I mercenari 3

Okay fine The Expendables franchise isn't a complete failure in my eyes, this is by far the best one and three movies in shows potential.

First of all I want to address a point. I've long since complained about the state of a world where it's highest paid people are actors, singers and sports people. Though I'm a movie obsessive I'll never deny that they are offensively overpaid and Expendables 3 demonstrates that with the absence of Bruce Willis. They tried to get him back in a small capacity, just 4 days work and offered him 3 million. 3 million dollars for 4 days work! In response, he demanded 4 million and they decided to cut him loose. So think about this, a man being paid more for a days work than a minimum wage worker is likely to make in their entire life! That ladies and gentlemen is the world we live in.

Anyway I digress.

I wouldn't go as far as to say that The Expendables 3 entertained me but it certainly had its moments. The action was marginally better than the previous two films but it's saving grace was the cast. No I'm not talking about the same guys who have been phoning it in for the past two movies, I mean the newbies. Antonio Banderas stole the movie, he was brilliant. Snipes delivered like I haven't seen him do so in years and despite all the criticism I think Rousey did a great job as well.

So fine, it's not the big action blockbuster to end all action blockbusters but it blows the previous two movies out of the water. With a great villian, the new cast and a good lengthy finale it's passable stuff.

The Good:

As much as it pains me to say, Mel Gibson

Antonio Banderas & Ronda Rousey

The Bad:

Robert Davi was wasted

Still mindless cliched stuff

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Every person on the planet without any formal training can wield any type of firearm like a professional

The moment Gibson was outed as a bigot, he started doing bad guy roles and nailed it every time

I genuinely want to know if it's possible to attain/maintain a physique like Stallones without steroids

Countless explosive shells fired from tanks at a building rigged with explosives won't set them off

Disguising yourself as a bad guy complete with helmet without your allies knowing you're doing it in a full assault situation makes perfect sense

Aging mercenaries portrayed by aging action stars team with younger mercenaries to battle an international arms dealer (Mel Gibson) in a poorly written, badly shot and cut, muddled mess of an action film - the third entry in the series/franchise/action hero seniors tour begun by Sylvester Stallone (already having milked his Rocky & Rambo franchises for remaining crumbs) in 2010 with a decent first entry.

A pirated copy of this third entry was leaked online (by someone who WILL be caught and dealt with) in late July predating the August 15th, 2014 official theatrical release which is why the derision has come so fast and furious in advance. Millions have already downloaded it and spread the word about how bad it is and in particular how bad the younger actors in it are. It is also why box-office receipts won't be very impressive. Plenty have already seen it and told others not to bother.

MMA fighter Ronda Rousey, who portrays Luna - one of the young mercenaries, is sure to be nominated for a Razzie as 'Worst New Star' for her acting. I've seen better acting from Tough Actin' Tinactin. But that will inevitably be part of the draw of the movie. Audiences will want to judge for themselves if her acting is as terrible as they have heard.

Since words can't fully describe (but I'll try) how bad Rousey's performance is they won't be ready for what they see. Her characterization is composed of rolling her eyes, shaking her head and squinting in an insipid characterization given by an irritating, crass and unattractive individual with no previous acting experience.

They should've got Gina Carano if they wanted an MMA star. Gina is way cuter, her MMA comes across better on screen and she is a passable actress.

The gimmick upon which the first two Expendables movies built an audience was this 'family reunion' style casting of old action movie stars. But producers were driven to lock-up a newer audience demographic. Going younger and cheaper whilst bringing in new blood may have seemed like a good plan at first but the adverse results are plain to see.

Mel Gibson is the best aspect of the film. He could always act. But his scandalous, offensive outbursts and history of violence add all the necessary subtext for him to become Hollywood's premier villain and tack 20 more years on to his career if he does it right. This is the perfect role for him and he milks it for all it is worth. The screen comes alive when he is on it which unfortunately isn't for very long.

The remainder of the older action stars in the cast give performances as tired and sad as you might expect. Schwarzenegger inspires more pity than Harrison Ford. Antonio Banderas with his over the top acting is nearly as bad as Rousey. Bruce Willis should count himself lucky he was left out of the mix. Wesley Snipes? Let's not even go there.

Whether it is botox or just aging Stallone looks like a toy action figure left too close to a radiator. Yikes!

Jet Li is among the action stars billed but is barely on screen for 5 minutes.

If you're thinking of watching 'The Expendables 3,' then 'part 3' is a kind of odd place to start any franchise. Therefore, I would generally recommend starting with part 1 and going from there. However, in case you're in any wonder as to what it's all about, it's basically an ensemble cast (led by Sly Stallone) of all the biggest (and best?) action stars of the eighties (plus Jason Statham thrown in for good measure).

What you have is a bunch of old men who really should be playing golf and yet we suspend our disbelief long enough to believe that they can really run, jump, punch and generally take on wave after wave of insignificant bad guys without so much as getting shot. So, if you generally like (or can at least remember) some of these faces from yesteryear and the epic on-screen battles they fought then you'll probably enjoy the nostalgia trip which this film basically is. It never takes itself seriously, so don't expect anything dark and moody, just fun.

The first Expendables outing was definitely fun. And, for the record, I enjoyed part 2 even more. Therefore, I was really expecting to LOVE the third instalment. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but there was one thing I didn't approve of. Namely the fact to interject some 'fresh blood' into Sly's team. Basically, it wasn't necessary. Sly chooses youngsters over the established faces who we actually care about. Therefore, we don't really know them as well as the older action stars and these youngsters take up a reasonable proportion of the first third of the film. Then they end up getting captured and the old team has to be assembled to get them back. Basically, they could have left out the whole 'youngsters subplot' and got on with our aging heroes hunting down rogue expendable baddie, played by Mel Gibson.

I think if I was going to watch this again (and I probably will!), I'll skip the first third with the 'kids' and go straight on to the rescue mission. Plus I thought there was too much CGI explosions for my liking – but I'm no fan of computer added trickery, unless it's really seamlessly intertwined with the film. Half the time you could tell the explosions were added post production.

Anyway, if you like the first two films, or any of the stars, you should get something out of this. Just don't be too misled by the advertising posters – not all the stars featured play a major part. Some are only in the film for literally a few minutes.

The first one was interesting seeing old big names on screen. The second one had the Chuck Norris jokes and van Damme doing his signature kicks. This one?... This one has a lot of "kaboom and badawoom"... Which is why, I guess, it is an all right movie.

Unfortunately none of the big names do anything interesting on-screen. If you're expecting to see Wesley Snipes do Blade stuff, or Jet Li some amazing kung fu, nope! you will be disappointed...

Mel Gibson is great, but he's got a tiny part. The only fun is provided by Antonio Banderas.

As for the new actors... who cares!

The problem with the Expendables movies is that the more big names are on the credits their on screen time has to be shared with others and it breaks down to just a few moments each.

I do not understand how they missed the point again!

'The Expendables 3' is an entertaining 3rd part in the series, which had an amazingly impressive sequel. This action extravaganza which completes the trilogy, is indeed Good Fun! And its such a pleasure to watch Hollywood Legend Mel Gibson stealing the show, by enacting the baddie to perfection!

'The Expendables 3' Synopsis: Barney augments his team with new blood for a personal battle: to take down Conrad Stonebanks, the Expendables co-founder and notorious arms trader who is hell bent on wiping out Barney and every single one of his associates.

'The Expendables 3' serves its propose, which is, to Entertain the audience. And it does that well. Sylvester Stallone's Story & Screenplay is meant for the masses, as it delivers enough scope of human tension & explosive action. Although I'd like to point out, that, the first-hour of the film, is slightly slow-paced & dull. Its the second-hour which is arresting & the climax is simply brilliant.

Patrick Hughes's Direction is satisfactory. Cinematography is dusky. Editing could've been more sharper. Costume Design is perfect. Action-Sequences are the mainstay of the film.

Performance-Wise: After Mel Gibson, its Stallone who delivers a performance of substance. He leads the pack with toughness. Its also nice to see Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes & Antonio Banderas joining in. They all play to the gallery well, as do the rest.

On the whole, 'The Expendables 3' is a winner!