There's a popular argument going around right now over whether movie stars exist as a concept anymore. Some believe, thanks in no small part to Marvel, fans go to the theater to see characters rather than actors. Expend4bles, and don't anyone dare let them pretend the title is Expendables 4, vociferously refutes that assertion while offering several reasons the old movie star system should be equally criticized.

The fourth iteration of this dim franchise was directed by Scott Waugh, who previously lent his talents to Act of Valor and the Need for Speed movie. Impossibly, this film has no less than six writers on staff. The movie suffered a slightly troubled production. Expendables 3 flopped hard in 2014, almost killing this project. Stallone nearly walked away from the film in 2017. There's a lot of darkness behind the scenes of this terrible movie. Sly has assured the world that this will be the final entry.

No living human on Earth cares about the plot of Expend4bles, including the six writers and ten stars. To sum up as quickly as possible, Stallone and Statham lead their team of mercenaries to stop a bad guy from stealing nukes. Stallone gets killed on the job, the team loses faith in Statham, and they take off to stop the villain before he can start World War III. All people really want to know is who they dragged into the cast for the new entry. Megan Fox jumps in as Statham's troublesome girlfriend and the newly elected leader. 50 Cent brings his Blood on the Sand character to the big screen. Tony Jaa appears near the third act as a repentant warrior. Jacob Scipio portrays an insufferable pervert with no likable traits. Levy Tran plays a hilariously stereotypical "woman with a whip" character for around six minutes of total screen time. The great Iko Uwais wastes his talents as the film's main villain, though his martial arts knowledge provides one or two decent scenes. The new additions do nothing to justify the film's existence.

The new cast brings little to the table. The returning champions remain utterly lifeless. There's no character or life to speak of in this franchise. Statham gets the lion's share of screen time, but Lee Christmas is more-or-less identical to his other characters. Many theaters still have Meg 2: The Trench, featuring the same guy fighting a giant shark with a jetski and explosive spears. Stallone isn't much different. Every new and returning hero comes to fight with a maximum of one recognizable character trait. Stallone is driven, Statham is self-sacrificing, Randy Couture talks too much, Dolph Lundgren is a recovering alcoholic, and so on. This desert of likability makes it impossible to care who survives, let alone who wins the fights.

The draw should be the action, but that falls flat as well. Four John Wick films have hit the big screen since the release of The Expendables 3 in August 2014. Consider the position of the choreographers working on this film. The new standard in action cinema was set, topped, and set again four times in the 9-year gap between installments. It's difficult not to compare the two, especially when reminded that Expend4bles and John Wick: Chapter 4 have the same listed budget. Expend4bles used its pile of cash to pay its cast's salary, while Wick blew all its money on brilliant action scenes and clever set pieces. It's a beautiful indictment of the premise of the franchise.

Expend4bles has a perfect excuse to combat its inarguable failure by comparison. It's evoking the action films of an earlier era by enlisting that period's stars. That idea has almost entirely fallen through at this point since Stallone and Lundgren are the only 80s heavyweights they can keep around. More importantly, capturing the spirit of a classic like Commando would require excellent practical effects and a particle of charm. Expend4bles falls between the slick, efficient, masterful choreography of modern blockbusters and the fun, goofy, mindless entertainment value of old action hits, satisfying no one. On some level, it's almost impressive to see gunfights, knife fights, fistfights, and explosions depicted with all the excitement of the last Call of Duty match a player barely engages with before switching back to Apex Legends.

Anyone who has seen an action movie has already taken in everything Expend4bles has to offer. Want to watch a star who was popular decades ago kill countless bad guys in brilliantly conducted set pieces? The John Wick franchise hits the mark every time. Want to see the icons of an earlier era do their thing? First Blood, Crank 2, and Rocky 4 haven't gone anywhere. Stallone gave up on this project before filming a single scene and assured fans this would be the last entry. Hopefully, he's a man of his word because this film is as pointless as its title would suggest.

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