The presence of Jason Statham, Megan Fox and 50 Cent cannot save Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren.
Released 13 years ago, the first “The Sacrifices” was imagined by Sylvester Stallone as a form of revenge, with a nod to old action movie actors Jet Li, Bruce Willis (now sick) and Arnold Schwarzenegger following suit.
PHOTO BY YANA BLAJEVA, PROVIDED BY LIONSGATE
Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Levy Tran and Jacob Scipio in the film “Les s4crified,” opening September 22 in Montreal.
The idea was successful, as the first three feature films in this franchise grossed no less than $804 million at the global box office… The last film, “The Sacrifices 3,” was less successful than its predecessors, grossing just under $214 million .
And despite this downward trend, the core quartet of Jason Statham (also producer), Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture have decided to do it again… with the disastrous consequences that entails.
Behind the camera, director Scott Waugh (“The Need for Speed”) fails to breathe even the slightest spark of life into the script, even though it was written by the six hands of Kurt Wimmer, Tad Daggerhart and Max Adams. There’s a vague story about nuclear detonators hidden in a chemical weapons depot in Gaddafi, Libya, all seasoned with economic tricks, of which only a knife fight proves remotely satisfactory.
PHOTO BY YANA BLAJEVA, PROVIDED BY LIONSGATE
Jason Statham
This time, Lee Christmas (Jason Statham, who we know more from the Fast and Furious series) finds himself on the sidelines after Barney Ross’ (Sylvester Stallone) plane explodes, while Gina (Megan Fox) plays a slightly less decorative role ( as usual) takes control of the operations, which now also includes Lash (Levy Tran), another woman, in order not to seem too overwhelmed.
Humor (dark jokes about penis size aren’t enough to elicit laughter!), action (even Megan Fox has trouble not falling asleep) and tongue-in-cheek humor that made the first two “Sacrifices” light and amusing entertainment are given to us in vain seek.
PHOTO BY YANA BLAJEVA, PROVIDED BY LIONSGATE
Megan Fox, Andy Garcia and Jacob Scipio.
And yes, it’s time for Sylvester Stallone (77 years old) and Dolph Lundgren (65 years old) to hang up their mercenary costumes and enjoy the joys of a well-deserved retirement.
The S4crified will be in cinemas from September 22nd.
Rating: 2 out of 5