It’s been known for a while that a third entry in the Expendables franchise (because let’s face it, this is going to be around for a while) was coming out after the expected success of the second film. We did tell you news that Mel Gibson’s name had been floating around to be a possible candidate to direct The Expendables 3 and even John Woo’s name had been mentioned (Stallone himself even tweeted about it recently saying that he loves Woo but he’s working in China) but now we have the news that Stallone has chosen the new director for the third entry.
Up and coming Aussie director Patrick Hughes has been chosen by Stallone to take the director’s chair which Hughes, I’m sure, must be ecstatic with this decision. It’s not every day that you get to direct such big names in the world of action films like Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren and confirmed new (new?) comer Jackie Chan with the huge possibility of directing Clint Eastwood, Wesley Snipes, Harrison Ford and Jean Claude Van Damme as well. Wow, such a big cast of names especially for a new director.
Stallone tweeted with a guessing game to see if anyone could guess who the new director was and you can see below some of the tweets concerning this story.
Stallone sounds like a big fan of Patrick Hughes and obviously believes he can bring in fresh ideas and a new touch to the Expendables franchise. As you can see in one of Stallone’s tweets, he says that you “…should go look at Patrick Hughes short film…called SIGNS…” so, go check out the short film for yourself below.
Stallone also says to, “Rent (Hughes’ film) Red Hill.” You can check out the trailer below to get a feel of what Hughes’ may bring to the table.
It’s nice to see Stallone bring in a new face to direct the film and while Hughes’ will definitely have his hands full, I believe if Stallone has his faith in the guy, Hughes will do just fine. So, are you excited for The Expendables 3? Are you looking forward to seeing how Hughes can bring in some fresh air into the series? Let us know in the comments below!
I want to go ahead an apologize for the camerawork on this one. I was trying to make a conscious decision to lift the camera up higher to stay in frame, but I guess I was tilting it up too much. I don’t have a front facing scree, so I apologize for the bad framework. I’ll be better next time!
Female Expendables on the Way?
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A Trailer and Some Clips for Blood Money
Background Info
The original Expendables was a big hit that brought back a lot of action stars that had been out of the spotlight as well as some new faces. A sequel was planned before post-production finished on the first, so numerous veteran action stars were contacted. Would having an even bigger cast lead to a more explosive hit?
Story/Characters
The story to the Expendables 2 is much weaker overall when compared to the original. This is a tale of revenge, and that’s about it. The story tries to make you care about certain events more than you really do, and it feels pretty forced. That’s not to say that the film is worse for it, the simple story makes it easier to follow what’s going on and gives you more time to know the characters….if there was any depth to them.
One thing I liked about the original Expendables was the chemistry between the characters. While you’ll still get the fun banter between the guys (and girl) you won’t have any more info on what each character went through. One of my favorite moments in the original was the talk between Rourke and Stallone, it gave the characters a sense of history and remorse. Here, all you get is a group of angry guys that want some payback.
While I’m taking about characters, let me go ahead and address what’s probably one of my bigger issues with the film. This is the movie where you finally get to see Norris, Van-Damme, Stallone, Willis, and Schwarzenegger in one film. While I should have been screaming like a 12 year-old girl at a Bieber concert, I ended up feeling this weird conflict inside me. Most of these characters are simple caricatures of what they used to be or are today. They’re not there for any reason than fan service, and it really sucks. You’ll get what you want, but you’ll be left wanting something deeper after it’s all said and done.
Action/Choreography
Stallone decided to step away from the director’s chair this time, and the action benefits from it tremendously. There is no shaky-cam this time around, letting you see exactly what’s going on. The fights are much easier to follow, and some sequences (like Jet’s) really shine. There are some fights that are a little too dark for my tastes, and one fight that loses lighting for no logical reason. Scott Adkins fans can rest assured as he has a good run, and the other fights are done pretty well also. You can tell that these guys are getting up there in age, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a little fight left in them, either.
Own it, Watch it, or Skip it?
The Expendables 2 gives you everything you want, but that’s it. It doesn’t push the envelope in any way, and the characters are very thinly spread out. The sense of humor is still there, and the action is solid, but don’t go into this thinking you’ll be blown away. While the film will leave most people happy as they exit the theater, a select few will be left with the desire to see their idols be more than just one-sided characters. It’s still a fun film and worth a watch, but I just can’t really justify a purchase.
Watch it
The NY Daily News recently had a top 20 “Action Movie Stars of All Time” list, and I’m happy to say that Jackie earned the top spot. The list was compiled in response to all of the action stars that use CGI now.
I can’t seem to find the English version of the list, so I’ve toiled away at listing the names from the Chinese article I found on MTime. Here is everyone that was listed.
(By the way, this took forever to figure out who was who in Chinese.)
Congrats to Jackie on getting the top spot. I feel he’s earned it after all of the work he’s done for the industry, but what about you guys? Do you think Jackie should have been #1, or that he really doesn’t need to be praised that much? I feel like a lot of people were left off of the list (like Iko Uwais, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao, for starters) but maybe they weren’t “action stars.”
Feel free to sound off!
Source: Mtime.com and Jackie’s Official Page
Feel free to let me know what you’d like for the revamp of Martial Arts Movie Junkie. I’ll be sure to take it into consideration.
Trailer for Bangkok Renaissance
The Man with the Iron Fists Wraps Up
New Posters for Black and White
Images for Taken 2, the Tomb, and Jackie’s thoughts on future films
Another day of multiple new articles, but most are short and sweet. Let’s start with images for Liam Neeson’s sequel to Taken. While contemplated whether this was a “martial arts movie” I figured I’d let it slide since there is fighting in the film and the first one was amazing.
If you’re wondering what the story will be about, it’s actually not that bad of a concept. Much better than the idea for the Hangover 2, where they just reused the exact same plot. Give it a read here:
When Bryan Mills finds out that his ex-wife Lenore is getting a divorce, he invites her and their daughter Kim to join him in Istanbul on the perfect weekend break with the aim of winning back Lenore’s heart.
But Bryan killed to save his daughter, in the original film, and now he and his family must pay. Bryan and Lenore are abducted, but Kim manages to escape…
I’ll probably be keeping tabs on this one since I liked the original, but I understand if you guys think it’s not martial arts related. Just let me know if you want more news and I’ll keep posting it.
Source: Twitch
The next set of pics comes from the Stallone/Schwarzenegger collab project. The film, called the Tomb, will put the two legends on the screen once again as they play two men who must break out of a prison. Synopsis provided after the final picture.
Ray Breslin is the world’s foremost authority on structural security. After analyzing every high security prison and learning a vast array of survival skills so he can design escape-proof prisons, his skills are put to the test. He’s framed and incarcerated in a master prison he designed himself. He needs to escape and find the person who put him behind bars.
While the story isn’t anything special, I’m pretty amazed by the fact that both Stallone and Schwarzenegger went for the older look. I personally think this was a great idea and I’m curious to see how it plays into the story. Hopefully we will be able to see more images and clips as filming continues.
Source: Twitch
Lastly is a little more news about Jackie and his plans for future films. While he was at Cannes, he said:
”I will ask my body how long I can go. I’m not young anymore. In the future I’ll still do ‘Karate Kid 2?, ‘Rush Hour 4?.”
Now, don’t take this as a confirmation that Jackie will be making a Karate Kid 2 or Rush Hour 4, he just doesn’t mind doing it. Jackie’s been misinterpreted already, and I don’t feel like adding fuel to a different fire.
I’m fine with Jackie stating he doesn’t mind, though I’d rather see another Karate Kid than a Rush Hour. Actually, if we’re gonna do that, I’d rather see a Shanghai Knights sequel more than anything.
Source: Asian Movie Pulse
Before I get too far ahead of myself, I was going to save the info on the Expendables 2 for tomorrow. But, as fate would have it, things don’t work out as planned. See, IGN is having a special trailer premiere on Thursday, May 3rd. However, they posted a trailer for that trailer, and this is it:
How amazing was that? I couldn’t just let this slip by, so I’ll update this page when the official trailer comes out. For the time being, here are some new images from the film as well.
I’m sure that the trailer will be just as explosion-heavy as the teaser, but we’ll all be able to see it when it comes out tomorrow.
(UPDATE!)
Here is the trailer for you. I’ll save all the talking for later. Enjoy!
Before I get to posting my review online for this week, let me share with you some characters posters I found for the Expendables 2. Enjoy!
Jason Statham
Sylvester Stallone
Chuck Norris
Dolph Lundgren
Jet Li
Jean Claude Van Damme
Liam Hemsworth
Terry Crews
Bruce Willis
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Yu Nan
On top of this, it’s been announced that a trailer will be released very soon. I’ll keep you guys posted as soon as I come across it.
Yesterday night, the teaser trailer for the Expendables 2 hit the internet. As Scott promised, it came pretty quick and it had some real footage to it. I’m glad it wasn’t just a making of or some set pics, either. Check it out for yourself:
Now, while everything looks great and fantastic, I’m still really curious what’s going on with Jet’s role. It was first rumored that he wouldn’t be in the movie, but this trailer does list him as a cast member. However, his snippet seems like the only one that was pulled from the 1st movie, and not new footage. I’ve heard that he hasn’t shot any sequences yet, but why isn’t his role a “special appearance” type announcement?
The first Expendables was kind of a letdown in some respects. While I enjoyed the chemistry between the characters, the action was actually a little lacking. While there is no news on the plot, I know that Stallone is stepping away from the director’s chair and letting Simon West direct the film. The fight choreography will also switch to Don Tai, so the action may be different.
Who knows, maybe the sequel will be able to outshine the original.
Special thanks to EvilDollaR for the poster image.
