The Expendables 4

The Expendables 4
File:Expendables 4 Poster.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Scott Waugh
Produced by	Kevin King-Templeton Les Weldon Yariv Lerner Jason Statham
Screenplay by	Kurt Wimmer Tad Daggerhart Max Adams
Story by	Spenser Cohen Kurt Wimmer Tad Daggerhart
Based on	Characters by David Callaham
Starring	Jason Statham Sylvester Stallone Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson Megan Fox Dolph Lundgren Tony Jaa Iko Uwais Randy Couture Jacob Scipio Levy Tran Andy García
Music by	Guillaume Roussel
Cinematography	Tim Maurice-Jones
Edited by	Michael J. Duthie
Distributed by	Lionsgate
Release dates	September 15, 2023 (2023-09-15) (China) September 22, 2023 (2023-09-22) (United States)
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$100 million
Box office	$19 million

Expend4bles (also known as The Expendables 4) is a 2023 American action film that is the fourth installment in The Expendables film series, following The Expendables 3 (2014). The film stars an ensemble cast including Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, and Randy Couture reprising their roles from previous films, with Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran, and Andy García joining the cast. It is directed by Scott Waugh from a screenplay by Kurt Wimmer, Tad Daggerhart, and Max Adams, based on a story by Spenser Cohen, Wimmer, and Daggerhart.

The Expendables 4 was released in China on September 15, 2023, and in the United States a week later, by Lionsgate. The film received largely negative reviews from critics, with much of the criticism focusing on the lackluster cast, plot, violence and the poor CGI effects. The Expendables 4 grossed $19 million worldwide against a budget of $100 million, making it a box-office bomb.

Plot

The Expendables are sent to Libya to keep mercenary Rahmat from stealing nuclear warheads for the mysterious Ocelot, whom Barney Ross failed to apprehend 25 years prior. However, the team is incapacitated when all of their vehicles are destroyed in the ensuing fight. Barney, who had stayed behind on the plane, is killed when it is shot down.

At his memorial service, CIA operative Marsh reveals that the team will go after Ocelot and Rahmat, but without Lee Christmas, who jeopardized the mission trying to save Barney. He is replaced by Gina, his former lover, who also brings female operative Lash into the team. The team travels to Asia, but is secretly trailed by Christmas, who had slipped Gina a tracking device earlier. Barney’s death opened a sealed file which states that there is an eyewitness that could identify Ocelot.

It is revealed that Ocelot plans to ignite World War III by letting the nuclear warheads explode in the Russian Far East, transporting them on a ship disguised as an American aircraft 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 towards pacifism 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 kills him. However, Toll Road has been heavily wounded and needs immediate medical care.

During the prisoner exchange, Marsh is revealed to be Ocelot, hoping to financially profit from igniting World War III. While the team leaves on Decha's boat to save Toll Road, Christmas stays behind to turn the ship around to avoid a global conflict. He confronts Marsh, who is surprisingly killed by Barney, who reveals that he faked his own death to lure Ocelot out of hiding. They escape the nuclear explosion and celebrate with the team.

Cast

See also: List of The Expendables characters

• Jason Statham as Lee Christmas: The team's knife expert and second in command. As Stallone was looking to pass the franchise's lead on to Statham, he did about 80% of all filming and oversaw post-production, also serving as a producer.
• Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross: The leader of the Expendables. Stallone confirmed that the film would be his final appearance as Barney Ross, with Statham expecting to take over the series after his departure. Due to this, his role in the film was limited.
• Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson as Easy Day, a new member of the Expendables.
• Megan Fox as Gina, a CIA operator and member of the Expendables as well as Christmas's former girlfriend.
• Dolph Lundgren as Gunner Jensen: A volatile member of the team, undone by years of combat stress. Lundgren stated that his character has been sober for several years now and is on a philosophical soul search.
• Tony Jaa as Decha, a former member of the Expendables.
• Iko Uwais as Rahmat, a mercenary and the main antagonist.
• Randy Couture as Toll Road: The team's demolitions expert.
• Jacob Scipio as Galan, a new member of the Expendables and son of former member Galgo.
• Levy Tran as Lash, a CIA operator and a new member of the Expendables.
• Andy García as Marsh / Ocelot, a CIA agent.

Additionally, Sheila Shah has been cast as Mandy (Adele), alongside Eddie Hall as a bouncer.

Production

Development

After The Expendables 3 (2014) underperformed at the box office, the future of the series was left in doubt and production stalled over several years. By November 2014, it was announced that the project is being developed with intent to retain its R-rating like the first two films. In December 2016, Sylvester Stallone announced that the fourth installment will be the final film in the series, while a scheduled tentative release date was set for 2018. By March 2017, Stallone had left the project and the franchise, due to creative differences over the script and direction for continuing the franchise. In January 2018, after vocal support from other cast members (including Arnold Schwarzenegger), Stallone announced his return to the series with a post to his social media platforms; confirming new developments on the fourth movie.

By August 2020, Vértice Cine announced their involvement as a production studio on the movie, alongside Lionsgate and Millennium Films. They also revealed that Patrick Hughes will return to the series as director. In November 2020, the president of Millennium Media, Jeffrey Greenstein, stated that the studio is continuing to work on The Expendables 4 after various delays within the industry worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2021, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Scott Waugh would be directing the film, replacing Hughes, as well as Statham serving as a producer of the film, while Stallone confirmed his involvement with the project, and that The Expendables 4 was the same project as The Expendables: A Christmas Story, previously reported as a spin-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. According to Dolph Lundgren, the film had a budget of $100 million.

Writing

In July 2018, Gregory Poirier announced his role as screenwriter. 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. The script was completed later that year, though negotiations with producers were ongoing. In August 2021, it was announced that Spenser Cohen wrote the most recent draft of the script with Max Adams, from a story by Cohen.

Casting

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 producer Avi Lerner to star in a fourth installment. By April of the same year, Sylvester Stallone revealed his first choice for the villain was Jack Nicholson, while mentioning his interest in convincing Clint Eastwood to join the production. According to Jackie 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. Dwayne Johnson publicly expressed interest to play a villainous character in a new installment during a 2014 Q&A and reiterated his interest to join the series in 2022. In May 2015, Hulk Hogan claimed that he was in talks with Stallone to play the film's main villain.

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, from The Expendables 2. Despite discontent with how his character was handled in The Expendables 3, Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed he was interested in returning to the series if he liked the script. However; on May 29, 2023, Schwarzenegger confirmed that he would not be returning to the franchise, citing a general disinterest. While he was not included in the fourth movie, Kellan Lutz proclaimed interest to return in a fifth installment in an Instagram post. 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.

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 be Eddie Hall, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Andy García, Sheila Shah, Jacob Scipio and Levy Tran, with Iko Uwais playing the villain.

Filming

In August 2021, it was stated that principal photography would begin in October. Filming officially commenced on September 29, 2021. In October 2021, Stallone announced on social media that he had finished filming his scenes for the movie. The film was shot in London and Bulgaria and the Jackie Chan Stunt Team handled stunt choreography. In November 2021, production was shot in Greece, including the city of Thessaloniki. Members of the Greek Armed Forces were used as extras and alleged they were not compensated for their month-long official deployment, despite working overtime. On December 3, 2021, Tony Jaa confirmed filming had wrapped.

Post-production

The film had been retitled Expend4bles by June 2023.

Music

On April 26, 2023, Guillaume Roussel announced that he would be composing the film's score, replacing Brian Tyler from the previous three installments.

Release

Theatrical

The Expendables 4 was released in China on September 15, 2023, and was theatrically released by Lionsgate on September 22, 2023. The film was originally scheduled to be released in 2022.

Marketing

In April 2022, the first standee posters for the film were unveiled at CinemaCon. The first teaser trailer footage was released exclusively to the attendees at Lionsgate's presentation at the convention. On June 6, 2023, the first poster for the film was released, with the first trailer releasing a day later. A second trailer advertising the film's R rating was released August 23, 2023.

Reception

Box office

As of September 24, 2023, The Expendables 4 has grossed $8.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $10.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $19 million.

In the United States and Canada, The Expendables 4 was initially projected to gross $15–17 million from 3,518 theaters in its opening weekend. After making $4.3 million on its first day (including $750,000 from Thursday night previews), estimates were lowered to $8 million. It went on debut to $8.4 million, finishing second behind holdover The Nun II.

In China, the film opened to $10.9 million, narrowly finishing first before a Chinese film.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 16% of 79 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Solid work from Jason Statham and some halfway decent set pieces aren't enough to make up for Expend4bles' lackluster action and cheap-looking effects." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 29 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale, the lowest of the series, while those polled at PostTrak gave it a 64% overall positive score.

Owen Gleiberman, writing for Variety, said: "This is true 21st-century trash: a movie in which the action itself is expendable." Referencing the poor CGI effects, Collider found that The Expendables 4 was "[o]ften resembling more of a mobile game than a movie", leading several reviewers to comparing it with Hidden Strike, another film by Waugh with similarly bad CGI. Simon Thompson of IGN 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".

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". Todd McCarthy of Deadline criticized that the movie was lazily executed, feeling that especially the final battle was an exact copy of Meg 2, another 2023 action film starring Statham.Furthermore, Zoom TV went as far as to warn potential audiences that the movie "caters exclusively to a boys' club audience, indulging in a mind-numbing procession of macho monologues, over-the-top car chases, fiery explosions, bone-crushing fistfights, and excessive brutality."

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. A review in Paste noted that "Statham opts to accept a promotion to series lead" but added "Refashioning The Expendables into a Statham star vehicle only highlights the wrong kind of expendability from many of his long-time costars; why can’t we just watch our man kick ass on his own or in various duos?"

An otherwise negative review at Slashfilm conceded however that the film might be the best of the franchise, while a review from Digital 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 elevate The 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."

External links

• Official website
• The Expendables 4 at IMDb