The Expendables 3

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UK Release Date: August 14th 2014

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

Director: Patrick Hughes

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Antonio Banderas, Wesley Snipes, Dolph Lundgren, Kelsey Grammer, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Kellen Lutz, Ronda Rousey, Glen Powell, Victor Ortiz, Robert Davi, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Expendables 3 grabs a hold of the death and destruction that the Expendables get on with so well and bombards you with it. The body count is at an all time high, and shit's being blown up all over the shop. There's no rest for the wicked. There's an all out attack on a prison from the very start. Barney (Stallone) for reasons inexplicably explained, must free an old Expendables compatriot, greeted to us by the name of Doctor Death (Wesley Snipes).

It's a bit of a wasted journey. Like most of the ever extending cast, Wesley Snipes fades in to the background. All of this mass slaughter just to see him become a secondary character? Surely not! But we're not here to think, we're here to enjoy ourselves, and probably not for the last time.

Barney & co's main target this time round is Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson), the other co-founding member of the Expendables whose gone rogue. Church is out of action, (no more Bruce Willis) and is replaced by Drummer (Harrison Ford). He is the one now giving the orders.

During the all out attack, Stonebanks shoots Caesar (Crews) rendering him out of action for the majority of the film (much to my displeasure). Barney, hellbent on revenge, disbands his old team and rallies up a new, younger one to take down the enemy.

I said before that too many cooks spoil the broth and The Expendables 3 tips it over the edge. There are at least 10 new characters in this one. Barney cares for the well-being of Lee Christmas (Statham), Gunnar (Lundgren) and the rest, so much so he leaves them behind for this mission. Kelsey Grammar makes an appearance as Bonaparte, one of many contacts Barney has to assemble his new team. Part of that new team is Antonio Banderas, who has the award for most annoying character in the trilogy (soon to be quadrilogy). 70% of the dialogue comes from him, it's relentless.

The cast isn't the biggest problem, it's the way the cast is scripted that is. The story is tight, but where the old geezers are replaced, it means the likes of Statham, Lundgren and Couture have little screen time, which isn't what we are paying to see. As an audience we're fully aware that The Expendables is a money-grabbing machine relying on its cast for the big bucks, so give us that! No offence to the newbies, but I want to see Statham slice up more goons with his knives, or at least see Snipes doing what he's paid to do.

The hero of the film is Mel Gibson. He emanates a powerful presence that the previous villains lacked. Think The Joker from The Dark Knight, or Silva from Skyfall. If it weren't for Mel Gibson, The Expendables 3 wouldn't be as entertaining as it is.