The Expendables 3

[Markgway]

Passed 12A without cuts for 'frequent moderate action violence, infrequent strong language'.

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/expendables-3-film

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

It's Pg-13 here in the states which the previous two were rated R. Seems a bad sign to me.

Already there have been some complaints on the film from people who have illegally downloaded it on KFC. I will wait until the theater watch to complain about the film. Seriously though I really don't like when people illegally download something that will be easy to watch.

I actually like the second film, was so-so on the first.

[grim_tales]

I don't get it. Expendables was supposed to be a homage to old school violent action films so why make this fr*cking 12A?! The first one was an 18!

[Markgway]

I'm not going to judge the film solely on its rating... however it does seem as though the filmmakers have lost sight of their origins by focusing on a wider (youth-oriented) demographic. I expect there will be an unrated cut for DVD/BD, but that's only likely to put adult fans (who were the main audience for the previous two) off shelling out for cinema tickets this time. It's a risk that may or may not pay off. How much that leak will hurt the box office is difficult to say. Probably not much, as new films are torrented all the time these days, though usually not before opening, and not in high quality.

[grim_tales]

I enjoyed the 1st one a lot but even then, only saw it in its "cut" form (ie 15 rated) in the cinema (though I did think the CGI blood was pretty obvious). I've ordered the 1st one on BD

[saltysam]

pretty much flopped in the USA...can't say the leaking of an excellent quality dvd screener a few weeks ago would've helped.

[Markgway]

Haven't read much positive feedback...

I wanted to go see this... just not sure I want to go see it.

[Yi-Long]

I've only seen the first movie, which was 'ok', and nothing more than that. They're blaming the 'leak' for the low attendance, but TBH it's got some big competition, they're released a movie that's self-censored for whatever dumbass reason, and the list of cameos and gueststars is probably longer than the actual script... so they were betting on the same old gimmick for the 3rd time, toned down the violence which was one of the main draws of the first movie, and somehow they're surprised a lot of people are going ... 'meh'...

This is a cinema-movie, so if anything the leak could have provided a lot of positive word of mouth, which would have lured people to the cinema anyway, but I guess it's just not a very good movie..

[grim_tales]

I liked some of the humour in it, but TBH its a pretty stupid movie and looks heavily cut

[HungFist]

looks heavily cut

That's of course disappointing, but then again, Expendables 2 was also a pg-13 movie (adding childish CGI blood at the last moment doesn't count).

I've heard many people say Expendables 3 is actually less childish than Expendables 2, and a much better film.

pretty much flopped in the USA...

While it doesn't seem to be a hit, I wouldn't jump into conclusions yet. US media doesn't know that
a) There are movie theatres outside the US (Expendables 3 was no. 1 at the box office in many countries, and it still hasn't even opened in many others)
b) There are screenings even after the opening weekend
c) Only about 50% of the money comes from theatres (the rest is DVD/BD, TV, VoD etc).

They reported movies like Pacific Rim and Prometheus as flops, and those movies that made hundreds of millions of profit and are now receiving sequels because they were so succesful...

can't say the leaking of an excellent quality dvd screener a few weeks ago would've helped.

It didn't help, but it doesn't seem to have affected as much as they feared. It hasn't been a very popular download, which makes sense. Despite the pg-13 rating, the main audience for Expendables is obviously adults who grew up with Stallone and Schwarzenegger films. They're not the biggest downloaders (except for Yi-Long). The kids who download all their movies probably don't know who Stallone and Schwarzenegger are...

I'll have to wait another 2½ months before it opens here...

[Shingster]

The first Expendables was shit and the 2nd was generally considered to be worse so I never bothered. Perhaps if they put more effort into the scripts than they do the cast lists it would be an action series worth a damn! Nostalgia only goes so far imo!

Off topic but I'd much rather guillemo del toro would go back to his Hellboy films than get bogged down making Pacific Rim movies as there is a wealth of fantastic comic material just begging to be adapted there. Rim was a lot of fun but it's completely disposable and somewhat flat when you watch it at home on the small screen.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

...Off topic but I'd much rather guillemo del toro would go back to his Hellboy films than get bogged down making Pacific Rim movies as there is a wealth of fantastic comic material just begging to be adapted there. Rim was a lot of fun but it's completely disposable and somewhat flat when you watch it at home on the small screen.

I would as well. Del Toro would as well too.

From Guillermo del Toro Admits ‘Hellboy 3′ Won’t Happen, Shares Plot Concept

There’s never been any doubt that Guillermo del Toro wants to make a Hellboy 3. But at this point, even he’s doubting he’ll ever actually get the opportunity to do it. “I don’t think it will happen,” he admitted when asked recently about the long-rumored sequel.

As a small consolation, however, he’s dished out some juicy details about what the plot would’ve been. Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

The question of Hellboy 3 came up during a Reddit AMA session. Unfortunately, del Toro did not sound very optimistic about the film’s prospects. ”Creatively, I would love to make it. Creatively,” he explained. “But it is proven almost impossible to finance. Not from MY side, but from the studio side. If I was a multimillionaire, I would finance it myself, but I spend all my money on rubber monsters.”

[grim_tales]

I actually quite enjoyed the first Expendables (though, I only saw it in the cinema and didnt see the Extended Version).

[Shingster]

I would as well. Del Toro would as well too.

From Guillermo del Toro Admits ‘Hellboy 3′ Won’t Happen, Shares Plot Concept

Yeah it's one of those projects that's seemingly been off and on more times than Demi Moore's bra over the years. Guess it's all but dead in the water now! The sad thing is that the market's rarely ever been more ripe for jocular fantasy adventures involving a team of bizarre creatures what with the recent success of Guardians of the Galaxy and the current saturation level of the comic book movie boom.

However, when I think about it I'd prefer del Toro would finally get his Frankenstein dream project off the ground and let the dust settle on Hellboy so someone else can try to get a new franchise that's more faithful to the comics greenlit later down the line!

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

I'll repeat that I'm one of the few that love the second Expendables much more than the first one.

Now if only they could resurrect Hellboy III.

[Markgway]

I didn't love The Expendables 2 but I enjoyed it more than the first one.

Van Damme's bad guy and the Chuck Norris cameo helped a lot.

[HungFist]

I liked Van Damme, but thought the Chuck Norris cameo was awful. The only way they could have made it (and many others) more obvious was if they had written the actor's name and his biggest hits on his shirt...

[Yi-Long]

Chuck Norris sucks. He's always sucked, and he will always suck.

[Markgway]

Chuck Norris sucks. He's always sucked, and he will always suck.

[Markgway]

Also posted in the Reviews section:

The Expendables 3 (2014-USA) **

Where do I start...? OK, this isn't a terrible action movie. It's a mediocre action movie, and a terrible Expendables movie. The whole point of the Expendables was to give a shot in the arm to the flagging careers of ageing (and aged) action stars. Occasionally, this works: Wesley Snipes reminds us of his charisma, whilst Mel Gibson steals the movie (and reminds us in the truck capture sequence just how damn good an actor he can be). So, why then does Sly dump his current team (better named The Indestructibles because none of them ever dies - even Apollo Creed died) to recruit a bunch of wooden kids that no one has ever heard of? Also, for a film aimed at males, there's only one hot girl in it - and she can't act. Is Sly's inexplicable reasoning for the new team that he doesn't want to see his EXPENDABLE pals get hurt (you know, what they're actually paid for...), so he hires some naïve young 'uns to get blasted instead? Gee, how nice of him! Jet Li is on-screen for about a minute and doesn't throw a single punch or kick - they might as well have a cast me in that role, except I'm not short enough for the return of the 'short' jokes. And is it me or is Jet's 'English' becoming worse than my Mandarin? Ford is OK, growling his way through dialogue clichés, Banderas irritates like a Speedy Gonzales on speed. The script is about 10% good, 90% disposable. The explosive action is chaotic (and obviously chopped up by the censors) with far too few and too short fights. It's official - I just don't like the way 'they' shoot and edit action anymore. Maybe if I was 10-15 years younger I'd enjoy this a whole heap more... but I remember these guys at their best. And it's not about age, despite the usual jibes. It's filmmaking styles that are at odds with Sly's mission statement. He says he wants to make a particular type of throwback and then does the opposite. Three times! I give up, honestly. I think it's time to retire and leave the video game generation to their own.

[Yi-Long]

Chuck Norris sucks. He's always sucked, and he will always suck.

Oh come on. He's a terrible screen fighter, and in real life he's a religious right-wing nutter.

[Markgway]

Oh come on. He's a terrible screen fighter, and in real life he's a religious right-wing nutter.

He's not a terrible screen fighter. He's just not a kung fu fighter. His style was karate and in the 70s and 80s Chuck Norris films were among the best of what Hollywood had to offer in terms of martial arts movies. With the exception Van Damme name one MA star of the era whose work was better? Any real martial artist is going to look dull in comparison to Jackie and his stunt-packed opera acrobatics.

As for his political and religious affiliations... I separate that from his film work and screen persona. if you don't then you can find a reason to dislike almost anyone.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

... As for his political and religious affiliations... I separate that from his film work and screen persona. if you don't then you can find a reason to dislike almost anyone.

He has done a tremendous amount of charity work spending both time and money doing much more than most actors. Why hold being religious against him? That does not make any sense.

For those that have read his books: his proselytizing does seem to increase as the years go on which sometimes get a little heavy-handed, though his writing skills do improve as he got older. I just finished Against All Odds: My Story which was a fun read.

[Markgway]

Yi-Long is a liberal atheist and Chuck is a right-wing Christian.

Oil and water.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

Yi-Long is a liberal atheist and Chuck is a right-wing Christian.

Oil and water.

Yeah but I have friends who are both with me being the Agnostic Libertarian.