The Expendables series has reliably become the Ringo’s All-Starr Band of action movies, doubling down on your desire to see “the guy who was in that thing” by getting together many guys who were in multiple things. Who could resist seeing a high-flying team-up of Rambo, the Terminator, Blade, Universal Soldier, Indiana Jones, and popular radio psychologist Dr. Frasier Crane?
No one, that’s who. With the film still a few weeks away from theaters, The Expendables 3: Still Expendin’ is already thrilling audiences thanks to someone leaking a DVD-quality torrent of the film. It has reportedly been illegally downloaded over 200,000 times since July 24, which is the day the leak first surfaced. According to Torrent Freak, “at one point, in excess of 65,000 users were engaged in transfers on a single torrent.” This was possibly done by reversing the polarity of the phase modulator by releasing a tachyon pulse, but we have no idea how torrenting works or what jargon like “engaged in transfers” means.
We do know how movie studios operate, though, and that one of them is likely pretty pissed. Nu Image, which has produced all three Expendables flicks, has sued people who illegally downloaded the first two movies, so expect history to repeat itself here. Distributor Lionsgate, meanwhile, is expected to shake its fist at the sky, shouting, “damn, you Internet!!!!”
Expendables 3 will legally hit theaters on August 15. Look for Expendables 4: Sly And Arnold Beat The Living Crap Out Of Everyone Who Uses The Internet Just To Be On The Safe Side sometime in early 2017.