(Credits: Lionsgate)

A movie has real staying power when it shows up on Netflix charts out of nowhere and immediately shoots up in the Top 10 list, and that is exactly what is happening with Expendables 4.

The film just got dropped on Netflix, and people started pressing play left, right and centre. Before they know it, they are an hour in, deep into the huge explosions with Sylvester Stallone being dramatic. The Expendables movies have always had that late-night action movie vibe, and now Gen Z has clearly decided they are claiming this franchise too, because the banter and the action are just too entertaining to ignore.

The basic plot is that the team gets pulled into a mission involving a stolen nuclear device. There is a mysterious villain, and the team, as usual, is on the rescue. But the real power in Expendables 4 is the way the story gives screen time to Jason Statham this time, whose character Lee Christmas ends up carrying a huge part of the film.

And that doesn’t mean Stallone has a guest appearance. He is still present, very much the emotional anchor of the team, but this movie clearly sets up Statham as the next leader of the franchise. And if you are a true fan of this franchise, you will notice the handoff immediately because the film opens with Barney Ross and Christmas falling back into their usual dynamic, and then we see the majority of Christmas in the centre frame.

And surprisingly, that move works. The fight choreography has that Statham style to it, and the movie knows it, which is probably why the movie is trending. People are rewatching it for those smooth stunt sequences, and we don’t blame them.

On top of that, the cast expansion this time is wild. We have Megan Fox joining as Gina, and she plays a skilled operator with a complicated connection to Christmas. Overall, her energy is sharp, and she is fun to watch. The movie also brings in Curtis Jackson (you know him as 50 Cent) as Easy Day and Tony Jaa doing what he does best: stunning martial arts moments.

The villain of this round, played by Iko Uwais, delivers some of the film’s strongest action beats. You might be thinking that we’re only talking about the action sequences, but those are what make The Expendables what it’s known for.

What is interesting, though, is that this movie got mixed reviews when it was first released in theatres. Critics complained about the tone shifting too much toward new characters, or the CGI being inconsistent, or the story feeling smaller than previous entries. You can see where those comments came from because this movie does feel different, but Netflix audiences clearly do not care about any of that. The streaming crowd is all in for the stunts and story, and the fact that Stallone is still out here doing action films with that energy deserves a salute.

Stallone helped build this franchise into a nostalgia machine for action fans, and seeing it sitting at number eight on Netflix global charts now proves one thing: comfort cinema never dies. Give people explosions, banter and a nuclear threat with a cast that good, and they will binge it every single time.