The Expendables Movies Ranked

When I turned 15, I developed a sudden compulsion to watch every 1980s and '90s action movie I could get my hands on — not just the "Rambo" and "Terminator" films or the "RoboCop" and "Predator" movies, but also "Die Hard," "Commando," "TimeCop," and even "Cobra." The campier, the better. So, you can imagine what a delight it was to learn that the stars of all these ridiculous classics were joining forces for a throwback action flick in 2010.

I loved "The Expendables" then, and I love "The Expendables" now, but let's be honest; The franchise has been bad as often as it's been good. And even when it's good, it's that roll-your-eyes-and-laugh kind of good. Daring? Certainly. It takes a certain brazenness to throw Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Chuck Norris into a blender so many years after most of their careers have subsided. And that doesn't even include half the stars who've popped up in the "Expendables" films over the years.

Lackluster entries notwithstanding, the inherent promise of the "Expendables" property is undeniably fun if you have an affinity for an older vintage of action movie. To that end, we're ranking all four "Expendables" films from worst to best, which will hopefully help you budget your time appropriately. Trust me: No matter how many times you've seen "Bloodsport" or "Tango & Cash," some of these movies simply are not worth your time. Let's get to it.

"The Expendables 3" is worse than a bad action movie. It's a boring action movie. I remember seeing this in the theater, excited for yet another entry in "What If 'Fast & Furious' Was About Old Guys Instead Of Cars."

And I was so bummed out.

The intention here is somewhat admirable. Stallone and crew clearly understood that to keep this thing going, they needed to bring in some younger blood. To the film's credit, that idea is central to the story, which sees the core members of the original Expendables team from the first two movies bringing in and struggling to adjust to a new group of recruits. Kellan Lutz, Ronda Rousey, and Victor Ortiz make up that new squad, as does then-future star Glen Powell.

While the concept makes sense, there's no actual chemistry between the old and new casts, nor are any of the new characters remotely interesting. Aside from an opening action sequence set aboard a moving train, there aren't even any creative set pieces to get excited about here. It all feels stale, and while the brief cameos by Wesley Snipes, Harrison Ford, and Antonio Banderas are fun (in a "Look at all my Funko Pops" kind of way), they cannot, and do not, fix a bad movie.

I could honestly place the most recent "Expendables" movie at the bottom of this list simply for the crime of its hideous "number hidden inside the name" title format. It's an egregious decision that might make you think this is a mid-budget third-person shooter for the Xbox 360, as opposed to a movie that cost $100 million to make.

Even so, "Expend4bles" isn't quite as bad as the film that came before it. Perhaps Stallone stepping back from the franchise gave it a bit of new air to breathe, most of which was apparently sucked up by Statham, who is certainly the main attraction here. Meanwhile, Megan Fox and 50 Cent have a bit more newcomer star power than the utterly forgettable new recruits of "Expendables 3" (sorry Glen Powell, but I only realized today that you were even in that movie), and there's a modicum of novelty in the structure of "Expend4bles" that makes it at least feel like its own thing.

Unfortunately, having an extra decade tagged onto the end of an already elderly action franchise doesn't help anything here. The biggest names that made the standout "Expendables" movies fun are mostly gone as well, and even Stallone can't be bothered to provide much screen time. Given the age of these actors, that's more than understandable. But does it make for a film that's terribly worth watching? No. Absolutely not.

I cannot in good conscience recommend either the third or fourth "Expendables" movies. I will, however, recommend the first one. It's not quite the best entry in the franchise, but it's a really fun ride and feels the most like a real film out of all these movies (rather than a collection of references and explosions).

Sylvester Stallone was 64 in 2010 — getting up there, sure, but still well within the believable range for a veteran action star to lead a campy gunfest. While the big marketing draw here was obviously getting him together with other stars of the genre like Statham, Li, and Lundgren (along with some more curious choices like Randy Couture and Terry Crews), "The Expendables" works pretty well as a straight-up action movie, even absent the retro-nostalgic frills.

This isn't Michael Bay levels of chaos. The action scenes are centered more on firefight (and knife) choreography and frenetic energy than trying to see how many tanks and helicopters you can smush into frame at once. To his credit, this is also the only film in the franchise that was directed by Stallone (in part because he wore himself rugged both calling the shots and performing his stunts), and it feels pretty tight, with good pacing, a decent amount of variety in the action, and an overall tone that's silly but never becomes slapstick. Oh, and Eric Roberts as the villain on this one is an extremely underrated get, he's great.

There is absolutely nothing revolutionary about "The Expendables," and that's okay. I love this movie. In 2025, it's still a great time.

I struggled with this a bit because in my heart, the simplicity of the first "Expendables" really makes it the more solid and re-watchable movie. But that's not why people flock to these films. No, people come to watch every single man they ever saw do a kick in a movie theater 40 years ago do one last kick, altogether, while the screen explodes. "The Expendables" provided the blueprint, but "The Expendables 2" delivered on the full promise.

It's hard not to chuckle at the cast list here — not because it's laughable, but because at the time, this really felt like some sort of magical feat. It's an all-killer, no-filler assembly, with the only real lesser-known "modern" stars with major screen time being Yu Nan, Liam Hemsworth and Scott Adkins, the latter of whom is arguably the best get in that department the franchise has ever had. But the reason "The Expendables 2" is so memorable, and the reason it tops this list, is because it doesn't pretend to be anything more than an excuse to put Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren, Willis, Schwarzenegger, Norris, and Van Damme all on screen at the same time.

This is a movie where Chuck Norris tells Chuck Norris jokes. It's also a movie where Van Damme roundhouse-kicks a knife into a man's chest. Do you want to see Arnie rip the door off a smart car driven by Bruce Willis and declare, "My shoe is bigger than this car," in that glorious Austrian accent of his? Let me tell you, this is the movie for you.

And hey, for what it's worth, critics agreed this is the best of the "Expendables" films.