The Expendables

2010, Rated R, 103 minutes, Directed, Written and Produced by Sylvester Stallone, Cinematography by Jeffrey Kimball, Original Music by Brian Tyler

With: Sylvester Stallone (Barney Ross), Jason Statham (Lee Christmas), Jet Li (Ying Yang), Dolph Lundgren (Gunner Jensen), Eric Roberts (James Munroe), Randy Couture (Toll Road), Steve Austin (Paine), Diselle Itie (Sandra), Terry Crews (Hale Caesar), Mickey Rourke (Tool)

80s action movies are known for the extreme action, deplorable acting, great one liners and twice over, action. The Expendables brings in an a-list cast of action stars both past and present in an attempt to bring back the lost art of an 80s action blockbuster and for the most part succeeds. Although the action is intense, it does not come frequently enough and there was a significant dearth of one-liners. In order to enjoy this film, which I did, you have to do two things: leave the notion of a cinematic masterpiece at home, and bring every guy you know along with you (thanks Roby).

The plot is quite simple: Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) leads a team of mercenaries the likes of which have never before been brought together on screen with Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, and Steve Austin. They are hired to take out a dictator and his entire army. The mercenaries find out there is much more to the situation and decide they are morally obligated to take on the suicidal mission. Enter the explosions and fight scenes.

The action on screen was excellent and a wonderful harkening back to 80s action sequences where anything can happen and it does not have to all make sense to be enjoyable. It was all done in real time and with real people as opposed to the CGI heavy action scenes of today. Stallone even ended up in the hospital as a result of an broken neck from Stone Cold. For analysis sake I think it best to break down the action into two parts: hand to hand combat and firefights and explosions.

The hand to hand combat was great; very fast and shaky but that made it more intimate and intense as the camera rolled with the fighters to give a better first person perspective. All kinds of fighting styles were represented and I don’t know them well enough to say which ones but there were a few to chose from. The soldiers of Vilena were real life Brazilian MMA fighters which gave the movie even more martial arts weight and realism. The scenes were very well choreographed and executed. Favorite hand to hand combat move: the Jet Li and Jason Statham finisher

The firefights and explosions were quite intense. From Dulph Lundgren’s first kill to the last death each one was quite violent and bloody. The body count continually rose and easily takes the record for most kills on screen for the summer screen (as there has been quite a lack of intense action movies this season making The Expendables is a welcome relief). I do not remember where I read this but during the filming of the movie Stallone commented that the cast was bred for hard-R action and they definitely deliver. Sure it was a bit unrealistic and overkill at times (mines on every column in a building) but the explosions were quite a thing to watch. Most explosive gun kill: Terry Crews’ first shotgun onslaught.

While the movie excelled in action, it fell short in many other aspects. The acting was quite poor. Of course what do you expect from an a-list of action stars and professional fighters. They’re not there to deliver eloquent monologues (although Mickey Rourke does try); no they are there to deliver a punch quite literally. When you bring together such an ensemble cast, what makes it an excellent film is the chemistry between the ensemble (think Oceans 11). This ensemble unfortunately lacks that chemistry and instead delivers their lines in a jolty stone cold (I couldn’t resist) manner that does not impress. The acting merely serves as breaks between the action scenes.

The breaks between the battles was too long. For a film that is all about 80s explosive action, it lacked the quantity of explosions and fighting that I expected. The a engagements themselves were great but there were too few of them. In a movie of this sort it is hard to go more than 5 minutes between action scenes and The Expendables did this multiple times.

Of course the acting would be terrible, but, in the 80s, wonderfully quotable one-liners made up for the poor acting and gave you wonderful quote fodder for any situation. The Expendables had little to no great one-liners. I expected the group to leave the theatre parlaying the great lines at one another but there was so little of that to be had. It was a sad disappointment for a movie that boasts stars who have had some great ones in their previous filmography (“If he dies he dies” anyone).

The Expendables was a great movie in the context of its genre: B- action movies of the 80s. Every guy from the age of 15-45 was excited for such a great amalgamation of action stars and I am sure Stallone worked very hard to bring the cast together considering it took months just to get Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and himself on set for their 5 minute scene. The action, while it could have been more frequent, was excellent and a nice break from CGI action we so often see today. The acting was terrible but I don’t think many people expected much more. This is a perfect summer movie to enjoy with friends (that is guys, sorry ladies) by checking reality and high expectations at the door and letting yourself be entertained.

C+

Content Advisory

lots of intense, graphic bloody violence in the form of shootouts, hand to hand combat and torturing, and frequent use of expletives

Food for thought/discussion

1. There were several scenes that talked about how frequent killing caused you to lose your soul. What did they mean by that? Is this a true statement? What type of phycological impact can killing have on a person?

2. Were there any other solutions to the dictatorship than total annihilation of the military and its leaders?

3. Did Barney Ross’ decision to take on the mission in an attempt to gain back his soul by doing the right thing absolve and save him in the end? What would?