MOVIE REVIEW: "THE EXPENDABLES 3 (2014)

“THE EXPENDABLES 3″ (2014) MOVIE REVIEW

As the camera zooms in for facial shots, it is clear that time has taken its toil on the senior actors. You see the deep lines on their foreheads and the tell-tale wrinkles burrowed around their eyes.

Metaphorically, our ageing heroes are battling off the ravages of bygone years.

Back to”THE EXPENDABLES 3″.

It has little to offer in terms of plot and content. The same shoot-shoot-bang-bang with loads of loud explosions in accompaniment are all back. You’ll be treated to pure nonsensical action all the way!

The plot is a mishmash of the previous chapter.

There’s little you can do in terms of dangerous stunts where the old heroes are not up to it. Body doubles and stuntmen, what.

 Stallone (Barney Ross) and his mercenaries, including Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, are back with a vengeance.

Their mission?

To stage a prison break for one of their founding members, Doctor Death (Wesley Snipes).

 A CIA biggie (Harrison Ford) suggests to Stallone (Barney Ross) to acquire and train a young energetic team in the likes of Kellan Lutz, Glen Powell, boxer Victor Ortiz and mixed martial artist Ronda Rousey. Point taken.

The movie’s hilarious moments come from Wesley Snipes, who takes a dig at his tax-evasion sentence, and a sour-faced Mel Gibson, soaking in his role as chief villain.

Antonio Banderas who still maintains a certain charm and youthfulness tries too hard to be a practical joker.

And as for Jet Li, this Chinese martial-arts star has about a dozen words of dialogue.

The movie is directed by Aussie Patrick Hughes.

In THE EXPENDABLES 3, Barney (Stallone), Christmas (Statham) and the rest of the team come face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson), who years ago co-founded the Expendables with Barney.

Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader, is someone being marked for Barney’s death list.

He eluded death once before, is now having  devious plans to end the Expendables members. 

Barney decides that he has to fight old blood with new blood, and brings in a new era of Expendables team members, recruiting individuals who are younger, faster and more tech-savvy.

And how do I rate the movie?

Not my genre of entertainment, but to be fair, there are some amazing stuff if you just go for the entertainment and don’t dig dirt.

A well-worn plot with a cast that has depth and credibility with an air of dainty ruthlessness. Old stars have to act like big unforgotten stars of yester years.

It’s a cool, deadpan roller coaster ride to hell.

Is it not?

RATING: 3 out of 5

Local Distributor: TGV Pictures

“THE EXPENDABLES 2″ Movie REVIEW. These RETRO ACTION STARS are back in TOP FORM.

“EXPENDABLES 2″ PRESS PREVIEW

The advertising slogan proudly expounds that our un-sunk heroes are” back for war and more.”

Jolly well so.

It’s making a bold statement that these middle-aged mercenaries still command our respect, their hormones are endlessly charging with kickass fury and where “die is a dirty word.”

These are vintage names we love, who are able to give any younger counterpart a run for his money.

Good wine certainly mellows well.

“THE EXPENDABLES 2″ comes with a delectable potpourri of vintage action stars of yester years who are being brought back again into the limelight of the war zone.

Baby boomers will remember these guys as fight superstars in their hey days:

SYLVESTER STALLONE, JET LI, CHUCK NORRIS, JASON STATHAM, DOLPH LUNDGREN, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, BRUCE WILLIS, VAN DAMME. The list goes on.

All of these actors were bloody awesome at one point in cinematic history.

Now stay braced for the showdown.

STALLONE leads his coterie of iconic butt kicking friends to save their world from turmoil, in this intense, shattering, punch-in-the-gut actioner.

No blood and gore scenes will be spared, while fantastic weaponry ranging from machine guns, army tanks and airplane propellers will serve as decapitation instruments.

 The production value is USD 100 million in the making and filming took place in exotic locales such as Bulgaria, Hong Kong and New Orleans.

In watching this film, leave your thinking cap behind, forget the wafer-thin plot and soak in the battle cries.

That is, if you intend to enjoy this celebration of glorified machismo.

Everything’s in the name of the game.

Along the way, dirt will be dug, punchlines will be thrown and insults will be hurled.

Let your hair down and move with the adrenaline flow.

These retro action stars are back in top form and they are having a whale of a time. You can too.

“THE EXPENDABLES 2″ is gonna be a gigantic awesome blast at the box-office.

It has to be – with your support.

“FLYING SWORDS of DRAGON INN” 《龍門飛甲》3D Movie Review. Beware the Deadly Storms that Converge at the Inn of Imperial Intrigue.

“FLYING SWORDS of DRAGON INN”《龍門飛甲》3D PRESS PREVIEW

Renowned film director TSUI HARK is beaming all the way to the moon during his 19th December 2011 press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

And rightfully so.

His is a deserving picture of how hard work, meticulous planning, perseverance and a clear vision can pay off.

His newest Martial Arts offering with this intriguing title “FLYING SWORDS of DRAGON INN” has the honor of being the first Chinese film to be released in IMAX 3D in CHINA barely a couple of days ago – in 59 IMAX theaters across CHINA.

The film surpasses expectations by reaping a cool 2.5 million USD over one weekend alone.

Strong marketing, he nods, and of course – himself and an impressive all star cast help to pave the way.

Shooting a Martial Arts feature flick on 3D is a colossal task.  Unlike the standard 35mm film, you need to pay intricate details to each actor’s positioning, the 3D camera’s operation, the integrated lens (“left” and “right” eye function) set-up, the depth-of-field as well as the complicated and painstaking post-production editing.

He did his research well, aside from being a special effects guru coupled with the collaboration of a pool of foreign expertise to form a formidable 3D team.

The results show.

And this is just the beginning of a promotional journey across the worldwide market frontiers.

There’s nothing new with the story line.

It is the film director’s visionary treatment that is noteworthy, akin to dressing  his babe in fine style.

Here’s the synopsis:

There are the baddies who are the devious eunuchs of the Imperial Court with their own hidden agendas.

They are armed with deadly weapons and are relentless in their quest for power and richness. Nothing stands in their way.

Then there are the goodies led by a resigned general who has been stripped of his rank by the eunuchs. He has his righteous principles and sets out to protect the innocents, to restore normalcy amid the political Imperial Court.

Finally the uglies are a bunch of stubborn bandits who are seeking the hidden treasure.

The three parties’ conflicts converge at Dragon Inn, a desolate outpost in the barren desert.

The Dragon Gate is a portal to a wealthy world under the sands.

THE FINAL BATTLE TO THE DEATH is fought here, amid the perilous traps of a lost city.

“FLYING  SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE” shines with style and brilliance and is one of the best, if not the greatest martial arts film of all time.

It is gushing with stoic brilliance and TSUI HARK  once again takes Hong Kong Cinema back to a classic era of martial arts nostalgia.

He pays homage to the 3D technology and has  mastered it well,  and we shall continue to see him experiment with this discipline.

This is a hi-tech action film that will transport the Martial Arts World to a brand new level.

“FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON INN”  is a definitive entertaining piece where solid action is king.

Actor JET LI returns in top form, but not alone.

This time he shares the limelight with a glittering team of able veterans such as CHEN KUN, ZHOU YUN, KWAI LUN-MEI and LI YU CHUN who will give  him a run for his money, threatening to topple his presence.

TSUI HARK is at the top of his game, and this film is his magnum opus.

The color grading is stupendous and the 3D treatment takes you through the realm of your aesthetic mind and is pure enjoyment to boot.

You only have to see to believe.

And justifiably so.

SUCCESS?

“Strong marketing,” says legendary film director TSUI HARK, “and of course – an impressive all star cast help to pave the way."

Shooting a Martial Arts feature flick on 3D is a colossal task.  Unlike the standard 35mm film, you need to pay intricate details to each actor’s positioning, the 3D camera’s operation, the integrated lens (“left” and “right” eye function) set-up, the depth-of-field as well as the complicated and painstaking post-production editing.

“The SORCERER and the WHITE SNAKE” 白蛇传说 Film Review. JET LI versus COMPUTER GENERATED IMAGERY.

“The SORCERER and the WHITE SNAKE” 白蛇传说 PRESS PREVIEW

I’ve long learnt that, to thrive in this fickle entertainment industry, never ever say “NEVER”.

Because things can screech to an abrupt turnaround, and you’ll soon be biting your own tongue.

You’ve got to salute though, a sprinkle of “noble” Asian actors who are able to swear that they are giving up something for a worthy cause, and thence change their mind within a blink of an eye.

That’s right.

JET LI announced half a decade ago after his last wuxia box office success “FEARLESS” that he was quitting action flicks for good as his age was catching up. He was leaving the fights to the younger guys.

That was a grand departure, albeit a generous gesture.

Hence DONNIE YEN was re-born.

Well, that was then.

He has since changed his mind.

Is money the prime motivator to lure him back?

The real answer lies with him.

“THE SORCERER and the WHITE SNAKE” is derived from a done-to-death ancient Chinese folklore about a beautiful female demon (EVA  HUANG) who falls in love and consumates conjugal bliss with a naive mortal (RAYMOND LAM).

You might well be wondering what JET LI is doing in this absurd fairy tale that also harbors talking animals.

He plays the REVEREND FAHAI and is supposed to astound us with his awesome fight moves and stunts.

This is apparently not so.

JET LI plods through the entire movie by looking positively middle-aged,  grimacing and spouting irksome Chinese proverbs. He also performs the Buddhist ‘wai’ and does the occasional leap in mid-air whenever he “senses” an apparition is lurking nearby. In the end, he probably has his hands full, after capturing so many ferocious animated creatures and locking them away in a faraway cave.

Here’s the obvious reason.

The REEL HERO is the computer wizardry – the  generous display of the latest gimmicks in CGI and the preposterous action stunts that’ll leave you gaping if you are looking forward to enjoying a real movie and not some super duper computer game.

The Westerners may find all these antics charming, not so the Asians who have gone through countless versions of the White Snake and this one looks like it’s going to strike a death knell any time.

A visually lavish epic fantasy it may be, one that happily marries the latest advances in CGI and spectacular wired action techniques.

But the movie is screwed with a wimpish weak script dressed with corny lines and even cornier performances from all the players, thanks to CHING SIU-TUNG, the film director who’s totally dependent on the monstrous effects to enthrall, rather than paying equal emphasis to the acting.

Poor JET LI. It is definitely not a justifiable welcome-back vehicle for him.

He is deserving of more respect than this.

The film has almost  every frame crammed with not-so- stylized visual effects. Sadly, for a trademark JET LI action genre, it is yet to have a single compelling action sequence.

The fights are lack luster, so to speak.

Bordering little on either the traditional style sword play or hand-to-elbow kung fu moves, this one struts instead, the 1950s Cantonese movie action such as the waving of hands to channel the power of the defense forces to overcome the enemy.

There’s a stellar cast of EVA HUANG, RAYMOND LAM, CHARLENE CHOI, VIVIAN HSU and so on.

For fans of the stars and avid lovers of the CGI, this one’s for you.