Sylvester Stallone movies can be fun. In Swedish director Mikael Håfström's "Escape Plan" (2013),Arnold Schwarzenegger co-starred with Stallone, and these two legends collaborated to break out of an impregnable black site prison. The last-minute revelation about the prison's mysterious whereabouts capped this imaginative cat & mouse suspense saga. Stallone and Schwarzenegger contended with the smart but ruthless Warden Hobbes (Jim Caviezel of CBS-TV's "Person of Interest"),who kept close tabs on their shenanigans. The $55 million "Escape Plan" coughed up $25 million domestically but generated $112-million overseas! Reportedly, the lucrative Chinese box office prompted Summit Entertainment to slap together back-to-back sequels. Stallone reprises his role as Ray Breslin. A former criminal prosecutor turned prison security expert, Breslin is a past master at escaping from the most foolproof prisons. His Houdini-like talent for breaking out of the tightest prison intimidates wardens.

In director Steven C. Miller's "Escape Plan 2: Hades" (2018),Breslin landed in a totally automated black site prison where a robotic physician attended to the inmates' health. In "15 Minutes" director John Herzfeld's "Escape Plan 3: Extractors," Breslin breaks into the prison! Basically, WCW wrestler Dave Bautista has replaced Schwarzenegger as Stallone's ace-in-the-hole. Bautista's character strikes from without to within, while Stallone works in reverse. Bautista's heavily armed goon appears with miraculous punctuality to link up with Stallone. Aside from Stallone, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson's bespectacled computer nerd Hush is the only other original cast member, but his presence is peripheral. Jamie King is back from "Escape Plan 2: Hades" as Stallone's love interest, but their relationship is ill-fated. Victory walks arm-in-arm with sacrifice.

Although he has top billing, Stallone doesn't dominate the histronics as much as his Chinese co-stars. Mind you, he spends more time on screen here than in "Escape Plan 2: Hades." Two factors distinguish "Escape Plan" from its quickie sequels. First, both sequels clock in considerably shorter than the two-hour "Escape Plan." "Escape Plan 2" ran 94 minutes, while "Escape Plan 3: Extractors" saves time at 88 minutes. Indeed, the end credits take up ten minutes, with the conflict depicted in 78 minutes. Interestingly, "Road House 2: Last Call" scenarist Miles Chapman emphasizes "Extractors'" ties to the original. Not only did he pen "Escape Plan," but he also wrote both sequels. Primarily, Chapman splits the episodic action up between Ray and Trent as well as the two Chinese bodyguards who are captivated by Daya. If you've seen "Escape Plan," you may remember Ray Breslin's unscrupulous partner, Lester Clark (Vincent D'Onofrio of "Full Metal Jacket"),who supervised the logistics of putting Breslin into prisons with a fake identity. In "Escape Plan," Clark double-crossed Breslin, but his treachery cost him his life. He dies screaming in a cargo ship plying an anonymous sea. As it turns out, the "Extractors" villain is Lester's obnoxious son, Lester Clark, Jr. (Devon Sawa of "Final Destination"),and he wants payback! This is reminiscent of "Die Hard" and "Die Hard with A Vengeance" where the brother of the original villain challenges the heroes.

The daughter of a billionaire Chinese business mogul, Daya Zhang (Melise of "The Shannara Chronicles"),wants to invest in the post-industrial town of Mansfield, Ohio. She argues their corporation-- Zhang Innovations--can revive the local economy. Moreover, Daya assures her father, Wu Zhang (Russell Wong of "New Jack City"),that the investment will improve the company's worldwide brand image. No sooner have city officials vowed to accommodate Daya than a team of mysterious gunmen disguised as an airport ground crew kidnap Daya. Despite the best laid plans of Daya's alert bodyguard, Bao Yung (Harry Shum, Jr. of "Crazy Rich Asians"),he finds himself outnumbered and outgunned. The villains knock Bao senseless, and Lester Clark, Jr., plants a flash drive on him with Ray Breslin's name. Naturally, Wu Zhang is furious about his daughter's abduction. Meantime, a stranger, Shen Lo (Jin Zhang of "Pacific Rim: Uprising"),provokes a brawl in Breslin's office. He wields a rolled-up umbrella as a weapon and floors Breslin's bodyguards. No sooner has Shen eliminated all resistance than Breslin gets the drop on him. Shen Lo hands Ray a disk with data about Daya's whereabouts. At this point, we learn Wu Zhang's company built the prison in "Escape Plan," and the Saudis commission a similar facility in the desert. According to Shen Lo, Wu has reaped billions from incarcerating and torturing innocent people by the thousands. Shen probes Ray about Lester senior's connection to Wu Zhang. Shen vows to topple Zhang. Moreover, Shen was once Daya's bodyguard, but his romantic sentiments prompted Wu to fire him. Sadly, Herzfeld and Chapman never elaborates about this subplot in an actioneer where public displays of affection are minimal.

Shen and Bao tag along with Ray to rescue Daya. Meantime, Ray contacts Trent DeRosa (Dave Bautista of "Spectre"),and he identifies the prison where Lester's son has Daya as 'the Devil's Station' in Latvia. Ray and his girlfriend Abigail (Jamie King of "Escape Plan 2: Hades") are poised to leave when Junior's men surprise Ray and snatch Abigail out from under Ray's nose. Meantime, Shen isn't the only one who wants to destroy Wu Zhang. Junior demands $700 million from the Hong Kong patriarch. In the complex Miles Chapman & John Herzfeld screenplay, Lester has grabbed Abigail to give Ray another reason to come to him. Our heroes enter the dilapidated prison without fanfare via the sewer. Ray carves up one of Lester's roughneck henchmen with a bloody knife. Fireworks erupt as Shen and Bao trip the alarms in the 'Devil's Station.' Lester's trigger-happy henchmen capture Shen and Bao, but they don't remain long in captivity. Meantime, Trent ambles nonchalantly into the rugged prison with a fearsome shotgun and blasts away at the unsuspecting felons.

Director John Herzfeld stages some agile hand-to-hand combat scenes that compensate for the expository boilerplate scenes. Altogether, "Escape Plan 3: Extractors" generates more intrigue than "Escape Plan 2: Hades," but neither overshadows the original "Escape Plan."

ESCAPE PLAN 3 is of much the same quality as part two in the series, which is to say that it's not very good. The first time was a proper fun action movie, light and forgettable, whereas these follow-ups are B-movie cash-ins, nothing more. The prominent presence of Stallone on the cover is misleading too, because he tends to have little screen time and ends up a supporting actor in his (supposed) own movie.

The plot of this one is entirely muddled, with an evil kidnapper hiding out in the dark and dingy confines of an old prison and our heroes having to go in an rescue their loved ones. A bunch of once-famous faces are included for no real reason, and others like 50 Cent barely register. While I was pleased to see Zhang Jin in the cast (MASTER Z: IP MAN LEGACY being a recent favourite of mine),his fight scenes, although hard-hitting, are slightly spoilt by dodgy editing which detracts from the choreography. Better are Dave Bautista and Stallone himself, both of whom get a brutal fight to themselves, although you have to wait towards the end to view them. The rest isn't particularly worth bothering with.

Zhang Innovators is coming to Mansfield, Ohio. Several people in the entourage are kidnapped and held for ransom. The kidnapper is the son of Ray Breslin's (Sylvester Stallone) dead partner. He wants revenge on Ray for killing his father. The victims are held at a black ops site in Estonia. Ray and company to the rescue.

There were not really any great scenes or memorable lines. Dave Bautista had some great bullets and good kill shots. The prison consisted of old stone wall, iron bars, wooden chairs, and battery powered lamps. I am not sure why they needed millions of dollars of software or electronic anything. What exactly did Zhang provide?

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.