Lionsgate
Sometimes the best thing after a long work week is to sit down on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn and binge through some mindlessly fun movies. It’s great to just tune out the world for a little while and get lost in some explosions and snarky banter, and Netflix is making that a whole lot easier because all four of “The Expendables” movies are now streaming on the service.
Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham lead the franchise as Barney Ross and Lee Christmas, mercenaries who are part of the elite group “the Expendables,” who take on missions no other soldiers or spies can tackle. Really “The Expendables” series is a fun excuse for famous action stars to make an appearance, with everyone from Dolph Lundgren to Jean-Claude Van Damme lending their talents. There’s definitely some differences in quality between the films, because some “Expendables” movies are just better than the others, but they’re all at least guaranteed to have familiar faces and some big action set-pieces. It’s sort of like “The Fast and The Furious” franchise with fewer cars and fewer feuds, and since there are only four films, you can fit them all into one weekend watch.
The Expendables movies are like hanging out with some of cinema’s greatest action heroes
Lionsgate
Look, I’m not going to sit here and tell you that “The Expendables” movies are must-see cinematic achievements, but they are kind of goofy, mindlessly cathartic fun. The massive roll call of action heroes from over the years make “The Expendables” movies feel like hanging out with all of your favorite childhood stars, and new additions like Glen Powell in his breakout role in the third “Expendables” add a bit of fresh blood to keep things from getting too stale.
Each of “The Expendables” movies has something to offer: the first one feels like a class reunion for the world’s toughest dudes, the second one has Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger doing more than their quick cameos in the first film (which led to the film being Stallone’s surprising biggest box office hit as an actor), “The Expendables 3” has plenty of dumb action and actually matures the franchise a bit, and even the less-than-loved “Expend4bles” has martial arts superstar Tony Jaa.
Are “The Expendables” movies perfect? Not by any means, but there are far worse ways you could spend your weekend. After all, Netflix still has all of “Tiger King” available, too.