I thought that the original Expendables was good and that The Expendables 2 was amazing! However, I am sad to say that I feel they went off course with The Expendables 3. They made a pretty big mistake in the production of this movie and as a result for many people, it is seen as the worst in the series. I would not say that it is flat-out bad, but it is a massive step down from The Expendables 2.
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The Movie Review
All-Star Action Cast Expectations
On paper, the cast for The Expendables 3 is phenomenal, and during the production of the movie, I was getting more and more excited with each new name that was added. Wesley Snipes. Antonio Banderas, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Ronda Rousey, and Kelsey Grammer were all added and that is not even all the new cast members!
I think that they nailed the cast with the second movie, everyone felt like they had their time to shine and it was awesome. The Expendables 3 feels like it is more interested in just having some of these guys show face on screen so that they can say they had them in the movie. To be fair, director Patrick Hughes had a lot to live up to and the studio did not help!
PG-13 Rating Impact and Plot
By the studio not helping what I mean is the decision to try and make more money by cutting the R rating of the last movie down to a PG-13! Many of the big action blockbusters from the 80s and 90s that these films are modeled after were not PG-13. The PG-13 rating pretty much handcuffs this movie and forced them to tone things down considerably, even Stallone himself admits it was a mistake!
To be fair, I think the plot of the movie is pretty good. Mel Gibson is a character called Conrad and he actually co-founded The Expendables, but now he is trying to take them out and he needs to be stopped. I loved the idea of this guy who found this time going rogue and trying to take them all out.
Action Set Pieces and Series Outlook
There are still some great action set pieces here, but the violence and the language have been toned down severely from the last two movies. You could say “what does it matter if the story is good?” However, the whole point of these movies was to be a throwback to the badass action movies of the 80s and 90s, those movies did not hold their punches, but it feels like this one does.
Again, I do have to say that The Expendables 3 is not a bad movie, actually, I have watched it more than once. However, it just feels like such a misstep after how good The Expendables 2 was. It even managed to put the franchise on the shelf for the better part of a decade!
Thankfully, Stallone and the team took what happened with The Expendables 3 to heart and we are getting a new movie, The Expendables 4 later in 2022 that I am very excited for. I know this review has been mostly negative, but to be fair, you still need to watch this as it is not bad, it is just not amazing either. Watch all three of them back to back and you are in for a good time.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I watch or rent The Expendables 3 (2014) online?
As of November 2026, Lionsgate’s ensemble action sequel The Expendables 3, directed by Patrick Hughes from a story by Sylvester Stallone, is available for HD and 4K UHD digital rental or purchase on Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home, with rotating streaming runs on Peacock and Starz.
Which action legends and newcomers join Sylvester Stallone’s crew?
Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham reunite with Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, and Arnold Schwarzenegger while adding Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Harrison Ford, Kelsey Grammer, Ronda Rousey, and Glen Powell to hunt rogue Expendables co-founder Conrad Stonebanks, played with relish by Mel Gibson.
Is there an Unrated Edition of The Expendables 3 available digitally?
Yes, while the theatrical release ran 126 PG-13 minutes and grossed $214.7 million worldwide ahead of 2023’s Expend4bles, digital storefronts and Blu-ray editions also offer a 131-minute Unrated Cut restoring harder combat sequences.
What lighter studio classic offers a change of pace afterward?
Viewers ready to trade heavy artillery for warm late-1990s comedy and everyday enchantment can visit Practical Magic on MadDownload.
