Movie Review: "The Expendables"

Seen on: August 9, 2010

The players: Director: Sylvester Stallone, Writers: Sylvester Stallone, Dave Callaham, Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Steve Austin, Eric Roberts

Facts of interest: Budget reported at $70 million.

The plot: A group of mercenaries head to an island to overthrow a dictator.

Our thoughts: Sylvester Stallone is back in action, and that means we’re in for a solid dose of brainless big-screen action. While “The Expendables” is certainly not the brilliant summer movie I wanted it to be, I admit it still packs enough punch to stay away from boredom and offer cinemagoers a stupid, yet action-packed show filled with gun battles and ridiculously massive explosions.

In fact, that’s pretty much all I need to say about Sly’s movie. There’s nothing else to it, really, except for the big ensemble cast, maybe. He managed to gather Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Terry Crews to have them blow shit up and beat the crap out of bad guys, and as such, he succeeded. Unfortunately, that’s not enough for me to consider “The Expendables” a great movie.

Fast-paced plot aside, “The Expendables” is foremost moronic. It’s a stupid movie with a story that belongs into a trash can, and it takes pride in having a bunch of cool guys going after blood for freedom. That’s how Stallone likes it though, and in that sense, he’s not bad at what he does. It’s just that “The Expendables” could’ve been a lot better with a more interesting story and more suspenseful action scenes.

Essentially, the flick follows a group of mercenaries heading to South America to overthrow a nasty dictator. More specifically, it all happens on a small island, where a ruthless American businessman has convinced a general to have his army torture the good people. Sly and his folks plan a big coup, and before you know it, all hell breaks loose in an attempt to restore peace and eliminate the bad guys.

The action obviously moves things along in “The Expendables,” and in that sense, there’s plenty of that around to pass the time. Most battles are utterly laughable, and even though most action sequences are neither original nor really impressive, they’re still loud and crazy enough to capture our attention. After all, who can really say no to Sly and his buddies trying to bring down an entire army?

To be honest, that’s all there is to say about this one. The big cast certainly boosts the film’s appeal, with Statham and Li doing what they do best. Lundgren provokes some huge laughs, while Steve Austin and Randy Couture show us they can brawl and Mickey Rourke proves yet again he’s just a really cool dude. Cameos by Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger provide the film’s highlight.

Freaky quote: "Give this job to my friend here. He loves playing in the jungle, right?" - Arnold Schwarzenegger

The final word: With “The Expendables,” Sly brings back the style of past action flicks. It’s an ultra-violent flick loaded with bullets and fireballs, and if that’s your thing, this one will please you. Just don’t expect any suspense in this thing; it’s not exactly a memorable experience. The fun partly works while it lasts, and that’s all. It really is an expendables movie. Watch it once, have a laugh and move on.

Article by Franck Tabouring