“The Expendables 3” starts off with Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and the Expendables crew carrying out a mission to rescue an old Expendable member (Wesley Snipes). Immediately after the rescue mission, the team is sent on another mission to take down the most dangerous war criminal in the world. During their job, Ross finds himself going after a dead friend and former Expendable named Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson).
Since the mission went south, Ross’ employer Max Drummer (Harrison Ford) decides to change the mission to bringing Stonebanks in alive. Ross, who fears losing another member, finds newer and younger mercenaries to help him find Stonebanks. As a part of his new Expendable temporary team, there is Thorn (Glen Powell), a guru hacker that specializes in technology; Luna (Ronda Rousey), a fierce bouncer who is skilled in physical combat; Mars (Victor Ortiz), a solider who specializes in weapons; and Smilee (Kellan Lutz), a spunky fighter.
A majority of the movie revolves around the new recruits. There is still some interaction between Stallone and his previous Expendable co-stars such as Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Terry Crews. Jet Li and Arnold Schwarzenegger roughly have the same amount of on screen time as they had in the previous Expendables movies.
Ford and Snipes make the most of their minimal on-screen time. Despite Ford’s age, he doesn’t settle for minute action, but instead goes for the thrill factor while riding a helicopter, while Snipes jokes about his time spent in prison for tax evasion.
Expendables fans may find it just as entertaining as the previous films. Viewers will watch old-timers lift heavy machinery while blowing things up. The introduction of modern-day actors helps bring in a younger audience.
But the real question is “How far can you go with making movies about actors fighting?”