The Expendables 3
03-23-15, 05:32 PM
#652
DVD Talk Legend
Re: The Expendables 3
Being "fine" w/ something like EX3 and thinking it was decent is just wrong. That's what keeps genres to be crap. Thanks, Mike86.
People should bitch about mediocrity in these action films.
Expendables, as a franchise, is about a group of badasses kicking ass. And technically... that does happen. It just doesn't happen in any badass fashion. They just do. You don't feel the badassness in the action aside from these little bits of fun. Predator has a group of badasses that succeeds in promoting that visual. And you know what? You feel like that even though these guys are badasses they're still very much have limits and can die. And they do. We don't feel ANYTHING from the Expendables. It's just shooting and fighting but we don't care about these characters. We may care about the actors doing their thing but the characters they're supposed to be? Nope.
People should bitch about mediocrity in these action films.
Expendables, as a franchise, is about a group of badasses kicking ass. And technically... that does happen. It just doesn't happen in any badass fashion. They just do. You don't feel the badassness in the action aside from these little bits of fun. Predator has a group of badasses that succeeds in promoting that visual. And you know what? You feel like that even though these guys are badasses they're still very much have limits and can die. And they do. We don't feel ANYTHING from the Expendables. It's just shooting and fighting but we don't care about these characters. We may care about the actors doing their thing but the characters they're supposed to be? Nope.
03-23-15, 05:34 PM
#653
DVD Talk Hero
Thread Starter
Re: The Expendables 3
No offense but you seem to be taking it way too seriously. I go into these films with my expectations in check. These guys are older and not exactly in their primes anymore. For what the Expendables franchise is I think they've to make some fun films. Not outstanding but still decent. Let's be honest these are mostly novelty films and they aren't meant to be the best of all time in the genre or anything. It seems to me like you (and others) have gone into all these films with higher expectations than the franchise was realistically ever going to deliver.
03-23-15, 05:47 PM
#654
DVD Talk Legend
Re: The Expendables 3
They really aren't signature films of any of the actors though if you ask me. Like I said these to me are more or less about the novelty of seeing all these big name action stars in films together. Obviously I agree they could be better but I take them for what they are. I think to be honest some fans were always going to be disappointed in films like these just because I think expectations were high from most fanboys. It's understandable yet at the same time I'm not surprised by how they've turned out.
03-24-15, 03:32 PM
#655
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: The Expendables 3
I won't win any new friends either, but I thought EX3 was just fine as well. Banderas 
Not sure what anybody should be expecting by now. Considering the initial frenzy the Expendables concept created in the beginning, yeah, the series is a disappointment. But it stands to reason they'll get more chances to improve. Or get worse, whichever.
Not sure what anybody should be expecting by now. Considering the initial frenzy the Expendables concept created in the beginning, yeah, the series is a disappointment. But it stands to reason they'll get more chances to improve. Or get worse, whichever.
03-24-15, 04:07 PM
#656
Re: The Expendables 3
I like the EXPENDABLES films (well, #2 & 3, that is) because they remind me of the mid-range action films I used to see at 42nd Street and Times Square theaters after work back in the '80s and '90s. Chuck Norris in INVASION USA (on a double bill with NINJA III: DOMINATION), Seagal in ABOVE THE LAW, UNDER SIEGE and ON DEADLY GROUND, Van Damme in HARD TARGET, MAXIMUM RISK, DOUBLE TEAM, THE QUEST, etc. Nothing too ambitious, nothing too fancy, no DARK KNIGHT-style introspection, just boom-boom, straight-ahead action films. And EXII&III delivered the goods.
03-24-15, 04:26 PM
#658
DVD Talk Hero
Thread Starter
Re: The Expendables 3
I like the EXPENDABLES films (well, #2 & 3, that is) because they remind me of the mid-range action films I used to see at 42nd Street and Times Square theaters after work back in the '80s and '90s. Chuck Norris in INVASION USA (on a double bill with NINJA III: DOMINATION), Seagal in ABOVE THE LAW, UNDER SIEGE and ON DEADLY GROUND, Van Damme in HARD TARGET, MAXIMUM RISK, DOUBLE TEAM, THE QUEST, etc. Nothing too ambitious, nothing too fancy, no DARK KNIGHT-style introspection, just boom-boom, straight-ahead action films. And EXII&III delivered the goods.
03-24-15, 04:46 PM
#659
Re: The Expendables 3
I like the EXPENDABLES films (well, #2 & 3, that is) because they remind me of the mid-range action films I used to see at 42nd Street and Times Square theaters after work back in the '80s and '90s. Chuck Norris in INVASION USA (on a double bill with NINJA III: DOMINATION), Seagal in ABOVE THE LAW, UNDER SIEGE and ON DEADLY GROUND, Van Damme in HARD TARGET, MAXIMUM RISK, DOUBLE TEAM, THE QUEST, etc. Nothing too ambitious, nothing too fancy, no DARK KNIGHT-style introspection, just boom-boom, straight-ahead action films. And EXII&III delivered the goods.
03-24-15, 05:08 PM
#660
DVD Talk Legend
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Re: The Expendables 3
I like the EXPENDABLES films (well, #2 & 3, that is) because they remind me of the mid-range action films I used to see at 42nd Street and Times Square theaters after work back in the '80s and '90s. Chuck Norris in INVASION USA (on a double bill with NINJA III: DOMINATION), Seagal in ABOVE THE LAW, UNDER SIEGE and ON DEADLY GROUND, Van Damme in HARD TARGET, MAXIMUM RISK, DOUBLE TEAM, THE QUEST, etc. Nothing too ambitious, nothing too fancy, no DARK KNIGHT-style introspection, just boom-boom, straight-ahead action films. And EXII&III delivered the goods.
03-24-15, 05:45 PM
#661
DVD Talk Hero
Re: The Expendables 3
I still thought the film was fine for what it was. Not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but in line with the other films in the series and I thought it was pretty decent.
03-24-15, 05:50 PM
#662
DVD Talk Hero
Thread Starter
Re: The Expendables 3
03-24-15, 06:52 PM
#664
DVD Talk Legend
Re: The Expendables 3
Exactly. I think this is what some don't understand about the franchise. I think the people who are most disappointed likely set themselves up to be with their expectations. That isn't to say that I think there's no room for improvement but the films have been in line with what I've expected which is why I haven't been disappointed. I think if these films were done in the late eighties or early nineties when these guys were still young and in their primes I'd have been more disappointed with what we've gotten.
03-24-15, 07:17 PM
#665
DVD Talk Hero
Re: The Expendables 3
Exactly. I think this is what some don't understand about the franchise. I think the people who are most disappointed likely set themselves up to be with their expectations. That isn't to say that I think there's no room for improvement but the films have been in line with what I've expected which is why I haven't been disappointed. I think if these films were done in the late eighties or early nineties when these guys were still young and in their primes I'd have been more disappointed with what we've gotten.
Agreed.
03-24-15, 07:44 PM
#666
DVD Talk Hero
Thread Starter
Re: The Expendables 3
I totally get where Mike86 and Why So Blu? are coming from. These guys aren't in their prime and this is a novelty franchise. However, I still think something better can be achieved. Just look at what Stallone managed when he revived Rocky Balboa and John Rambo (ignoring, of course, that he seems hell bent on fucking all that up) prior to making The Expendables. Neither was a mega budget blockbuster but both were highly entertaining features with a lot of heart. Something of that quality is what I'd like to see from the Expendables franchise. The movies are fun and I definitely enjoy them but I do feel more can be done with the concept if they were more focused in their approach.
I'm not with Solid Snake regarding his hatred of the third (just as I disagree with him in his belief that the first is the best in the franchise) but I do agree that these guys are capable of more.
I'm not with Solid Snake regarding his hatred of the third (just as I disagree with him in his belief that the first is the best in the franchise) but I do agree that these guys are capable of more.
