Sylvester Stallone is back as good-time Barney, the leader of the merry band of mercenaries known as The Expendables, and this time he’s facing his deadliest foe yet — Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson), co-founder of the original team and a nefarious weapons dealer, willing to sell out to the highest buyer without cause for concern beyond his bottom line. Stonebanks sets his sights on removing Barney and the team from the game, and does such a good job taking out the old-school members that Barney must recruit a newer, younger crew to take Stonebanks down. For a movie with a name like The Expendables, it probably seems odd that I just wasted so much time offering a synopsis, right? Opens wide Aug. 15. (PG-13) Not screened in time for review
This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2014.