The Expendables

• Directed by Sylvester Stallone
• August 3, 2010 (Los Angeles) / August 13, 2010 (US)

An elite team of mercenaries is tasked with overthrowing the puppet dictator of a Latin American island nation and stopping the man that pulls his strings.

The Expendables is the kind of movie action fans from the 80s dreamed of. All (all but Chuck Norris anyway) of the big names from that era come together to one extent her another in one movie. This is an unapologetically testosterone fueled and adrenaline soaked action epic. This is a movie done in the mold of the movies that made Stallone’s career but yet also a product of today.

Aside from Stallone, the film also stars Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, and Bruce Willis with a sweat cameo by Arnold Schwarzenegger and a supporting role for Steve Austin. Oh well…

What this has going for it that separates it from most current action films is that much of what we get in The Expendables occurs on the screen and wasn’t crafted on some keyboard. There are real explosions and that’s a real plane. So much of what we get on screen had to actually be planned out and filmed. While CGI certainly has its place, when you know what you’re watching is real and not created on a computer it’s a whole different movie going experience.

Stallone plays Barney Ross who is a mercenary with an ethical code. He is a little world weary and maybe starting to get a bit burnt out. The main point of the story is not so much about him defeating the bad guy, but more about him saving a bit of himself. He must go to a small Latin American island nation (there were a lot of those during the 80s) that is being controlled by a rogue American agent. 

There’s no blurring of the lines between good and evil or right and wrong. Eric Roberts’s rogue agent James Munroe is most assuredly the bad guy though he would like to think that there is not much of a difference between he and Barney Ross. And though he is no physical match for Ross, Munroe is a genuine threat to Ross. You can see him defeating Barney and the rest of The Expendables. He is dangerous and crazed and just such a cold killer.

The closest we get to a shade of gray is Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren) who just has a drug problem and it causes him to make poor choices. Ultimately, he’s not a bad guy even if he’s a bit of a dick towards Yin Yang (Jet Li). They are at each other’s throats but manage to end the film on a note of respect though not friendship. 

If this were purely action, it probably would be enjoyable but wouldn’t be as good. There are moments of characterization where individuals deal with conflicting feelings or discuss the burdens they live with. The thing is they are not weighed down or held back by them. They fight to overcome them or simply come to terms with the ghosts of their past.

That story that Tool (Mickey Rourke) is a fine bit of acting on his part. Though it is a complete work of fiction you understand why the character is the way he is as there is real feeling behind it. It says a lot about him and shows why he is in a superficial relationship when first introduced. 

The hero and the villain are set on their final confrontation early on in the film. May not seem too obvious but that course is locked in early on. There’s no way that the two cannot confront. The story does not stumble around until it MUST end.

And that goes to show this is not big and dumb. It’s well written and just well done. Stallone knows how to helm an action film. And he also knows that you can bring an old-school action movie into the present day. It’s not impossible to make a good hard-core action movie today as it was in the 1980s. 

The Expendables is a great throwback that Hollywood for some reason does not feel it can make and be successful yet clearly can. It’s heavy on action and good characters and has a hero and villain that face-off in an epic showdown. This is a must watch!