Alan Ritchson in ‘The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’. Photo: Daniel Smith.
Preview:
‘Reacher’s Alan Ritchson is aboard new action thriller ‘Runner.’
‘Expendables 4’s Scott Waugh is directing.
It’ll see an organ courier come under threat from a crime boss.
While he’s still gainfully employed playing man-mountain former military policeman Jack Reacher in ‘Reacher,’ that hasn’t stopped Alan Ritchson from pursuing his movie career.
With the third season of ‘Reacher’ now shot and arriving on Prime Video next year, Ritchson has busied himself with film roles, including Netflix action sci-fi pic ‘War Machine’ and a plan to return for the next ‘Fast & Furious’ entry, which could well be the finale to that long-running franchise.
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Alongside those two, he’s also landed the lead role in a new thriller called ‘Runner,’ which will, as you might expect, see him travelling at some speed –– in this case, because he’ll play a man tasked with ferrying an organ to help a young transplant patient. As it turns out, other people are also interested in the precious cargo…
Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher in Prime Video’s ‘Reacher’ season 2.
Written by Miles Hubley and Tommy White (whose script ended up on the 2023 Blacklist of best unproduced screenplays), ‘Runner’ follows a high-end courier who has three hours to transport an organ to save a seven-year-old girl in need of an immediate transplant.
The seemingly simple mission turns deadly when the leader of a notorious crime syndicate becomes hell-bent on claiming the organ.
This is what director Scott Waugh had to say about the movie:
“ ‘Runner’ with the driving force of an actor like Alan Ritchson reminds me of the Tony Scott action films I grew up on in the 90’s when character and story were pivotal, and the action was a spectacle. I couldn’t be more excited to direct this super entertaining script and bring the thrilling world of ‘Runner’ to life.”
Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher in Prime Video’s ‘Reacher’ season 2.
The film doesn’t yet have a distributor so there’s zero word on a release date yet. Companies A Higher Standard and WME Independent will have the rights up for sale at the American Film Market in Las Vegas next month.
This is what A Higher Standard’s Jeffrey Greenstein said about the movie:
“ ‘Runner’ is the exact type of film that audiences across the globe crave- a high octane, entertaining film that also has heart and levity. Alan Ritchson is tailor-made for this role and he, his action team and Scott Waugh together will keep you on the edge of your seats on this full throttle ride.”
Alan Ritchson as Ed Schmitt in ‘Ordinary Angels.’ Photo Credit: Allen Fraser.
Armed with every weapon they can get their hands on and the skills to use them, The Expendables, led by Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), are the world’s last line of defense and the team that gets called when all other options are off the table. When The Expendables are assigned a mission to stop a terrorist organization from smuggling nuclear warheads that will ignite a conflict between Russia and the U.S., new team members with new styles and tactics are going to give “new blood” a whole new meaning.
‘Expend4bles’ is a step up from the last film in the franchise and wisely takes the series back to its roots focusing on Barney Ross and Lee Christmas’s friendship. New recruits Megan Fox and 50 Cent infuse fresh blood into the franchise while director Scott Waugh creates some incredible action sequences including a motorcycle chase on a cargo ship.
Story and Direction
(L to R) Director Scott Waugh and Andy Garcia on the set of ‘Expend4bles.’ Photo credit: Yana Blajeva.
2010’s original ‘The Expendables’ promised to bring legendary action stars like Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and Dolph Lundgren together with modern action stars like Jason Statham, Jet Li and Terry Crews in hopes that they would eventually take over the franchise. But as the sequels began to come out, adding more and more classic action stars like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, and Wesley Snipes, the idea of Stallone passing the series to Statham started to disappear. It was clear that this was Stallone’s franchise and he has no plans to retire.
However, that has all changed for ‘Expend4bles,’ which finally see’s Stallone’s Barney Ross passing the baton to Statham’s Lee Christmas, who is joined by some returning members as well as some new faces. When an unknown villain from Barney’s past resurfaces and hires terrorist Suarto Rahmat (Uwais) to start a war between Russia and the U.S., CIA agent Marsh (Garcia) hires The Expendables to stop him. But when Barney goes missing and Christmas refuses to follow orders, Marsh replaces him as team leader with Gina (Fox), who is also Christmas’ girlfriend, and she leads the rest of the team on mission to bring down Rahmat. But when they are captured, it is up to Christmas, with the help of Barney’s old friend Decha (Jaa), to rescue his team and bring the mysterious villain, who is behind the scenes pulling the strings, to justice.
While Stallone still has a major presence in the film, it was wise for the franchise to let his character step aside for Christmas and a new cast of characters to take the lead, which has breathed fresh life into the dying franchise. The tone of the film is off at times, still holding on to the over-the-top masculinity and silly humor of the past movies, but the new characters and explosive action are enough to overcome it.
Director Scott Waugh, best known for his action-driven work on ‘Act of Valor,’ was a good choice to direct the fourth installment, as it feels more like the beginning of a new franchise than the end of an old one. Waugh allows the actors, especially Statham, to do what they do best, and complements their over-the-top characters with excellent action sequences including a fantastic motorcycle chase on a cargo ship.
Jason Statham as Lee Christmas in ‘The Expendables 4.’
Make no mistakes, this is Jason Statham’s movie. The actor, who has played second banana to Stallone since the beginning of the franchise is finally given his moment to shine and carries the movie well. We get a chance to know Christmas a little better in this film, exploring his deep connection to Barney, and his new relationship with Gina. Statham has fun banter with Stallone, as well as a nice chemistry with Fox, and in the second act is given a ‘Die Hard’ like plot that works well with his character and the overall story of the film.
The New Recruits
(L to R) Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson as “Easy Day”, Megan Fox as “Gina”, Dolph Lundgren as “Gunner Jensen,” Jacob Scipio as “Galan” Andy Garcia as “Marsh” in ‘Expend4bles.’ Copyright: EX4 Productions, Inc. 2022.
The film introduces four new Expendables members, and each one really has a chance to shine. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson plays Easy Day, and he fits in well with Lundgren and Couture’s returning characters and is a solid addition to the ensemble. Actress Levy Tran also makes an impression as Lash. Her character forms a deep connection with Toll Road and she has some fun scenes with Randy Couture. Another standout is Jacob Scipio who plays Galan, the son of Galgo, Antonio Banderas’ character from ‘The Expendables 3.’ It’s a nice bridge to the previous film, and Scipio is delightful doing his best Banderas impression.
But of all the new cast members, it’s really Megan Fox that steals the show, as the actress commands the screen as Gina. It seems like Fox was born to be an action star, and I don’t know why she doesn’t star in every action movie, she’s that good! She completely holds her own in scenes with Stallone, and especially Statham, and is as fun to watch in the action sequences as any of her co-stars.
While the series has featured female Expendable members in the past like Ronda Rousey’s Luna, Gina is a fully formed character, and is as respected as a member of the team as any of the other male counterparts. In fact, the movie sets up that she is such a badass, she is the natural choice to lead the team when Barney and Christmas are unable. Kudos to the filmmakers for creating such a strong female character and casting an actress who can handle the action as well as Fox does.
Returning Favorites
(L to R) Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Dolph Lundgren, and director Scott Waugh on the set of ‘Expend4bles.’ Photo credit: Yana Blajeva.
While his role is limited, it’s always great seeing Sylvester Stallone on screen. He clearly has an understanding of who this character is, and again, has some fun scenes with Statham. But I was also impressed at how all the characters were given something to do and room to grow, while no one was left behind.
Dolph Lundgren’s Gunner, who had been the most unpredictable member of the team in past installments, is now a loyal teammate and the unofficial philosopher of the group. Randy Couture has always been the most forgettable member of the Expendables, Toll Road, but in this movie has more time to explore his character’s humor and a new friendship with Tran’s Lash.
The Villains and Other Misfires
Tony Jaa in ‘The Expendables 4.’
Actor Iko Uwais plays the main antagonist Suarto Rahmat and is very good in his action sequences, but he’s not as strong a villain as Jean-Claude Van Damme or Mel Gibson in past installments. Those villains had personal connections to Barney and his team, and without that emotional connection, Uwais’ performance feels empty. There is an attempt made to connect the “mystery big bad” to Barney’s past, it’s a reveal I won’t spoil but it’s pretty obvious from the beginning who the mystery villain is and it won’t come as a surprise to the audience the way it was intended.
The movie also fails the most when it is trying to shoehorn in humor, which usually does not work and falls flat. A few fun one liners are expected in any good action movie, but there are entire scenes dedicated to comedy, that just don’t feel needed for this type of movie.
Final Thoughts
‘Expend4bles’ feels like a fresher installment of the franchise than the last one, and is a good start to a new series, if that is the direction they choose to go in. Director Scott Waugh brings a terrific action sensibility and creates some mind-bowing sequences. Stallone tees up the film well for Statham, who does a good job taking the reins, and new additions like Fox, Jackson, Scipio and Tran prove that there is still life left in this aging franchise.
‘Expend4bles’ receives 7.5 stars out of 10.
‘The Expendables 4’ is scheduled to be released in the United States on September 22, 2023, by Lionsgate.
Armed with every weapon they can get their hands on and the skills to use them, The Expendables, led by Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), are the world’s last line of defense and the team that gets called when all other options are off the table. When The Expendables are assigned a mission to stop a terrorist organization from smuggling nuclear warheads that will ignite a conflict between Russia and the U.S., new team members with new styles and tactics are going to give “new blood” a whole new meaning.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Scott Waugh about his work on ‘Expend4bles,’ the challenges of joining a franchise already in progress, if Sylvester Stallone is really passing the series over to Jason Statham, Lee Christmas going all ‘Die Hard’, shooting a motorcycle chase on a cargo ship, why he enjoyed working with Megan Fox, and how ‘The Expendables 3’s Antonio Banderas almost returned for the new movie.
(L to R) Levy Tran and director Scott Waugh on the set of ‘Expend4bles.’ Photo credit: Yana Blajeva.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Waugh and producers Kevin King-Templeton and Les Weldon.
Moviefone: To begin with, as a filmmaker, can you talk about the challenges of joining a movie series already in progress and coming in to direct the fourth installment of a popular franchise like ‘The Expendables’?
Scott Waugh: Well, I think the challenge is you never want to deviate from the brand. The fans love ‘The Expendables.’ They love the tone of ‘Expendables.’ It’s a brand that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I always say it’s an escapism type of movie. You leave our dark world we live in and pay money to go somewhere else and have some fun. That’s ‘Expendables’. So for me, what I really was focused on the whole time was how do I bring something fresh and fun, but throwback to the original movie? So we were extremely hyper-focused on going back to the original movie and maintaining that core cast and the fun of it, tonally getting back on message, getting back to rated R, and getting back to the fun violence. But then I wanted to elevate the action and the fights, and take it to a new level. That’s when we brought in the Hong Kong fight team that I worked with on ‘Hidden Strike’ and really just tried to elevate all of that.
Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross in ‘The Expendables 4.’
MF: The movie introduces the idea of Barney Ross handing over the team to Lee Christmas, and in a way, Sylvester Stallone handing the franchise over to Jason Statham. Can you talk about that theme in the movie and was Stallone cool with the idea of taking a back seat to Statham and the rest of the crew?
SW: I think the idea that Stallone’s passing this to Statham is exciting. Stallone still amazes me, his physical capability at his age. It’s still unbelievable to me. I’m 53 and busted up, and somehow he is in his late seventies and can still do it. But I think for Sly, he’s in a place in his life where time is super important to him. Being on the full run of an ‘Expendables’ movie takes up a lot of his time and I fully respect that. Jason’s my age and really is still excited about continually working a lot. So it was a natural pass. Now, I’ll say, I definitely don’t think Sly is out of the brand. I think Sly will always be a part of it. He’s the starter of ‘The Expendables’ and the original director. So I think it’s new blood with the old.
Jason Statham as Lee Christmas in ‘The Expendables 4.’
MF: The second act of the film sees Lee Christmas taking on a group of bad guys by himself and it seemed a little ‘Die Hard’ inspired. Can you talk about that sequence and was that what you were going for?
SW: So look, the story itself is a revenge and redemption story, and it does come around the character of Lee Christmas. So I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a Christmas story, but it definitely leans on his character because of what his character’s going through. But there is this wonderful moment in the end of act two that I really feel like, does the franchise have the boldness to do what you think they might do? I don’t want to give away the plot, but we do something that will really make your eye drop. I’m not going to give it away, but I’ll just say this, it stays on message with the brand.
(L to R) Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Dolph Lundgren, and director Scott Waugh on the set of ‘Expend4bles.’ Photo credit: Yana Blajeva.
MF: There is an incredible action sequence involving a high speed motorcycle chase that takes place on a cargo ship. Can you talk about choreographing and shooting that scene?
SW: I come from motocross. I was super excited about trying to bring something fresh to the ship because I’m like, “What can we do on the ship because it’s a ship?” I’m like, “What about a motorcycle chase on the ship?” That’s how we designed this whole thing. Then the exciting part was I go, “Man, we got to do something super cool. We need to bring in somebody like Robbie Maddison and do some badass X Games jumps and get that quintessential moment in the movie.” Luckily, we were able to get Robbie to come in and do the big jump for us. I think it’s just one of those moments that hopefully makes you smile because it’s so crazy, so cool, and so Christmas.
Megan Fox as Gina in ‘Expend4bles.’
MF: While there have been female Expendable members in past movies, Megan Fox’s Gina is different because she is also a team leader and receives the same level of respect as Ross and Christmas. Can you talk about the importance of creating a female character who is really on the same level as the strongest Expendable members?
SW: Look, I think it was definitely a part of the script when I came in with Megan’s character, Gina, and I really enjoyed the fact that there was a female character that was on equal ground and was badass. It’s incredible working with somebody like Megan because she doesn’t give herself enough credit. I was working with her. I’m like, “You’re so physically talented,” and I think she’s a wonderful actress and she fits in so well with the rest of the guys because she can hold her own weight. She doesn’t take any shit from any of the guys, and I just love that. That’s why I think she just fits in with those type of big personalities.
Jacob Scipio as Galan in ‘Expend4bles.’
MF: Finally, actor Jacob Scipio plays Galan, the son of Antonio Banderas character, Galgo from ‘The Expendables 3.’ But I understand that originally Banderas was set to return but you just couldn’t work out his shooting schedule, is that correct?
SW: That’s exactly it. When I read it, I was expecting Antonio was coming in. Then when they said, “We can’t make it work out with Antonio’s schedule,” I was like, “But the character’s so great and he’s so important throughout all those moments.” So I thought about it. I came back to the producers and I said, “What if we make it his son? Galgo was his father. Galan is the new character and Galan could be just like his dad with the same personality.” So that’s when we came up with that character and then we casted Jacob and he did a great job.
(L to R) Director Scott Waugh and Andy Garcia on the set of ‘Expend4bles.’ Photo credit: Yana Blajeva.
Arnold Schwarzenegger as Sheriff Ray Owens in ‘The Last Stand.’
Arnold Schwarzenegger seems to be spending less time on cinema screens these days, his last major release happening in 2019 (though since that was ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’, we can imagine him wanting to take a break). But he’s making moves to snatch a starring role again, agreeing to lead new action thriller ‘Breakout’.
Scott Waugh, who has made movies including ‘Act of Valor’, ‘Need for Speed’ and the upcoming ‘The Expendables 4’ (which seemingly features almost every action icon bar Schwarzenegger), is on to call the shots for the new film.
Schwarzenegger here will play Terry Reynolds. When his stepson, Daniel, is framed and sentenced to 25 years in a foreign country, Reynolds recruits some old friends to help makes a daring jailbreak to save him, hoping to overcome an overzealous prison warden in a race against time to avoid capture and flee the country.
It’s not like Schwarzenegger doesn’t have experience breaking out of prisons –– he did, after all, star in the first ‘Escape Plan’ alongside Sylvester Stallone, but this one promises to be a little less ridiculous.
Arnold Schwarzenegger as Captain Benjamin “Ben” Richards in ‘The Running Man.’
This is not the first time the movie has been in active development, as ‘The Call’s Richard D’Ovidio wrote the screenplay, in cahoots with his regular collaborator (and wife) Nicole D’Ovidio back in 2015.
Then, rapper-turned-filmmaker RZA was attached to direct at a time when he was looking to make as many films as possible following ‘The Man with the Iron Fists’. But it has since lingered in limbo, not even getting as far as the casting stage. Back then, the setting was Bangladesh, though some elements appear to have changed in the story.
This time, things appear to be going much more smoothly given the addition of Arnie and the fact that the shoot is due to kick off this year in Eastern Europe.
But if that’s not enough Schwarzenegger in your life, he has a couple of other projects headed our way –– cinema-wise, he’s back as the president in action comedy ‘Kung Fury 2’, which doesn’t yet have a release date for the States.
Before that, he’ll be on our TV screens in Netflix’s ‘FUBAR’, in which he plays Luke Brunner, who has kept the truth of his status as an ace CIA agent for decades. He’s anticipating retirement (and looking to win the affections of his divorced wife back), only to learn that his daughter Emma (‘Top Gun: Maverick’s Monica Barbaro) is also an agent and is now in danger undercover with a villain that Luke has dealt with in the past). Cue an awkward team-up that reveals other family secrets and results in lots of things exploding. Think ‘True Lies’ but with a slightly different family dynamic. That will be on screens on May 25th.
Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator in ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day.’
