. The second aspect are sexual remarks -really bad written - golden shower stuff, the best seat is on the men face, this chicks are going to lick my b...s, Who came with all this stuff ? For sure if Stallone was the main person on this production he will never allow this to happen.
Or the movie was re-edited several times and plenty was left on editing room floor, but some connective scenes are logical missing from final cut. Maybe extras on future BD release can FIX my concerns.

[Nathan]

I really wanted to like this. The trailer looked like dumb fun and really energetic. But it's probably one of the worst films I've ever seen in cinemas and possibly the single worst script of the last ten years. I can't say one good thing about the film to be honest.

Everything from the action, CGI, shot framing, cinematography, acting, script especially, editing - absolutely dreadful. How the script was greenlit at all let alone for an Expendables movie is beyond me. And most of the action is CGI. Including the guns.

It looks like the actors weren't even on a set at all for most of it or even in the same country as the second unit action. Trailer is a massive mis-sell as the film is flat as hell on every level and carries no weight or punch at all. And half the things in the script make no sense.

I reckon based on reviews and audience response this'll be the last. I could make a better film with my eyes shut.

[bomaz]

After a week, the movie struggles past 10m$ in the us, and around 23m$ overseas.

[Jox]

The director Scott Waugh repeats the catch phrase "Who cares, it's The Expendables!" in his interviews... No comment.

[alex.sp89]

I still do not understand how Ex4 is performing at the box office. Numbers shows activity, mojo is silent and dead in updates for this 100 million dollars budgeted movie.Very unusual for EX franchise. Today EX3 LOOKS A MASTERPIECE AND MADE PRETTY WELL -200 MIL. AT THE BOX OFFICE. By the way EX3 made less money in 2014 because it was leaked online 3 weeks before theatrical run (in true HD). In EX4 case movie was bad mouthed during post production test screens.Anyway I do no understand why they did not do reshoots after test screens, or use WETA services for special effects - they are one of the best in this field.
By the way Jox did u have the chance to watch it ? What are your impressions about it ? How did the script changed from the original Christmas story plot that i guess your read and knew before us ?

[Jox]

Anyway I do no understand why they did not do reshoots after test screens, or use WETA services for special effects - they are one of the best in this field.

Most likely too expensive and complicated for Millennium, especially when they own two VFX companies (in Sofia and one in London now)...

By the way Jox did u have the chance to watch it ? What are your impressions about it ?

No, not yet since for some reason the French distributor (also exec producer partner) chose to release it a bit later on October 11...

How did the script changed from the original Christmas story plot that i guess your read and knew before us ?

I haven't ready draft for this one, which apparently first comes from the 2015 Tony Jaa / Jason Statham aborted project HIGH VALUE TARGET (which EX3 director Patrick Hughes was set to direct for Millennium).

[Gieferg]

I was going to skip the cinema, but since today the tickets were extra-cheap, I went and...

Well, say what you want, for me this is the first (and unfortunately the last) good sequel in this series.

For the first time since the first one, I left the cinema satisfied with what I saw. This movie is simply everything I expected from the sequel to Ex1 and what the previous sequels failed to deliver. The pace is good, the action is not slow, there is a lot of it (unlike in Ex2) but it is not boring like in Ex3 and it is filmed with appropriate verve (which of course means that some people will complain about the editing). The effects are not perfect, but I expected the worst in this respect, so what I saw no longer shocked me, and apart from that, it was generally of a standard level in this series. It's a pity they didn't have Banderas but the guy who plays his character's son was also cool, in fact 50 Cent is the most bland of the entire cast - seriously, they couldn't have gotten Snipes? There's not much of Dolph again and he acts as comic relief, but there's more of him than last time and he's funnier. The plot twists are quite predictable, the plot is trivial, but it's FUN. At last.

Ex1 - 10/10
Ex2 - 5/10
Ex3 - 5/10
Ex4 - 7... let's make it 8/10

This is the main concern of viewers the first trilogy has plenty action scenes during the movie and here all the money were spent for opening and end act and middle fel

Not Ex2 - which had about 5 minutes (Yeah, I've counted it) of action between opening and final action scene.

[Moltisanti]

That is true of EX2 but I’d still put it as the best of them because it has the funnest villain, it actually kills off an Expendable (a young one, but still) and it’s the only one where they operate as a team through the whole film.

EX3 was on some channel today and I caught some of it. It really starts good with them breaking Snipes out and then the sequence on the docks. Both well staged and not hurt at all by the PG-13 rating. But after that the film loses so much steam and never regains its footing. Scene where Mel is captured and in back of the van is still great though.

[Krom]

Can’t find EX4 in any Box Office charts for this weekend, means that was already dropped out from the theaters already?!!!

[Jox]

Week end numbers are published on Sunday evening time (to us Europeans).

[bomaz]

On friday, Exp made 700k $, 9th in the charts... behind The Equalizer 3 (for its 5th friday ^^). The week-end BO should be around 1,5/1,8m$ for Exp4.
In China, Exp4 is virutally done, as it made... 30k$ yesterday. Its final gross in china should be around 23m$ (maybe a tad less).
I keep my "it won't do 100m$ worldwide" prediction (34m$ so far).

[TEMIRLAN]

So this franchise is done as we can see. Sad. This was one of the only projects where we could see the guys on the big sreen. It was not like this was even worse movie than The Meg 2 with Statham which did not so bad in theatres.