The Expendables Reviews

In the same vein as 2010's Predators, Sylvester Stallone's ambition with The Expendables was to transport modern audiences back to the action cinema zenith of the 1980s, when enormous muscle-bound movie stars utilised equally enormous firearms to slaughter thousands of bad guys with ease. After resurrecting the '80s aesthetic with 2008's Rambo, Stallone gives the ailing style a new lease on life to deliver an old-school, action-packed wallop of a blockbuster. Armed with a charismatic ensemble of badasses along with enough testosterone and adrenaline to float a small island full of elephants, The Expendables is a blast; an epic old-fashioned manly movie with infinite replay value.

Led by the cigar-chomping Barney Ross (Stallone), the titular Expendables are an elite team of professional mercenaries. Following a violent scuffle with a bunch of pirates which results in the firing of team member Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), Barney is offered a job by the enigmatic Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) to travel to the island of Vilena to overthrow dictator General Garza (David Zayas), whose strings are being pulled by former C.I.A. operative Munroe (Eric Roberts). Upon arriving at Vilena, however, Ross and his second-in-command Lee Christmas (Jason Statham) discover that there's more to the assignment than meets the eye. Thus, Ross, Christmas and the rest of the team - including token black guy Hale Caesar (Terry Crews), the pint-sized Yin Yang (Jet Li), and the somewhat unremarkable Toll Road (Randy Couture) - suit up for battle, and sneak onto the island to kill as many bad guys and blow up as many things as possible.

In line with expectations, the story (credited to Dave Callaham) is pedestrian and cliché-ridden. Added to this, the script (by Stallone) fails to provide much in the way of intricate character development or interesting plot twists. Then again, these flaws also apply to dozens of '80s action films, and we love those movies nevertheless. Granted, it does seem hypocritical to criticise other blockbusters for bad plotting and give The Expendables a pass in this respect. However, The Expendables succeeds because what little story there is to be found actually succeeds in sustaining interest, whereas other action films tend to concern themselves with utterly boring story fragments. Indeed, for such a harshly-received action film, The Expendables actually has a degree of heart and humanity behind it. The film is imbued with a theme of redemption, exemplified in Gunner's recurring subplot and Barney's motivation for returning to Vilena. In the case of the latter, money no longer holds any value for Barney and he would prefer to die fighting for something meaningful and redeem his soul rather than dying five years down the line on some run-of-the-mill mission. This notion is underscored by Mickey Rourke's character, Tool, who regales Barney with his personal philosophies and memories. As a result, The Expendables has genuine weight and dramatic intensity when the team march off to battle.

With Stallone rounding up such a large group of badasses, it's disappointing that none of them are adequately developed. Stallone and Statham take centre stage here for the most part, leaving the rest of the team with little or no character development (Crews and Couture suffer the worst in this respect). Fortunately, the extended director's cut works to rectify these faults - the team shares a wonderful dynamic in their scenes together, and an excellent opening credits sequence (set to the song Sinner's Prayer) wordlessly develops each of the characters in a surprisingly effective fashion. While Stallone and Callaham's dialogue isn't the strongest (it's no Predator), isolated moments of bantering are highly amusing, and the script contains a judicious smattering of one-liners. What's also notable about The Expendables is its soundtrack. Brian Tyler's score is pulse-pounding and flavoursome, and several classic rock songs are scattered throughout the picture, further establishing the protagonists as guys cut from the vintage action hero mould.

Stallone's penchant for violent combat scenarios and visceral action is thankfully retained for The Expendables, as it contains a handful of exciting set-pieces culminating in a climax capable of shaking theatre walls. There's carnage aplenty throughout the battles; some men are riddled with bullets, others are blown apart, necks are broken, bones are shattered, and there are massive explosions. The fights are old-school, too, with both Statham and Li permitted an opportunity to showcase their martial arts prowess. Hell, Stallone even almost broke his neck filming one fight scene. Admittedly, though, the action scenes are somewhat marred by shaky-cam, frenetic editing (the car chase is especially hard to follow), and multiple instances of phoney CGI blood. It's indeed tragic to witness an '80s throwback giving into the same lazy 21st Century filmmaking techniques that the movie was intended to be a break from. Furthermore, Stallone's direction is occasionally slipshod, including a bizarrely staged expositional scene composed almost entirely of dark extreme close-ups. The Expendables is a fun experience, to be sure, but one must wonder how much better the flick might've been with a defter director and cinematographer.

The biggest selling point of the enterprise is, of course, the cast list, which reads like a collection of everyone's favourite action heroes. Thankfully, the actors are solid here for the most part - not Oscar-calibre, but well-suited for this type of action film. Stallone and Statham are an ideal pairing of lead performers; their bantering is funny, and their camaraderie feels genuine. Alongside this duo, Terry Crews is hugely likeable, though Randy Couture has an underwhelming screen presence and Jet Li lacks enthusiasm. Dolph Lundgren is the film's biggest surprise - he's a hilarious, scenery-chewing standout as Gunner, delivering his most nuanced work in years. Also present here is Rourke who's an outright show-stealer as the Expendables' handler. Rourke's tearful monologue is gut-wrenchingly powerful, affording unexpected gravitas to the proceedings. In terms of villains, Roberts oozes evil as Munroe and WWE wrestler Steve Austin is menacing as henchman Dan Paine, though Gary Daniels and David Zayas barely register.

Another huge selling point of The Expendables is the much-hyped scene featuring Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis. It's over too quickly, to be sure, but it's a hilarious and well-written scene. The punch-line is a humdinger.

Blessed with numerous amazing shootouts and some bone-crunching fisticuffs, The Expendables is an irresistibly entertaining action bonanza. It's flawed to be sure, coming across as somewhat of a cinematic experiment that suffers from budgetary constraints and studio interference (the CGI blood indicates that a PG-13 rating was on the table), but it's not without merit. Yes, The Expendables is dumb at times, as it features enemies who are slow to respond and can't shoot straight. Yes, The Expendables is clichéd and largely predictable, too, but the movie should not have been any other way. Sometimes, you have to put aside your instincts as a film critic and enjoy the ride.

7.8/10