Stars Reunion:
A rare show that brings together action stars from the 1980s to the 1990s, the Expendables film series has been a one-of-a-kind movie-going experience. The first three movies definitely showed how famous action stars interacted with each other, making fans feel nostalgic and pumped up. This new idea really hit home with action movie fans, which led to the creation of the fourth movie, Expend4bles.
Fans were very excited for Expend4bles when it came out nine years after The Expendables 3 (2014). They were looking forward to seeing a lot of old action stars in action. But the movie didn’t live up to these hopes because it only had one famous action star, Sylvester Stallone.
Even though fans were disappointed that the group cast wasn’t there, there is good news for Indonesian viewers who got to see Iko Uwais play a bad guy in Expend4bles. Even with this positive aspect, critics did not like the movie, and Rotten Tomatoes officially gave it the “Rotten” rating, which means it was not recommended.
What critics said about Expend4bles as the Weakest Link:
There were a lot of negative reviews for Expend4bles, as shown by its low 16% score on Rotten Tomatoes. This score makes Expend4bles the official movie in The Expendables franchise with the lowest number. What this means is that The Expendables 3 had the lowest score ever, with only 31% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film’s failure to impress critics may caused in large part by the lack of the group cast that made The Expendables famous. Concerns were raised about the creative direction of the series when it departed from the winning formula that used to connect with both audiences and critics.
Audience Response and Discrepancy to Expend4bles:
Even though Expend4bles had a bad score on Tomatometer, it got a pretty good score from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes (69%). This big difference between what critics and audiences think makes the talk more interesting. It makes you wonder if the movie was more about meeting the needs and satisfying the memories of die-hard fans than meeting the standards set by film critics.
Box Office Performance:
The reviews from the crowd seemed more lenient, but the movie’s box office returns didn’t show the same level of excitement. The movie only made a measly $19.1 million (about IDR 293 billion) in its first weekend, which is a lot less than its $100 million budget (about IDR 1.5 trillion). The lack of success in the box office raises questions about the franchise’s ability to make money without the ensemble band that made it famous.
Film Appreciation:
For those who have seen Expend4bles, the question is: Do you agree with Rotten Tomatoes’ low grade of this movie? The different views among moviegoers and critics show how subjective film criticism is. They also create problems for the future of The Expendables franchise. The response to Expend4bles is an important stop on the series’ cinematic journey as it deals with creative choices and viewer expectations.
In the end, Expend4bles has to balance the nostalgic hopes of fans, the critical standards of critics, and the financial hopes of the Box Office. This is a difficult job that will likely determine the future of The Expendables franchise.