The entire existence of The Expendables franchise was and still is predicated on the notion of seeing a star-studded crew of action heroes tool up, head out and mow down as many interchangeable henchmen as humanly possible in two hours or less.
It’s a simple strategy to put butts in seats, but it definitely worked. However, the third installment in the series suffered greatly at both the box office and with critics for two primary reasons. The first was that a pristine copy of the movie leaked online in its entirety weeks ahead of release, and the second was a PG-13 rating.
Once you remove the entertainingly terrible profane one-liners and splatterings of blood, then The Expendables as a brand loses a huge amount of its luster. It was a cynical move designed to draw in a younger audience, and it was one that backfired spectacularly.
Sylvester Stallone admitted it was the wrong move, so hopefully, the upcoming fourth installment will right the ship in suitably bullet-riddled fashion. Speaking of The Expendables 3, it’s putting in a shockingly strong showing on streaming, with the disappointing blockbuster having shot up the Netflix most-watched list by over 40 places since yesterday to nestle in the Top 10, as per FlixPatrol.
