With its fourth entry, The Expendables franchise introduces a new generation of stars to the fray, as action legends Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, and Randy Couture are joined for the first time by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, and Andy Garcia.

Armed with virtually every weapon possible and the skills to use them, this elite group of mercenaries, The Expendables are the world’s last defense when all other options have been exhausted. This time, CIA operative Marsh (Garcia) sends the team on the hunt for a mysterious figure named “Ocelot” who has a plan to detonate a nuclear weapon in Russian waters. I figured out Ocelot’s identity within ten minutes, because it’s that obvious. It takes The Expendables another seventy minutes to catch on.

This thin plot is simply a reason for near constant gunplay, hand-to-hand combat, vehicle chases and explosions. Fans of the series will either love every moment, others will roll their eyes at the ridiculousness of it all. The actors take a backseat to the explosions. Everything explodes, even things that don’t need too. Surprisingly though, much of the chaos is amateurishly staged by director Scott Waugh so that actors’ heads are chopped off, conveniently obscuring the fact that stunt people are doing most of the work. Embarrassingly, an early chase scene has the stars obviously acting against a green screen.

The original Expendables achieved box office success on the novelty of so many action stars in one film. the novelty has dimmed with each subsequent film. even most of the actors seem bored by the material. Earning a paltry $51.1 million against a budget of $100 million, its likely that this is the final bow for the Expendables.

Expend4bles 4K is presented on UHD 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.39:1. Things look impressive. The level of detail is excellent throughout, with even the finest lines viewable. The colors appear natural and vivid, without being overblown. Blacks looks stunning. Unfortunately, I was surprised by some easily noticeable banding that showed up in several scenes. Some CGI elements don’t look great. Likely due to decisions made during filming.

The audio is presented via a solid Dolby Atmos track. Powerful and thumping from the start, the panning ability of this track is wonderful. You’ll feel as if you’re inside the action. Bullets whizz by, and explosions erupt. The dialogue is presented cleanly, with fine prioritization. Fidelity is excellent, and dynamic range is satisfyingly wide.

English, English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles are included.

Along with a Blu-ray of the film, the following extras are available:

  • Audio Commentary with Director Scott Waugh
  • Bigger, Badder, Bolder: The Expendables in Action (HD, 16:57)
  • More Than A Team: New Blood Meets Old Blood (HD, 19:07)
  • Theatrical Trailer (HD, 1:52)

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