The results are in, and things are not looking great for EXPEND4BLES, which is already carving out an unwanted legacy for both the franchise and its stars less than 24 hours after premiering in theaters.
As well as scoring the worst reviews the gun-toting saga has ever seen, Jason Statham has ended up headlining both of the summer’s most widely-panned big budget sequels in the space of a couple of months, and a disastrous opening weekend is set to rub even more salt into the wound.
Hardly a great return, then, but as director Scott Waugh revealed to The Hollywood Reporter, things could have somehow gotten worse after he originally planned to have Sylvester Stallone partner up with Jackie Chan in Netflix’s inexplicable smash hit Hidden Strike.
“Well, the impetus for me signing onto that film, Hidden Strike, was that it was originally Sly and Jackie together. I was super excited about working with both of the pioneers of the action landscape, but the timing didn’t work out. We got closer to production, and Sly’s schedule didn’t align, so he couldn’t do the film and we got John Cena instead. But working with Jackie was really special. Of course, he’s another actor who can do all his own stunts and he’s always even better than the stunt double. His skill level is so high that I’d always go, “Hey Jackie, can you do this because you’re better than your double?” And he’d laugh. “
Having shot in 2018 and then spent half a decade sitting on the shelf, Netflix took a punt on the terrible project, which took a well-deserved kicking from critics and audiences alike, but inevitably became the biggest hit on the streaming service because it’s an action-packed epic boasting a pair of heavyweight stars.
Had Sly remained onboard, though, his summer would have comfortably matched co-star Statham’s in terms of outright apathy.