action film that brought together some of the biggest action icons from the ’80s, ’90s, and early 2000s, countless men’s hearts raced. To witness Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham, Bruce Willis, Eric Roberts, and Mickey Rourke unite in battling villains at their respective ages? A fantasy realized. What none of us anticipated back then was that the project named “The Expendables” would evolve into a colossal action movie franchise (similar to “John Wick”), as it seemed absurd that these quickly aging stars could continue performing for many more years.
Yet, as of 2026, the franchise boasts four films — all currently available for streaming on Netflix — with discussions underway regarding a fifth installment that could potentially act as a reboot. Despite Stallone’s formal declaration after the fourth film that he’s finished with the action role of Barney Ross. He’s undoubtedly better off — especially since he’s been thriving on television as Dwight Manfredi in Taylor Sheridan’s guilty pleasure crime series, “Tulsa King” — considering that “Expend4bles” resulted in what can only be termed a tremendous letdown from all perspectives.
While the first and second films were a blast, the third and fourth installments clearly showed that there was very little substance remaining in this once inventive concept — and Stallone and his team also began to deplete their stock of classic action stars capable of drawing in an audience. The fourth film’s extremely poor performance at the box office (and among critics) was nearly unavoidable. However, prior to that, long-time fans undoubtedly had an enjoyable experience — or two, to be precise.