The Expendables team, under the new guidance of CIA agent Marsh (Andy García), is sent to Libya to stop mercenary Sumarato Rahmat (Iko Uwais, The Raid: Redemption). A former British national-turned-arms dealer, Rahmat has been hired by a mysterious person going by the codename Ocelot, to steal detonators for nuclear weapons. Years ago, Expendables leader Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) had been so close to discovering the identity of Ocelot, and this could be his chance to finally succeed. Barney has enlisted the help of several longtime team members—knife expert Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), sniper Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), and demolitions expert Toll Road (Randy Couture). And joining them on the mission are new recruits Easy Day (Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Power), who had worked with Barney in the past, and Galan (Jacob Scipio, Bad Boys for Life), the son of former Expendables team member Galgo. During the mission, Christmas disobeys orders, and ultimately costs them the mission and more, letting Rahmat get away.
Ocelot plans to use the detonators to incite the next World War, and so it is imperative that the Expendables find and stop him. However, after the last incident, Christmas has been pulled from the team, replaced by his former girlfriend, Gina (Megan Fox, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), and new operative Lash (Levy Tran, MacGyver). However Christmas can’t sit idly by, and heads off to Thailand to find former Expendable team member Decha (Tony Jaa, Ong-Bak trilogy), who has a boat that can take him to the South China Sea, and the ship from which Rahmat and Ocecelot plan to launch the nukes from. Christmas quickly proves that he’s an essential member of the team, as he and the other attempt to unmask Ocelot, and prevent WWIII.
The Expendables films are always action-packed popcorn movies. This fourth installment continues the trend, with an exciting car chase through an abandoned chemical weapons factory, a fun bar brawl, an explosive battle on a tanker ship, and more. While there’s some initial fun with Christmas and Barney at the beginning, Stallone then takes a back seat, allowing Jason Statham to become the main focus/face of the franchise. I love Statham, and he is great in this movie, with the humorous quips, and the way Christmas singlehandedly takes down groups of bad guys in close combat. There’s also quite a bit of humor, like how after being fired from the Expendables, Christmas attempts to do a private security gig for a social media influencer, and quickly realizes he can’t deal with fake people like that. Christmas also has a really fun adversarial relationship with girlfriend Gina.
There are some running gags for the legacy characters, with Toll Road constantly telling the story of his cauliflower ears to each new team member, and Gunner dealing with aging, wearing a wig and glasses and being newly-sober. Some of the new characters also have their moments, like Galan, who is even more talkative than his father, and Decha and Lash who bring new martial arts fighting styles to film. My first watch of this film was in the theater, and I recall coming out of the movie a bit underwhelmed. However, I think I enjoyed it more this second time around. That said, this fourth film feels like it is missing something. The franchise started off as this celebration of the huge action stars of the ’80s and ’90s, but there are fewer of these folks in this fourth movie—no Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terry Crews, Jet Li, Wesley Snipes, etc. and even Stallone is hardly in the movie. Instead, this film feels like it is setting up a reboot, passing the torch to a new, younger generation of characters, which is a bit of a departure from the original concept for the franchise.
Lionsgate’s 4K release looks and sounds amazing, with a crisp, pristine picture throughout. There is an excellent level of detail, especially in faces, both during the brighter daytime scenes, and during the nighttime assault on the ship. The action scenes are captured beautifully. The audio track is even more impressive, providing a fully-immersive experience as helicopters hover overhead and explosions and bullets fly everywhere. You can really feel the excitement as the action kicks off.
The supplements are entertaining, but a little minimal compared to the releases for the previous films—a director commentary, and 2 behind-the-scenes featurettes. There is no extended cut or deleted scenes. However, there is an Amazon-exclusive version of the 4K release that offers two additional featurettes, “We Get the Job Done: Breaking Down the Fighting Styles” and “Costuming The Expendables”, on an exclusive bonus Blu-ray disc. It would have been nice if these had been included on the general release, or at least accessible via the digital bonus features.
The general 4K release includes both a 4K and Blu-ray disc, which are placed on either side of a standard 4K keepcase, with a rounded corner slipcover. An insert provides redemption instructions for a 4K digital copy of the film, which can be redeemed via Apple TV or Vudu.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:43:34)
4K UHD:
- Dolby Vision / HDR10
- 2160p / Widescreen 2.39:1
- Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English Descriptive Audio, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Audio
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Blu-ray:
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
- Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English Descriptive Audio, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Audio
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Digital (Code subject to expiration, may not be valid after 10/21/2024):
- 4K Digital Copy redeemable via Apple TV or Vudu (not Movies Anywhere compatible)
Extras:
The same features can be found on both the 4K and the Blu-ray disc.
Note: Amazon offers an exclusive 4K version that includes two additional featurettes.
- Audio Commentary with Director Scott Waugh (1:43:34)
Director Scott Waugh provides a fun and interesting commentary throughout the film. He talks about how he got involved with the movie, some of the changes that were made along the way, casting the new characters, and more. He shares a lot of behind-the-scenes stories about the production. - Bigger, Bolder, Badder: The Expendables in Action (16:57)
The cast and filmmakers talk about assembling the right team to make things even bigger than before, filming the stunts and action sequences, what the director’s military experience brought to the table, building the ship deck set, the explosions, the motorcycle stunts, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with producers Les Weldon & Kevin King-Templeton, director Scott Waugh, executive producer Rob Van Norden, stunt double (50 Cent) Martin Gordon, special effects supervisor Danny Hargreaves, motorcycle double (Jason Statham) Robbie Madison, and stars Jacob Scipio (“Galan”), Randy Couture (“Toll Road”), Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (“Easy Day”) & Megan Fox (“Gina”). - More Than a Team: New Blood Meets Old Blood (19:07)
The cast and filmmakers talk about what Sylvester Stallone brings to the franchise, Jason Statham stepping into the forefront, giving each of the original characters an obstacle/arc to overcome, the new members of the team, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with executive producer Rob Van Norden, producers Kevin King-Templeton & Les Weldon, director Scott Waugh, and stars Dolph Lundgren “Gunner”), Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Jacob Scipio, Randy Couture, Megan Fox, Levy Tran (“Lash”) & Tony Jaa (“Decha”). - Theatrical Trailer (1:52)
Final Thoughts:
Expend4bles is missing some of the big star magic of the previous films, but is still an entertaining action film and a fun popcorn movie. Jason Statham’s Christmas steps into the forefront, providing a great blend of action and humor. The film also introduces a new lineup of younger team members, setting the franchise in a potential new direction. Lionsgate’s 4K release looks and sounds amazing, and includes a small number of interesting bonus materials. Fans of the franchise may opt for the Amazon-exclusive version of the 4K release, which includes an exclusive extra bonus disc. Worth a look for fans of the franchise, and a stellar presentation for fans of the film.
EXPENDABLES 4 4K/BD DGTL AMZ EXC [4K UHD]
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EXPENDABLES 4, THE 4K/BD DGTL [4K UHD]
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THE EXPENDABLES 4 [DVD]
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The Expendables 4
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