The Expendables series has given us three blockbuster films and reunited us with some of our favourite old-school action stars of yesteryear but despite fleeting moments of glorified beefed-up carnage, the franchise has sadly failed to hit the mark for many fans of the genre. So where did it go wrong? Personally, the root of the problem stems from the title.
How many of the core team have perished in the three films? Going by the title you’d expect most, if not all. However, only one member has died on screen and that honour went to Billy The Kid in the second movie, played by Chris Hemsworth’s lesser known brother, Liam. Yeah, he was a welcome and likeable addition to the team, but you just knew he was brought in as canon fodder. So let’s take a look at the core squad and break down just how expendable they really are.
Barney Ross (Stallone): Barney is the leader of these elite mercenaries and there isn’t really anyone else you could see in this role other than Stallone. Behind the scenes Sly was the one who reached out to all the guys who appeared in the first movie and it’s something of a minor miracle that it all came together like it did, so it’s only fitting he plays the leader of the team on screen. He’s the glue that keeps them together. Looking back at the first film, there were several moments where Barney could have died, and on first viewing you didn’t know if he would survive or not. Despite a few scares, he managed to survive all three movies, but come the third outing any sense of danger has all but vanished. Sly coasts through every battle like an invincible superhero who is able to dodge bullets, explosions and even run up several flights of stairs to get to the roof of a building... that is collapsing. If reports are to be believed then it seems that Sly will have a much smaller role in the forthcoming Expendables film due to several factors. Does this mean that Barney Ross will be killed off? Or will he simply disappear into the wilderness? My guess is he will die and this will then give the remaining members a reason to carry on and seek revenge.
Prediction for new movie: Expendable
Lee Christmas (Statham): Stallone aside, Jason Statham easily gets the most screen time in all three movies. For large parts of the first film it could be argued that it is a buddy movie, with Barney Ross and Lee Christmas sharing countless scenes together, most notably when just the two of them fly out to conduct reconnaissance of an island. The fight at the end of Expendables 2 with the ever-impressive Scott Adkins is one of the highlights of the entire series, but it’s a shame knowing that they didn’t have much time to plan out the brawl. Had they had the extra time it could have been even better than what we got. The title for the new film is tentatively called A Christmas Story, which clearly points at Statham having all the glory. Taking this into account, Statham will take lead and step into Stallone’s shoes.
Prediction for new movie: Survives
Yin Yang (Li): As the films have progressed, Li’s screen time has regressed. Yin Yang was scattered throughout the first film just enough so that he felt a part of the story, but when Expendables 2 came around he only filmed for a couple of days over in Hong Kong and it showed. Yes, he did give us that entertaining beatdown of a guy with a frying pan but that was largely it. And if you blinked then you will probably have missed him in the third movie where he was completely underused and wasted. Li’s health problems were no doubt the main reason for his lack of physical action and screen time, but will he appear in the next instalment? Although the cast is not yet officially known, there has been no mention of Jet Li appearing. It’s more than likely his character will be mentioned in passing to explain his absence.
Prediction for new movie: Expendable (if he appears)
Gunner Jensen (Lundgren): Gunner was perhaps the most interesting character in the first film due to his unpredictability and volatile nature. Originally set to be killed off in the movie, he turns up in the last scene joking with the rest of the gang and back on good terms after betraying them. A guy as large and powerful as Lundgren should be doing more fighting, but aside from the woefully edited scrap he has with Jet Li in the first picture, Dolph has done nothing but shoot bad guys with a gun (and kick one goon over a balcony while calling him a maggot). Due to the enormous cast in Expendables 3, Lundgren was pushed into the background and sadly offered nothing whatsoever. Surely his role can’t get even smaller in the next film?
Prediction for new movie: Survives
Toll Road (Couture): As with Li and Lundgren, Randy Couture’s character of Toll Road now has little to offer aside from an inevitable death. His role in the first movie was limited but he did have a pretty intense physical battle with Stone Cold Steve Austin. His second outing was even more limited and by the time he appeared in Expendables 3 he had about five lines of pointless dialogue, which included been impressed that Lundgren could drive a tank: “Damn, that’s cool”. If any of the team are expendable, then poor old Toll Road simply has to go, but at least then he will be spared the jokes about his cauliflower ear.
Prediction for new movie: Expendable
Hale Caesar (Crews): Terry Crews won’t be in the next film, it’s that simple. A couple of years ago Crews had personal issues, a court case was involved and he basically said he won’t appear in another Expendables movie. Incidentally, his character of Hale Caesar was killed off in the script for Expendables 3, but when it came to filming things that changed. Crews apparently begged Stallone to keep him alive and so that’s what ultimately happened. Just like Lundgren in the first film, Crews magically returns for the final scene in the bar with the rest of the gang. It felt like a complete cop out and severely weakened the teams emotional drive to hunt down Mel Gibson. Although the absence of Hale Caesar is guaranteed, his name could well be mentioned as to why he is not around, perhaps out on a separate mission with Yin Yang.
Prediction for new movie: Expendable (but he won’t appear)
How many of the core team have perished in the three films? Going by the title you’d expect most, if not all. However, only one member has died on screen and that honour went to Billy The Kid in the second movie, played by Chris Hemsworth’s lesser known brother, Liam. Yeah, he was a welcome and likeable addition to the team, but you just knew he was brought in as canon fodder. So let’s take a look at the core squad and break down just how expendable they really are.
Barney Ross (Stallone): Barney is the leader of these elite mercenaries and there isn’t really anyone else you could see in this role other than Stallone. Behind the scenes Sly was the one who reached out to all the guys who appeared in the first movie and it’s something of a minor miracle that it all came together like it did, so it’s only fitting he plays the leader of the team on screen. He’s the glue that keeps them together. Looking back at the first film, there were several moments where Barney could have died, and on first viewing you didn’t know if he would survive or not. Despite a few scares, he managed to survive all three movies, but come the third outing any sense of danger has all but vanished. Sly coasts through every battle like an invincible superhero who is able to dodge bullets, explosions and even run up several flights of stairs to get to the roof of a building... that is collapsing. If reports are to be believed then it seems that Sly will have a much smaller role in the forthcoming Expendables film due to several factors. Does this mean that Barney Ross will be killed off? Or will he simply disappear into the wilderness? My guess is he will die and this will then give the remaining members a reason to carry on and seek revenge.
Prediction for new movie: Expendable
Lee Christmas (Statham): Stallone aside, Jason Statham easily gets the most screen time in all three movies. For large parts of the first film it could be argued that it is a buddy movie, with Barney Ross and Lee Christmas sharing countless scenes together, most notably when just the two of them fly out to conduct reconnaissance of an island. The fight at the end of Expendables 2 with the ever-impressive Scott Adkins is one of the highlights of the entire series, but it’s a shame knowing that they didn’t have much time to plan out the brawl. Had they had the extra time it could have been even better than what we got. The title for the new film is tentatively called A Christmas Story, which clearly points at Statham having all the glory. Taking this into account, Statham will take lead and step into Stallone’s shoes.
Prediction for new movie: Survives
Yin Yang (Li): As the films have progressed, Li’s screen time has regressed. Yin Yang was scattered throughout the first film just enough so that he felt a part of the story, but when Expendables 2 came around he only filmed for a couple of days over in Hong Kong and it showed. Yes, he did give us that entertaining beatdown of a guy with a frying pan but that was largely it. And if you blinked then you will probably have missed him in the third movie where he was completely underused and wasted. Li’s health problems were no doubt the main reason for his lack of physical action and screen time, but will he appear in the next instalment? Although the cast is not yet officially known, there has been no mention of Jet Li appearing. It’s more than likely his character will be mentioned in passing to explain his absence.
Prediction for new movie: Expendable (if he appears)
Gunner Jensen (Lundgren): Gunner was perhaps the most interesting character in the first film due to his unpredictability and volatile nature. Originally set to be killed off in the movie, he turns up in the last scene joking with the rest of the gang and back on good terms after betraying them. A guy as large and powerful as Lundgren should be doing more fighting, but aside from the woefully edited scrap he has with Jet Li in the first picture, Dolph has done nothing but shoot bad guys with a gun (and kick one goon over a balcony while calling him a maggot). Due to the enormous cast in Expendables 3, Lundgren was pushed into the background and sadly offered nothing whatsoever. Surely his role can’t get even smaller in the next film?
Prediction for new movie: Survives
Toll Road (Couture): As with Li and Lundgren, Randy Couture’s character of Toll Road now has little to offer aside from an inevitable death. His role in the first movie was limited but he did have a pretty intense physical battle with Stone Cold Steve Austin. His second outing was even more limited and by the time he appeared in Expendables 3 he had about five lines of pointless dialogue, which included been impressed that Lundgren could drive a tank: “Damn, that’s cool”. If any of the team are expendable, then poor old Toll Road simply has to go, but at least then he will be spared the jokes about his cauliflower ear.
Prediction for new movie: Expendable
Hale Caesar (Crews): Terry Crews won’t be in the next film, it’s that simple. A couple of years ago Crews had personal issues, a court case was involved and he basically said he won’t appear in another Expendables movie. Incidentally, his character of Hale Caesar was killed off in the script for Expendables 3, but when it came to filming things that changed. Crews apparently begged Stallone to keep him alive and so that’s what ultimately happened. Just like Lundgren in the first film, Crews magically returns for the final scene in the bar with the rest of the gang. It felt like a complete cop out and severely weakened the teams emotional drive to hunt down Mel Gibson. Although the absence of Hale Caesar is guaranteed, his name could well be mentioned as to why he is not around, perhaps out on a separate mission with Yin Yang.
Prediction for new movie: Expendable (but he won’t appear)
Nice piece John and great writing. Let’s see if your predictions come true 😉
ReplyDeleteI think Barney dying would be a big surprise. Stallone doesn’t kill off any of his characters, generally. Would he allow Barney Ross to die? Maybe he gets captured for most of the film?
ReplyDelete