Summary

• The Expendables franchise delivers on its promise of high-octane thrills and non-stop action, showcasing explosive stunts and intense fight scenes. The corny one-liners and CGI blood add to its charm.
• The franchise understands its audience and focuses on its greatest strengths, which are big action stars flexing their muscles and outlandish stunts. The inclusion of younger actors helps to reinvent the series while maintaining its highlight of thrilling action.
• In moments when the franchise embraces genuine action rather than simulated violence, such as the parkour scene or the hand-to-hand combat, The Expendables excels. The franchise's dedication to practical stunts and genuine danger sets it apart from other action blockbusters.

When Sylvester Stallone announced The Expendables, it came with the expectation that its star-studded cast would blend a pinch of nostalgia with some extreme stunts. Since the release of The Expendables 4, the franchise now features an extensive collection of explosions, chase scenes, and old-fashioned brawls. In many ways, The Expendables is a B-movie-style franchise with a blockbuster budget. The franchise prides itself on providing high-octane thrills and unrelenting action. Even the corny one-liners and CGI blood splatters enhance the charm.

The franchise may not be contending for any Academy Awards, but it shows a keen awareness of its greatest strengths. The Expendables displays a sneaky intelligence of how to please its fans. As long as the big action stars have the opportunity to flex their muscles, then all is well. The franchise has also sought to reinvent itself by welcoming some younger actors to shoulder the brunt of the action. Either way, the outlandish stunts are non-negotiable and a continued highlight of the series.

10 The Pirate Shootout (The Expendables)

The franchise's first installment kicks off in characteristically explosive fashion. The team confronts a gang of pirates with multiple civilian hostages. Dolph Lundgren's character Gunner makes sure that civilized negotiation is off the table by firing a shot that severs the leader of the gang in two. The Expendables does a great job of establishing expectations for the franchise as early as its opening sequence. From then on, there can be no mistaking the movies for what they are. These are all-guns-blazing slugfests with a heavy emphasis on action. The first movie faltered at times, largely bogged down by exposition, but it still showed that it could deliver the goods when it mattered.

9 Yin Yang Vs. Gunner Jensen (The Expendables)

The Expendables revels in pairing up big-name action stars. That was essentially the main selling point of the entire project. Although the mouth-watering trio of Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Willis never got the chance to live up to its potential, the franchise still boasts plenty of other heavy hitters. Pitting the five-foot-six Jet Li against the six-foot-five Dolph Lundgren seems like an odd choice, but it tests the classic debate of strength versus skill. Li's talent as a martial artist remains underutilized overall, but when he gets the chance he provides some of the most eye-popping scenes in the entire franchise.

8 Galgo's Introduction (The Expendables 3)

The Expendables 3 welcomed another batch of famous action stars to the franchise, including Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson. Antonio Banderas' introduction as the motor-mouthed Galgo provides the most eye-catching sequence, however. Ross first meets Galgo on a construction site, as he descends from atop some scaffolding. Galgo's slick and stylish parkour technique provides something different for a franchise that can be guilty of repetitive action. The parkour, performed by a stuntperson rather than Banderas himself, is one of the few times the movie captures genuine action rather than simulated violence. It's not as outrageous as an explosion, but its authenticity makes it a great scene nonetheless.

7 Lee Christmas Vs. Suarto Rahmat (The Expendables 4)

Jason Statham completely takes over the final act of The Expendables 4. His character Lee Christmas leads the team in the absence of Barney Ross, who is assumed dead. His final showdown with Iko Uwais' Suarto Rahmat was highlighted as The Expendables 4. After the PG-13 rating of The Expendables 3, its sequel cranks up the violence and gore. This is never more apparent than when Christmas and Rahmat engage in brutal hand-to-hand combat. Uwais is a fantastic martial artist, as anyone who has seen The Raid will know, and his addition to the cast makes up for Jet Li's absence.

6 The Zip Line Getaway (The Expendables 2)

The Expendables 2 stakes a strong claim for the distinction of the franchise's best movie, and the zip line scene demonstrates its strengths. The mercenaries ride a zip line through a dense jungle as they try to escape from Nepalese guards who are chasing them down on ATVs. The scene combines high-speed stunt driving with the franchise's love for tactical firearms. The zip line puts the team on a fixed path, and the only way to safety is to fight their way out as they hurtle toward their escape vehicles. It's one moment plucked from the classic shoot-em-up movies that The Expendables lovingly tributes.

5 The Armored Car Chase (The Expendables 4)

50 Cent provides a good source of humor in Antonio Banderas' absence and his action sequences were as compelling as anyone else's. In fact, 50 Cent injured a stunt person in The Expendables 4, if that's any indication of his commitment and intensity. The armored car chase scene near the start of the movie introduces him to the Expendables audience on top form. He's appeared in action movies before, but 50 Cent will probably always be better known as a musician. The Expendables 4 even makes a sly meta-reference to one of his songs later in the movie, as the team uses it to distract some guards.

4 Caesar Jumping A Speedboat Onto A Truck (The Expendables 3)

This stunt is just as ludicrous as it sounds, but the movie somehow manages to sell it well. Terry Crews' character Caesar s up with the rest of the team using the only means available to him in one of the third installment's most memorable scenes. The sequence almost ended terribly for Crews' co-star Jason Statham, though. Following a brake malfunction on the truck used for filming, he plunged off the edge of the pier into the sea. Statham almost drowned filming the Expendables scene. Luckily, though, he managed to crawl out of the truck's window as it sank.

3 The Dam Explosion (The Expendables 2)

As the team successfully rescues a Chinese billionaire hostage, as well as Barney Ross' mercenary rival Trench, they are chased along a Nepalese river. To say the boat chase starts the movie off with a bang would be an understatement, but it kicks into an even higher gear when the team finds a dam blocking their seaplane from taking off. Sadly, the grand spectacle of the explosion conceals a tragic reality. One of the stunt performers, Kun Liu, was killed during filming. The accident greatly detracts from what might otherwise be the best scene in the franchise. The credits of the movie contain a dedication to Liu's memory.

2 Ross Burns The Dock (The Expendables)

Early on in the first Expendables movie, Ross and Christmas make their escape by spraying gasoline on a wooden dock from their plane and igniting it. The resulting blast sets the tone for the rest of the franchise. As bad guys tumble into the water and planks of wood fly back and shatter the surrounding buildings, the duo celebrates with the wide-eyed enthusiasm of children. The moment reflects the simple joy of the franchise. For all its faults, The Expendables knows what the fans want. The action stars that dominated movies in the 1980s and 1990s are taking one last ride, and this time the explosions are bigger than ever.

1 The Weaponized Motorbike Chase (The Expendables 4)

The Expendables franchise works best when it strips back the CGI in favor of genuine action. The beautifully coordinated stunt work of the bike chase in The Expendables 4 proves this point. In a period where other action franchises such as John Wick or the Fast and Furious movies challenge themselves to continually up the ante, The Expendables seems to believe that action should simply be big, loud, and aggressive. It pays little attention to the intricacy or creativity that modern action blockbusters need to distinguish themselves from the competition. The bike chase subverts this tradition, showcasing incredible stunt work that generates a feeling of real danger.