The Expendables

With the cast it had it was no surprise that The Expendables was being hyped long before it arrived in cinemas anywhere. "Could it be the greatest action movie ever?" some magazines breathlessly asked themselves, assuming perhaps that the cast could somehow just produce a good film by virtue of all just being in it. The answer of course is "no" and I doubt anyone expected it to be any other answer. However the real question was can the film produce the boys-only, 1980's action movie fun that the 2010 summer season needed. The answer to this question turned out to be "sort of" because The Expendables has plenty to enjoy about it but yet somehow falls short of what it could have been.

The plot is essentially a small group of mercenaries heading into a tropical island in order to take out the dictator and his ex-CIA puppet-master: so far, so "one man against endless ethnic army" 80's style plotting. And indeed so it is, complete with unnecessary violence and overblown physical actions and seemingly indestructible heroes. It plays out just the way you expect it to do and those looking for action sequences will enjoy the many fights and scenes where everything blows up (Terry Crews in particular demonstrating to the world why Infinity Ward were out of their minds to make the AA-12 a "secondary" weapon in Modern Warfare 2!). The downside of the action is that, while it is enjoyable, it doesn't deliver enough of two key things.

The first of these is genuine thrills. It comes close and there are good moments but generally you find yourself sitting back watching the mayhem for the sake of mayhem, whereas I would prefer to be sucked into and really gripped by the action - I wasn't really here; instead most of the action is of the video game style – where the enemy just keeps spawning in front of you and getting chopped down by powerful weaponry. The second thing that isn't as prevalent as I wanted was comedy. We get the odd bit here and there, but really Jet Li's "because I'm small" speech is probably the high point. What was needed was more comedy mixed in with the action. There were a few kiss-off lines but nothing memorable or even "good". These are important because it makes the excess easier to enjoy as just part of a fun package – the film not having enough suspense or thrills makes the lack of this "fun" all the more obvious and notable of a gap.

The cast do help though and not just in terms of having big names in there. They do have an easy charisma between them and they all play off each other well – whether it be Stallone and Statham or the brief cameos from Willis and Swarzenegger. Crews isn't used particularly well but otherwise I liked everyone else in it, even if there were probably too many of them to really do much with – I thought it was a good move, despite appearing to be an ensemble piece, to put most of the focus on two of them rather than spreading it evenly around. Of course looking at it fairly, the film is not great – the plot is obvious and full of "groan" moments that we have to have simply because of the genre plus it is hard to shake the feeling that the film is more for the stars benefit than it is about the viewers, like perhaps they enjoyed it more than I did? Overall though The Expendables is a solid enough 80's style action movie that does everything you expect it to do but nothing more. Personally I preferred The Losers to this simply because it delivered action and comedy blended well to make for an enjoyably silly actioner, whereas this doesn't really do that and perhaps takes itself a little too seriously for its own good. A solid genre film and enjoyable as that, but it doesn't do enough to justify the sheer volume of big names in it.

I am always more than happy to see Stallone coming out and do movies like this, Rambo 4, and the expendables are the reason why actions films are worth watching. Pure action, fun and entertainment, in my opinion far better than those modern day sissy films with pretentiously complex plot and so-called "in-depth" storyline.

The Expendables has star cast characters, mainly action film stars who by modern day standards are "wash-outs". I love that Stallone is bringing together these actors to show people what true action movie is supposed to be like!

Screw the so called "movie critics", they are just a bunch of pretentious fakes who won't criticize the pointless violence in "no country for old man", calling that "artistic" and "in-depth", but willing to spat on "heoric violence" in films such as the expendables, which in my opinion, has far more value than those so called "artistic violence".

Nuff said, Stallone rocks! I hope he will make more films in many years to come!

Watching this movie was a great experience for an 80's movie buff like me. Its like the advertisement for it says, it has everyone! It says a lot for Sylvester Stallone's toughness that he can still play a tough guy part when he is one year from collecting Social Security. It really tickled me seeing the cameos by Bruce Willis and "The Governator". Its sort of an inside joke, he and Stallone have always had a friendly rivalry. Mickey Rourke really steals the show in his few scenes as a former mercenary turned tattoo artist. He delivers a rambling speech at one point about losing your soul that is really oddly moving in a way. Director Stallone has the camera dwell on his battered features as he delivers it. The awesome special effects, loud explosions and familiar faces sort of blur the fact that the plot from this movie could have easily been an old A Team episode. There really isn't much of one. But who am I to quibble? This movie is a great way to round out the summer.

Tough guys. Always going on suicidal missions. Threatened by bullets and blades. Running from explosions. Best friends waging wars. Nearly killing each other, then going to the bar later to laugh about it. Director and star, Sylvester Stallone, gets all his best men together to kick as much ass as humanly possible, allowing himself a severe beating from Steve Austin. Sly took a serious neck injury. Then he goes in front of a Comic Con audience and jokes about it. A man whose Double-"R" franchises, Rocky and Rambo have both been highly successful. But he keeps coming back for more pain and putting his body on the line for the sake of entertainment. There's nothing tougher than that!

The Expendables is a movie that lifts you up out of your seat, pats you on the head, gives you a lollipop then smashes you in the frickin' face! With a cast like Jason Stathum, Randy Couture, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Terry Crews, Dolph "I Must Break You" Lundgren, and cameos from Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, you'd think it would be one crazy mess. Surprisingly, it's more focused then you may think. Just a straight-forward action movie with a reasonable run time that sustains itself and never has a chance to feel dull. It doesn't try to be anything more than what it is.

The only negative: Some of the blood and explosions looked digital. Wish it could have been just a bit more authentic. Sometimes, there was a tad too many closeups during the fight scenes. With so many people fighting at the same time, sometimes I couldn't tell who was punching who. It didn't happen very often, but how cool would it be just for one moment to see three simultaneous fights from a super wide master shot? Never, but I can't blame them. At least let the cameras pull back and allow the choreography to do the work.

It feels nice to get my ass kicked by something I haven't seen yet. It's not Rambo. It's not Rocky. Nor is it another Die Hard or Terminator sequel. It's something fresh, yet feels like it came out of the 80's. It has the perfect blend of humor, blood, sweat, smart-ass comebacks, witty one-liners, and an overabundance of testosterone! Don't expect anything more than action, exposition, action, exposition, all with a nice cherry on top… with sprinkles… and grenades. And some real tough guys. We all wish we could be tough guys. But no, let's just watch'em instead.

The expectation for this film is obviously very high with one of the best action hero line ups (if not the best) in cinematic history. So I went into this film with a little trepidation and a lot of anticipation. I can honestly say that I was not disappointed. This was a high octane, unbelievably explosive, funny, blood thirsty, proper action movie! This film would not have been out of place in the 80s, but manages to fit into the market of today's cinematic action experience. It is easily much more graphic and gory than most modern day action films, but this adds to the film and creates a degree of realism. Let's face it; if you go around killing people it isn't going to be pretty! This film did what it needed to do, it wasn't afraid to contain blood, guts and violence for the sake of an age restriction but also wasn't overly ridiculous. After all most of the people who will watch this film grew up watching the classic action films of the 80s and 90s and are old enough for a bit of gore.

The plot is not that original, but it doesn't need to be, nor was it expected to be. The cast, goes without saying, was fantastic. What could have been a disaster of conflicting egos ended up being a believable team of mercenaries where banter is rife and keeping each other alive is their number one priority. Stallone can give himself a big pat on the back for getting so many iconic actors onto the screen together and actually making it work. Though the much hyped cameo of two particular people was short lived, it was hilarious and I think a great moment in cinema.

This was a great film that keeps you glued to your seat, constantly makes you gasp and laugh out loud and leaves you pumping with adrenaline. It was ridiculous and wonderful all at the same time, with more bullets and bombs than Rambo and more fighting than Rocky. This is a must see film for any movie buff or action hero wannabe. It is certainly not for the faint hearted, or for kids, but for any true action movie lover this is the ultimate manly film.

Sylvester Stallone, NICE JOB!