This summer has seen a string of attempts to bring a retro '80s flavor to the screen with the remake of The Karate Kid, the movie version of the TV show The A-Team, and Predators. Here finally comes the most overt attempt in The Expendables, whose roundup of leading action heroes should tip us off to the fact that this movie will try with every ounce of its testosterone juice to recapture the anarchic, over-the-top B-movie spirit of '80s and '90s action films. The end result, though, is that the overt translates to self-serious posing and the trying does not try hard enough.
Personally, I wished and hoped I could think otherwise because I personally have always had a soft spot for the ridiculously cheesy, machismo action movies of yesteryear. However this one, as directed and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, occupies a peculiar middle ground in which the action inevitably borders on the ridiculous while the story takes itself much too seriously. When you round up this group of action heroes, there should be more kick-back enjoyment.
The opening action sequence provides the closest thing to that kind of enjoyment as the titular Expendables, who are a group of highly trained mercenaries, face off against a band of Somalian pirates. It will probably not surprise most audiences to note that the first kill is one of the most graphic in the film as one of the gang literally blasts a guy’s upper half into the camera (in a shot that seems left over from the last Rambo film). As the pirates start to get mowed down one by one with great rapidity, we see the fighting and weapon specialty of each of the Expendables.
Is the movie an ensemble piece with all these names in action? Not really, as Stallone’s Barney Ross and Jason Statham’s Lee Christmas really are in the center for most of the film. The others are relegated to supporting roles: Ying Yang (Jet Li), Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), Toll Road (Randy Couture), and Hale Caesar (Terry Crews). And in the scene that sets up the main plot, there are uncredited cameos by Bruce Willis, who explains the mission to Stallone, and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Stallone’s past rival who bows out to leave Stallone to take over the mission. This actually turns out to be the most fun in the film as these three former owners of Planet Hollywood give sly, twinkling jabs and smirks at each other’s star personas, especially for Schwarzenegger, about whom Stallone states the film’s funniest line about his political ambition.
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Article comments
1 - Dustin Mac
I don't think your review is fair. How is every review convinced this movie isn't "fun"? You can go f yourself as far as i'm concerned. That movie was a blast, I was literally high from watching that movie. I felt great afterward.
It was a really cathartic movie to watch. I'm sorry your fav was Jet Li as a kid, I really am. So, because of your bias, that YOU made sure to admit, it seems you didn't give anyone else the time of day in the movie. I enjoyed many aspects of the movie, from the dynamic between the characters, to the action itself. I know its not going to win any awards, but what action movies have in the past? That is the problem with reviewers these days, they forget what movies are made to do. A dramatic movie is meant to move you, an "action movie" is meant to get you excited, take you on a ride. This movie delivered the ride so to speak. All I am saying, you cant judge this movie the same way you judge INCEPTION. Don't get me wrong, INCEPTION was a phenomenal movie on every level, and that is what I was expecting. With the action genre, specifically this one, Stallone promised a 1980's action movie, and he delivered exactly that as far as I'm concerned. And if your looking for anything else, you will rate a movie that had all your faves from being a kid, in ONE movie, mediocre at best. Review it for what it is, and I guarantee you will rate it better.
2 - Sasshin
This was a kickass movie.It had lots of action n was funny at parts.