Where I watched Them: Digital Copies
English Audio Description for The Expendables: Directors Cut: No
English Audio Description For The Expendables 2 and 3 provided by Deluxe.
Expendables 2 Narration by Travis
Expendables 3 Narration By: Ron Snow
Main Series Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Randy Couture, and Terry Crews.
Additional Cast: Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mickey Rourke, Harrison Ford, Jean Claude Van Damme, chuck Norris, Ronda Rousey, Glen Powell, Antonio Banderas, Wesley Snipes, Mel Gibson, Charisma Carpenter, and Kelsey Grammer.
Directors: Sylvester Stallone, Simon west, and Patrick Hughes
In preparation for obviously the best film of 2023, The Expendables 4, I ventured once more down the rabbit hole of explosions to see what we’ve got. Apple had a super cheap box set, and I couldn’t pass it up. Plus, it had the Directors Cut, and I thought… maybe… but no. So, here are my general thoughts.
The first Expendables introduced a fun concept, an interesting team, but took itself a little seriously. I’ve heard the directors cut is actually quite different, but it did not have audio description. It’s almost impossible to follow this film, even though I’ve seen it twice, without audio description.
The second, has a bit more fun, and a way better villain. Also, Arnie has way more to do as does bruce. This is peak Expendables fun, and director Simon West knows how to handle this film. However, the audio description is quite terrible. The sound balancing is awful. Every time the audio description speaks, it knocks the film’s sound out almost completely, and the narration did trample some dialog. an odd misfire for Deluxe, that might be the responsibility of the studio to have correctly balanced the original theatrical audio description for home viewing. Either way, this is like being represented by a piece of art that you know isn’t your best work, but is still attributed to you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
The third film, where they go for a PG-13 rating, is less of a successful film, but the narration slaps. Ron snow is an excellent narrator, and this is balanced perfectly. A perfect combination in the audio description department of writing, mixing, and narration. The film does this weird thing where it starts to recruit new members, who don’t really belong in an Expendables film… like a pre-Top Gun Maverick Glen Powell. And sorry cancel culture, but Mel Gibson is an excellent villain. Maybe there’s an argument to be made when he plays a hero, but with the state of his career where it is, his acting skills make him a terrific person to hate.
I won’t spoil how I feel about the 4th film, as I’ll write about that in its own review. I actually believe reviews for at least the 2nd and 3rd films already exist on this site, as I was doing reviews as a sighted critic back then. So, reviewing them a second time was really just to talk about the audio description. Three may be the weakest of the three films, but has the best narration.
Final Grades:
The Expendables: B (based on having previously seen it)
The Expendables 2: B
The Expendables 3: B-
