The teaser, which clocks in at under a minute and consists of one shot, also makes use of the theme from David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai, one of the finest films ever made.

Aside from that, though, the trailer is really all about letting everyone know which familiar actors Stallone and company wrangled into appearing this time.  Lined up for your approval here are franchise regulars Stallone, Jason Statham, Terry Crews, Dolph Lundgren, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Randy Couture, and Jet Li, along with newbies Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Kelsey Grammer (!), Kellan Lutz, Victor Ortiz, Glen Powell, and Ronda Rousey.

The story this time introduces Gibson as Conrad Stonebanks, who co-founded the Expendables with Barney before becoming an arms dealer and meeting his apparent end at Barney's hand.  Except that Stonebanks is back, and Barney has to recruit a new generation of Expendables to take on his former partner.  Stonebanks is determined to wipe out the Expendables once and for all using the most modern technology available, meaning that Barney's boys must go old-fashioned to defeat the arms dealer.

After two consecutive disappointments, there's reason to hope that The Expendables 3 might improve upon its predecessors, both of which coasted on the novelty of putting all these action heroes together. 

The biggest reason to hope is Patrick Hughes, the director of the Australian western Red Hill.

We'll see what Hughes is bringing to the series when The Expendables 3 arrives in theaters nationwide on August 15, 2014.