The opening film did seem to have an enjoyable chemistry between Jason Statham and Sly Stallone, which was lost in the second and third where Statham became more of a background player (in part due to scheduling). Villains have been underused (disappointingly given Eric Roberts, JCVD and Mel Gibson respectively stole the first three movies at a canter). The films have crammed together massive casts, but have been unable to suitably disperse adequate screen time, or effective character development.
We’ve had messily constructed films (with a consistent theme of last minute rewrites, and difficult post productions hampered by differing creative visions). We wanted something genuinely old school and with strong, clear, concise direction. We wanted something that was worthy of standing alongside our iconic era classics like Predator, Commando, First Blood, Lethal Weapon etc. Not so much of story arcs of any kind, but mostly due to the fact that we all wanted a much better film. The franchise carries with it the lingering sense of unfinished business. It would seem most certain that he won’t be a part of the next one.ĭoes the world need or want a new instalment? The fan base remains. There was also much publicised beef between cast member Terry Crews and Millennium. At one time it looked like they’d parted ways. The disappointing returns of the last instalment would have stung, but additionally there has been noted friction between Stallone and Millennium head honcho Avi Lerner. A rethink in the last few years has of course been understandable. It’s usually Randy Couture who starts the talk, but this time Stallone (as well as Couture) has made the suggestion and it would seem like a very strong likelihood that we’re finally going to see this going into production. Almost every summer we get the grapevine aflutter with news that the film is going to shoot in the winter. It’s been seven years now since the last one, which was overstuffed with cast, and had the misguided idea that the male fans over 25 actually wanted their old guard heroes to be fazed out in place of young blood like Kellan Lutz. They wanted something more concerned with making a piece of film and not merely an open stage for simple nostalgic retreat. The moment Chuck Norris walked onto screen, with his own ‘facts’ referenced on screen, was the moment you knew that they were rolling with the silliness of the whole concept. The second instalment, laced with a little more winking irony and the most coherent final cut, remains the best, even if it borders on spoof at times. There’s no escaping the fact that the first three films have been a decidedly inconsistent.
It was his brainchild and he was the only one who could pull it off. Sylvester Stallone’s gravitas and standing in the genre was key in magnetising this collection of occasionally interchanging action men into the films.
Still, despite a drop in takings for the third film, it made enough around the world (notably China) to keep the idea of a fourth one on the table. The bulk of said fan base hasn’t really changed much in the last decade either – we’re all just a bit older and pudgier. The faded appeal of a collection of action icons from the 1980s was the starting point in the first instance, that struck a nostalgic chord with predominantly men of a certain age. This could most likely be attributed to Stallone simply wishing to move on from the films and leave them in Statham's hands.Tom Jolliffe looks at the impending production of The Expendables 4, long-delayed but now seemingly ready to rumble…Įleven years on from the first film, the time seems nigh for the fourth instalment in a somewhat unexpected franchise. However, as previously mentioned, this film will remain Stallone’s final contribution to the franchise unless future developments arise.
The expendables 4 movie#
Related: The Expendables 4: Why the Movie Took So Long to Finally HappenĪfter that rocky period of the film’s production, Stallone announced his return to the series following a vocal cry for him to come back (with Arnold Schwarzenegger being among the voices in that crowd). It is unknown if these could have contributed to the differences in opinion between Stallone and the rest of the cast and crew, but we cannot completely rule them out. Whether these were actual goals or merely ideas being thrown around is unclear, but whatever the case may be, neither panned out. Interesting to note is that Stallone had expressed interest in bringing Jack Nicholson on board to play the main villain and having Clint Eastwood involved. Disagreements over the franchise's future and the direction of the fourth film, in particular, were cited as major reasons for the departure. Most noticeably, Stallone exited the film’s production in 2017.
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