“The Expendables are a bunch of veteran mercenaries with CIA connections who made their cinematic debut in 2010.

“Most of them are back for this third instalment: Sylvester Stallone, who co-wrote the screenplay, is Barney Ross, the man in charge, with Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture as his brothers-in-arms.

“The tone is set with an opening action sequence: a mission to break out Barney’s old buddy, Doc (Wesley Snipes), who’s been in a Russian jail for years.

“With a rousing musical fanfare, helicopter action, a train hijack, they achieve their goal…

“Their CIA handler (Harrison Ford) has a new mission for the team, retrieving an arms dealer due to go on trial in The Hague.”

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/