Expendables 3, The (11/25/2014)

Rated PG-13 for violence including intense sustained gun battles and fight scenes, and for language.

Starring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Mel Gibson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford, Kelsey Grammer, Antonio Banderas and Wesley Snipes

Directed by Patrick Hughes

What will it take to end the Expendables franchise?

The Expendables are back! In THE EXPENDABLES 3, Barney (Stallone), Christmas (Statham) and the rest of the team comes face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill… or so he thought. In order to defeat Stonebanks, Barney decides that he has to fight old blood with new blood, and brings in a new era of Expendables team members, recruiting individuals who are younger, faster and more tech-savvy. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in the Expendables’ most personal battle yet.

Can we agree, even if you like this kind of movie, that three Expendables films is a bit much?

I love how the filmmakers didn’t even pretend the story is important. Don’t believe me? Go back and watch the trailer. It’s one action sequence after another. And let’s be clear, this movie is all about the action.

This film recruits a few “new” Expendables…like Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Kelsey Grammer, Antonio Banderas and Wesley Snipes. But it actually makes things more uncomfortable. Gibson, Ford and Grammer are way past their action-star prime and Banderas plays a huge goofball. Snipes is the only one who still looks like he could kick butt.

So if you enjoy geriatrics shooting each other and blowing stuff up…then enjoy. And if that’s not your cup of tea or if the first two were enough…then “Skip It.”

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
2 F words and several other profanities.

This film is pretty violent. There are so many shootouts and one of the Expendables gets seriously injured, and ends up in a hospital. The fighting sequences in the building towards the end of the movie are very intense.

CONVERSATION STARTER:

1. How does the “young team” view the “old team”?


2. How does the “old team” view the “young team”?


3. Have you ever been viewed negatively because you’re so young? What happened?

Read I Tim 4:12

Don’t let anyone make fun of you, just because you are young. Set an example for other followers by what you say and do, as well as by your love, faith, and purity.


4. According to this passage, how should we respond when people view us negatively because of our age?


5. How can you be an example this week?