DVD Corner

Expend4bles 4K UHD Review

The fourth time is not the charm for The Expendables franchise. 

In “Expend4bles,” Barney, Toll, Lee and Gunner are back alongside new members Easy Day, Galan Decha, and Gina (some of whom show up later in the film). The story begins in Libya where the team is trying to stop Suarto (a minion of terrorist Ocelot) from stealing nuclear weapons. The mission goes south which results in a presumed death and Lee being kicked off the team. CIA operative Marsh sends the Expendables on a mission to Asia to find Ocelot and Suarto. Lee secretly tracks the Expendables and it’s a good thing too as the team will need all the help they can get to stop Ocelot from starting WWIII.

The first 3 Expendables movies are all exactly as advertised- old school action movies with an all-star cast. The fourth installment directed by Scott Waugh seems to forget what made the franchise work to begin with. While there are a few familiar faces like Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Jason Statham, and Sylvester Stallone, much of the cast members from past entries are nowhere to be seen here. There’s no Antonio Banderas, Terry Crews, Jet Li, Ronda Rousey, Glen Powell, Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Chuck Norris. Even Stallone himself is absent from a huge chunk of this movie (don’t ask). Instead, we get a bunch of new faces that include Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran, and 50 Cent. Not exactly names action fans are clamoring to see. The only newcomers that are welcome additions here are Megan Fox as Gina, Andy Garcia, and international action stars Tony Jaa and Iko Uwais (of The Raid series fame).The Jaa and Uwais action scenes also just happen to be the best part of the movie.

The biggest issue with this Kurt Wimmer, Max Adams and Tad Daggerhart scripted sequel is that the whole movie looks and feels cheap. It’s extremely CGI heavy (with BAD CGI at that), the plot feels slapped together around a few action set pieces, the “twists” are obvious, the jokes are eye-rollers at best, and the movie wastes the talents of many of its stars (especially Stallone and Iko Uwais). This fourth entry also attempts to make Jason Statham the lead, but that’s not why audiences watch this series. People watch to see an ensemble of stars interact. 

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 2.39:1 2160p With Dolby Vision. How does it look? The crisp colors and image quality shines bright in 4K.

Audio Track: Dolby Atmos. How does it sound? The action packs a punch with this Atmos track.

Extras:
* Blu-ray copy
* Digital copy
* Commentary by director Scott Waugh.
* “Bigger, Bolder, Badder: The Expendables In Action”- A behind-the-scenes look at the action sequences.
* Theatrical trailer
* “More Than A Team: New Blood Meets Old Blood” is all about the cast.

November 17, 2023 - Posted by nicklyons1 | 4K UHD Review | Action Movie, Dolph Lundgren, Expend4bles 4K UHD Review, Jason Statham, Megan Fox, Sylvester Stallone, The Expendables 4, The Expendables Series