In the last couple of months we have had a homage to an 80s' TV show with THE LOSERS, a remake/reimagining of that same 80s TV show with THE A-TEAM, and now a team of action stars from the 80s showing that they've still got what it takes – or have they?

I'm not even going to bother going into detail of the plot as you will have seen a variation of it countless, apart from the aforementioned examples. It's the usual story of a group of renegade misfits fighting for justice against an unscrupulous enemy: this time, a corrupt CIA agent and a South American dictator. The team swoops in, blows up everything and saves the girl.

The film is big, dumb entertainment, which probably explains why it topped the box office on its US opening weekend, because it epitomises the worst attributes of that country: corrupt agencies, interfering in other countries' affairs, a love for loud, gas-guzzling vehicles and big guns, and a misogynistic attitude. The 'heroes' of the film represent what a large amount of the population want to be – musclebound bringers of democracy to countries that can't live the American Dream.

The film is also an excuse for Stallone to work with all his action hero buddies for probably the last time, with many of the cast making not much more than a cameo, such as Arnie and Bruce Willis and the only scene when the three original partners of Planet Hollywood are onscreen together they use a silly gag about Arnie's political career, when one about going into the restaurant business would have been much funnier. I'm sure all the actors were having fun hanging out together but it has none of the fun of THE A-TEAM or THE LOSERS, and takes itself just a bit too seriously. Even in earlier films, such as DEMOLITION MAN and LAST ACTION HERO, they were able to make fun of themselves, but not in this one. And laughs that do come are at the ridiculousness of the action scenes and the senseless, brutal violence (I don't know how it got a 15 rating either).

Don't get me wrong, a like big dumb action movies as much as the next guy, and they don't come much dumber than this, which is surprising given the education and track record of the cast. Maybe it is just fatigue at the same formula and this is suffering from being released last of the three.

Being an action movie, character development is a big thing, and, of course, writer-director Stallone's character is the one that has the broadest development arc, but it is Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren and Eric Roberts that give the best performances, especially Roberts as the rogue CIA guy as a nastier version of his Heroes character.

If you want to see a movie about some weather-beaten, brawny old guys grunting there way through a tropical setting and blowing shit up then this will do the trick. Just remember to leave your brains at the door.

THE EXPENDABLES is out now from Lionsgate.