Ten years after the release of the first film, Tom Jolliffe looks back on the Expendables franchise, then looks where it can happen now (and who deserves to join the team) …
When The Expendables were first announced in 2009, my point of excitement exploded. Initially they were Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Jet Li on board and it was quite exciting. Then Dolph Lundgren signed, and the rest went on. By the time an addition to the mid-shoot of Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger was announced (in a marvel cameo in which, unfortunately, the wonder exploded long before launch), it was bouncing like a baby in Dib Dab. The first film was released 10 years ago today. 10 years!! A week or two before the us premiere date, I ventured to the Paris premiere, a price ticket purchased for me through a smart friend in town. As an action lover of the 80s, I had dreamed this film lucidly many nights of my youth. It was the kind of casting you were looking for, but it seemed unlikely. Fortunately, at the time, a boom of nostalgia was about to happen.
We were already in a phase of remakes of old houses (things like Transformers, etc.). Stallone had recently had a resurgence thanks to a sixth Rocky and a fourth Rambo who made fake figures at the box office. Jason Statham had achieved a popularity in low-budget film releases, performing well, and Jet Li, which surpassed the peak of American interest after the early 2000s, still attracted interest. The film promised anything old school, as the type of action was increasingly geared towards bourne taste and unstable camera work, or the bigLical CGI. It was going to be a meat and potato action.
I left the Paris premiere loving the film a lot, but with the impression that they had missed a trip somewhere. I was waiting for the kind of undeniable and deftly executed emotions and wide characterizations of anything like Predator. Each member of the unit is definable, has its moment and lines of choice, and is even contemplating that maximum begin to die darkly halfway. Predator wasn’t. There were clever moments, but it was tricky at the edges, a little sloppy at the dots and meandering in his narrative. They mocked the character with a strange Mickey Rourke and an attractive Dolph Lundgren (though still underused). The chemistry between Stallone and Statham worked, although it was blocked by ill-taste lines.
The film was won with mediocre reviews but with a fair box office, exceeding its expectations (especially at the national point where it crossed the $100 million mark). Therefore, a sequel was inevitable and arrived a few years later. Again, I published a first post. I was at the screening of the critics in Leicester Square. I’ve noticed many contemporaries as the auditorium full of critics, making bee lines for important profiles like Kim Newman, undeniably dressed, of course, but I clung to my seat secretly searching first as a franchise fan. While I may believe that some of the large-format critics who already have their age-related jokes and expect something as terrible as they thought at first, I expected something better. In many ways, that was the case. From more visual clarity and definable action sets, to more wisdom-aware nods, The Expendables 2 almost discovered the best point of irony for a concept that only a master filmmaker can achieve with seriousness (and sincerity). Simon West, who excels in big-screen action cinema, was a smart choice. A wonderful film director, who can simply paint well in the sand and knew how to appease the stars and studios.
More names have been added to the mix. Willis and Schwarzenegger have returned to more important and controlled roles to get into action (their last piece in a smart car is a better use of the couple). Jean Claude Van Damme was hired as a villain, and British action specialist Scott Adkins was his right-hand man. Take a walk through Chuck Norris that refers to the “facts of Chuck Norris” and the film had almost everything you can expect from an action pastiche of the 80s and 90s. This could have been more action-packed and a hit in his comedy, but he hasn’t sufficiently balanced the characters or given them enough moments. Terry Crews and Randy Couture feel like extras. Lundgren had his (comic) moments, but was stripped of a merit he had in the former that may have been an attractive trait. Van Damme reveled in evil but also briefly on screen. That said, if Lundgren vs. Lundgren. Li in the first never lived up to its turnover, Stallone vs. Stallone. Van Damme at the time was much older (it’s still out-of-competition franchise match).
In a kind of clumsy attempt to perpetuate the franchise, the third installment not only added a few more icons like Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson, but also brought a more youthful unit that necessarily takes over in the middle of the film (and the central component is what falls). Throughout the franchise, there has been a swing about the opportunity to make PG-13 to open up to a wider audience. A little silly, yet they took the plunge and did. For what? When 95% of its audience is probably closer to age 30 than adolescence, this seemed to be a theoretical exercise. The new audiences weren’t going to buy an old kid action franchise. There’s a trendy Marvel audience who probably doesn’t know who Harrison Ford is, let alone Lundgren, Gibson, Snipes et al.
This alienated diehard enthusiasts expecting something more intense than the first two (who drew a line between PG-13 and R, flexible enough to be anyone), nothing less. The new team lacked charisma, but like the other films in the franchise, screen time and progression required being attractive enough. The film suffered at the national box office, with some hands pointing to an early screen leak a week before the release, but in all honesty, interest had been reduced anyway and enthusiasts had not received enough in the two most sensible to justify the return arrival. The Asian market regained the film, meaning that the third (with the mediocre three) was not a real franchise. The film was quite mediocre, and found no compelling moment unless Mel Gibson’s intense villain (including a very good catch scene between him and Stallone that Gibson devours). Again, however, it was not enough on screen and was wasted.
2010, 2012, 2014 … Every two years. It advances to 2020 and we’re still waiting for a room. It is ok… I’m still waiting for a room. Maybe I’m on a remote island waiting, but never mind, I’d look at a sharper, bareer room. So what can they change? For beginners, if you’re getting into your great action personalities, use them correctly. Being on screen is not enough. Arnie enters and leaves the third film to make a comment, before disappearing again. It’s awkward writing, at a time when you don’t go up anything. Why not carefully use Arnold’s restricted hours and give him a decent scene that 3 rides at times when he doesn’t do anything? That’s the kind of decisions they’re constantly wrong about. Similarly, top core team members such as Lundgren, Couture and Crews have become secondary thoughts. Give them their moments or leave them absolutely out of the way. Crews are unlikely to return anyway after meat with Avi Lerner. The bad guys also want a bigger platform. Only Eric Roberts had enough scene to strut properly into the first film. The team also wants more fallibility. Let’s start killing some of those guys, let’s have it in play, let’s import it, because even if there was possibly enough interest in a fourth movie, that would be about the limit (unless you broadcast it and potentially turn it into a series or spin-off movies).
Who’s left with Expendable? Steven Seagal has a backward scale and would be a smart villain. He was a wonderful villain in Machete (and he used it intelligently). Speaking of Machete, it’s time for genre icon Danny Trejo to appear in one of those films. I think personalities like Kelsey Grammer are less necessary than action specialists. Similarly, attracting a younger audience doesn’t just translate into keeping younger actors away from that. Dwayne Johnson would be wonderful in the franchise, although it’s unlikely, but Dave Bautista is still wonderful and has already painted with Sly in the sequels to Escape Plan (and if he does, he’ll definitely do Expendables 4).
In addition, there are a plethora of more iconic video stars that deserve to be filmed in the Expendables franchise. Not only would they bring with them a fan base, but they are also fighters who can also play the role of risk actors. Daniel Bernhardt, having worked extensively with Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, has starred in memorable henchmen roles in Matrix Reloaded, John Wick and Atomic Blonde. It would be wonderful in the kind of role Gary Daniels played in the first film (which promised similar roles for Gary’s contemporaries in the future). I would also love to see Mark Dacascos (played for the above reasons in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, because he can act and fight). Michael Jai White, underrated, would also excel on the team and could have a perfect interaction with Snipes (or Snipes vs. Jai White). Adds Cynthia Rothrock, Olivier Gruner, Don Wilson, Michael Dudikoff and creates the last action ode of the 80s and 90s. Sprinkle the screen time correctly. Form a team of expendable villains, who haven’t done yet. The wild organization opposite the wild geese.
Another street to consider, or in addition to some of the above elements, is to use popular stars in Asia. The franchise remains popular there, as is Stallone in general. Jet Li’s time in the videos turns out to be over and is a little selfless. They’ve already tried Jackie Chan, and it’s worth going back and looking again. It would be a glorious addition, just like Donnie Yen. Chow Yun Fat with two guns would be amazing. Iko Uwais and Tony Jaa would welcome additions (as long as they are used more than in some of their other U.S. appearances). There have been rumors about filming a component of the film in China to use well-known talents and venues, and obviously the ultimate purpose is to make money, and China has its most powerful market (and it’s a franchise that does). I don’t want politics. nor do I deserve to be appeased by the censors.) Nan Yu is not huge in China, however, her presence in the film at the moment was an advantage and remains the only female character in the franchise with an interesting technique. Your return would be welcome.
Who can simply direct or take artistic control is another problem. A dream situation would be to get one or one of Stahelski or Leitch to take over and take control of the procedures that resulted in a (artistic) tug-of-war between Stallone and Avi Lerner, which affected Patrick Hughes. in the last film supposedly (given his stylistic safety on Red Hill before, and the latest film does not have a genuine director style). Whoever it is, they want more room to really lead, or they want functional paintings with skills like Simon West that can handle previous egos in between and, best of all, anything coherent (and imaginative in action).
What do you think of The Expendables franchise? Is it over or would you like to see one? Who is and who is absent? Let us know on our social networks – flickeringmyth …
Tom Jolliffe is an award-winning screenwriter and passionate about film. It has a number of DVD/VOD films worldwide and several releases scheduled for 2020/21, adding The Witches Of Amityville Academy (with Kir Emmy Winner Reed Lorsch), Tooth Fairy: The Root of Evil and the studded action movie star, Renegades. . Learn more about the most productive non-public site ever seen… https://www.instagram.com/jolliffeproductions/