After both 2010’s The Expendables and 2012’s Expendables 2 proved moderately profitable, 2014’s Expendables 3 fared less well at the box office. With a worldwide return of $214 million on a budget somewhere around $90 million to $100 million, it may eventually have turned a sliver of a profit, but it showed a clear decline.

This meant I figured we’d never get a fourth film in the franchise. 2023’s Expend4bles - aka Expendables 4 - proved me wrong.

A team of veteran mercenaries called “The Expendables” takes a job that sends them to Libya to stop Suarto Rahmat (Iko Uwais) from the acquisition of nuclear warhead detonators for a terrorist known only as “Ocelet”. This doesn’t go as planned, and along the way, leader Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) appears to die.

After this failure, second-in-command Expendable Lee Christmas (Jason Statham) loses his gig because his superiors blame him. Now a free agent, he pursues revenge while the remaining Expendables continue their original mission.

As noted earlier, I figured Expendables 3 would end the franchise, and the fact it took nearly a decade for a new film endorsed that belief. After three movies in four years, a nine-year gap appeared to imply the series’ conclusion.

This felt especially true because Expendables relied on so many older actors for its appeal. The flicks got a lot of their notoriety due to the presence of now-elderly action stars like Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson and others.

Of that crew, only Stallone and Dolph Lundgren remain for Expend4bles. We do get a “new old guy” via Andy Garcia, but last time I looked, he’s no one’s idea of an action hero.

Instead, Expend4bles tries to “pass the torch” and posit Statham as the new lead star. At 56, he’s no spring chicken – which pains me to say, since we’re the same age – but he lacks the “vintage star power” of folks like Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Willis.

Given how much of the 1980s throwback acted as the root of the franchise’s popularity, the abandonment of this motif becomes an issue. Clearly the “new blood” didn’t work for audiences as well.

With a budget of $100 million, Expend4bles took in a mere $37 million worldwide. When even the non-US markets that usually eat up action fare such as this avoid a movie, it seems like time to say goodnight.

Which means an Expendables 5 - Expendable5? – seems highly unlikely, and given the quality of chapter four, I can’t mourn the probably demise of the series. Though this never turns into an embarrassment for those involved, it also feels thin and perfunctory.

At its core, Expend4bles comes with a basic plot – or pair of plots, I guess. The mercenaries need to stop Ocelot and get revenge for Barney, which kind of seems like maybe one and a half plots.

Even with such a simple story at hand, Expend4bles muddies the waters too much. The choice to separate Christmas from the rest of the team feels contrived and adds nothing to the movie.

The narrative does little to explore characters and themes beyond basics, and we never get much intrigue. Various “revelations” at the end prove intensely predictable as well.

Director Scott Waugh comes from a stunt background, and that makes the uninspiring nature of the movie’s action a surprise. One would expect that even if Waugh faltered in terms of storytelling, he would compensate with vivid fights.

This doesn’t occur, as the film’s violence and battles seem perfunctory at best. None of them deliver pizzazz or excitement.

Again, none of these factors make Expend4bles terrible. At 104 minutes, it doesn’t wear out its welcome, and it throws out enough variety to create a mildly watchable film.

Nonetheless, Expend4bles lacks drive or real thrills. It forms a bunch of bland action scenes in search of a plot that leaves the franchise on a dull note.

Expend4bles appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. This became a solid Dolby Vision presentation.

Sharpness worked well. Virtually no softness materialized, so the film seemed accurate and concise.

I saw no signs of jaggies or moiré effects. In addition, the film lacked edge haloes or print flaws.

Expend4bles delivered a stylized palette that emphasized blue and amber. These didn’t dazzle, but hey, at least it kept teal and orange minimal. The disc reproduced the hues as intended, and HDR added dimensionality and punch.

Blacks came across nicely. Dark tones were deep and rich, without any muddiness or problems.

In addition, low-light shots gave us smooth, clear visuals, and HDR brought emphasis to whites and contrast. All in all, this became a pleasing presentation.

I felt happy with the appealing Dolby Atmos soundtrack of Expend4bles. Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the mix offered plenty of opportunities for lively auditory information, and it took good advantage of these.

From the road chases to gunfire to explosions to other action elements, the mix filled the speakers on a frequent basis. The track placed information in logical spots and blended all the channels in a smooth, compelling manner.

Audio quality was also positive. Music sounded lively and full, while effects delivered accurate material.

Those elements showed nice clarity and kick, with tight low-end. Speech was always distinctive and concise, too. This mix worked well for the film.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? Both boasted identical Atmos audio.

The Dolby Vision image offered clear improvements in terms of accuracy, colors and blacks. This turned into a nice little upgrade visually.

As we shift to extras, we find an audio commentary with director Scott Waugh. He provides a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, stunts and action, various effects, and related topics.

Waugh provides a meat and potatoes commentary. While not the most thrilling chat, Waugh nonetheless covers the requisite subjects in an appropriate manner and makes this an informative piece.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we get two featurettes. Bigger, Bolder, Badder runs 16 minutes, 57 seconds and offers notes from Waugh, producers Kevin King-Templeton and Les Weldon, executive producer Rob Van Norden, stunt doubles Robbie Madison and Martin Gordon, special effects supervisor Danny Hargreaves, and actors Megan Fox, Randy Couture, Jacob Scipio, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.

“Badder” covers Waugh’s involvement, stunts and action, various effects, locations and sets, and attempts at military authenticity. The program mixes insights and hyperbole, so it turns into an erratic view of the production.

More Than a Team spans 19 minutes, seven seconds. It involves Weldon, King-Templeton, Van Norden, Waugh, Jackson, Scipio, Couture, Fox, and actors Levy Tran, Tony Jaa and Dolph Lundgren.

In this featurette, we examine cast, characters and performances. Most of this turns into fluff so don’t expect much substance.

The package also includes a Blu-ray copy of Expend4bles. It features the same extras as the 4K.

After a long break, the Expendables franchise returns on a mediocre note with Expend4bles. Though not a bad movie, it seems underwhelming and perfunctory. The 4K UHD boasts strong picture and audio along with a decent mix of bonus features. If this one ends the series, it does so with a bit of a whimper.

Note that the 4K UHD of Expend4bles can be purchased on its own or as part of a four-movie steelbook collection exclusively available at Wal-Mart. It sells for $70 and includes all four of the Expendables movies on 4K in unique steelbook cases

To rate this film visit the original review of EXPEND4BLES