Directed By: Sylvester Stallone
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, & Randy Couture
MPAA Rating: R
My Rating: 7 / 10
If seeing the stars listed above in the same movie doesn't make you at least a little giddy with excitement, then The Expendables just isn't for you. If you don't smile at thought of Randy Couture and Steve Austin going head-to-head, then The Expendables probably won't change that. If a reunion of Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren doesn't make you break into a sweat with anticipation, then the appeal of The Expendables will be completely lost on you. You can quit reading now and forget all about watching this film. For the rest of us, yes, The Expendables is every bit as exciting and thrilling as you hoped it would be. So often, movies feel, not like movies, but instead like gimmicks stretched out to ninety minutes (The Human Centipede comes to mind). The Expendables is certainly one of them. The defining difference between this and a movie like The Human Centipede, though, is that this is a gimmick that people actually want to see, making for a very enjoyable experience.
Bringing together just about every action star ever (except for Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal, both of whom were too busy filming their latest straight-to-video classics), The Expendables introduces us to a group of mercenaries about to set out on their next mission. Led by Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), the group consists of Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), and more: basically, it's the most badass group of people in recent cinema. Summoned to the tiny island country of Vileda by the beautiful Sandra (Giselle Itie), they are asked to help overthrow the murderous General Garza (David Zayas), who happens to be Sandra's estranged father, and James Munroe (Eric Roberts), the wealthy American pulling Garza's strings. When a trip to inspect the situation goes badly, Barney decides that the mission, as a whole, is just too dangerous, and that the Expendables shouldn't take the job...but, after leaving Sandra back on the island, the group must return to Vileda one more time to rescue her.
Also like its predecessors, The Expendables doesn't overly-rely on CGI for its action scenes. Besides a few computer-generated blood sprays, I didn't spot any obvious CGI, and I really welcomed that return to more old-fashioned action filmmaking. It was nice to see an explosion that actually looked like an explosion, rather than some fancy computer work. It was also nice to see action stars who really seemed to be working while filming. It has become an annoying trend for action movie heroes to remain perfectly-assembled and remarkably clean, despite running for miles, shooting countless bad guys, and being nearly blown up. The men in The Expendables are beat up and thrown around, and actually look like it at the end. All of this, combined with its admittedly rad cast, really makes The Expendables far more satisfying than most of the other action films you've seen recently. With the action genre becoming as tired and lifeless as the horror genre, this is a fun, entertaining glance back to a time when action movies didn't rely on bad CGI and were, you know, actually good.
Bringing together just about every action star ever (except for Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal, both of whom were too busy filming their latest straight-to-video classics), The Expendables introduces us to a group of mercenaries about to set out on their next mission. Led by Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), the group consists of Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), and more: basically, it's the most badass group of people in recent cinema. Summoned to the tiny island country of Vileda by the beautiful Sandra (Giselle Itie), they are asked to help overthrow the murderous General Garza (David Zayas), who happens to be Sandra's estranged father, and James Munroe (Eric Roberts), the wealthy American pulling Garza's strings. When a trip to inspect the situation goes badly, Barney decides that the mission, as a whole, is just too dangerous, and that the Expendables shouldn't take the job...but, after leaving Sandra back on the island, the group must return to Vileda one more time to rescue her.
To say that The Expendables is only good because of the gimmick at its core isn't really accurate and is actually probably offensive. In a year filled with cheesy 3-D films and spineless action movies, The Expendables is one that actually has the guts to go...for the lack of a better expression, balls-to-the-wall in its quest to satisfy fans. From the time the first bad guy is shot and blood sprays from the wound, you know that you are seeing a throwback to the great films of the eighties. The storyline, as cliched as it might be, is completely satisfying in a nostalgic kind of way. We have the main villain, his brutal henchman (played by Steve Austin), the damsel-in-distress, and our heroes. Though some have criticized it for this, I found its basic simplicity to be one of its greatest assets. Like the films that inspired it, it doesn't need a complex or heavy-handed plot to work. Instead of relying on such a plot, it succeeds by being an exciting and, most importantly, fun film that plays exactly to fans' expectations.
Also like its predecessors, The Expendables doesn't overly-rely on CGI for its action scenes. Besides a few computer-generated blood sprays, I didn't spot any obvious CGI, and I really welcomed that return to more old-fashioned action filmmaking. It was nice to see an explosion that actually looked like an explosion, rather than some fancy computer work. It was also nice to see action stars who really seemed to be working while filming. It has become an annoying trend for action movie heroes to remain perfectly-assembled and remarkably clean, despite running for miles, shooting countless bad guys, and being nearly blown up. The men in The Expendables are beat up and thrown around, and actually look like it at the end. All of this, combined with its admittedly rad cast, really makes The Expendables far more satisfying than most of the other action films you've seen recently. With the action genre becoming as tired and lifeless as the horror genre, this is a fun, entertaining glance back to a time when action movies didn't rely on bad CGI and were, you know, actually good.
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