The Expendables (2010)
Written and Directed by: Sylvester Stallone
Starring: Stallone, Statham, Li, Rourke, Lundgren, Roberts, Austin, Crews, Willis and Schwarzenegger
The Expendables was one of the most anticipated films of 2010 for one reason…its cast. In The Expendables Sylvester Stallone (Rocky, Rambo) has brought together what many are calling the ultimate action cast, with Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger all appearing. However is it the ultimate action film?
The plot to The Expendables (not that the story should matter in a film like this) centers on the titular Expendables, a gang of mercenaries led by Barney Ross (Stallone). They are approached by the C.I.A in the guise of Bruce Willis to go to an island and overthrow a dictator who has been getting support from a rogue C.I.A agent (played by the brilliant Eric Roberts)
Ultimately though, you don’t go into The Expendables expecting a deep or complex story with character depth and emotions however the film seems to think that is what you wanted to see. What spoils The Expendables is that it takes itself to seriously and is not as over the top, action packed and as fun as you would want it and expect it to be. There are large sections of the film that are surprisingly action light and rather dull as the film tries rather poorly to develop its characters. One particular character plot twist is seen coming a mile off and the love interest for Jason Statham’s character barely utters a word and seems to only be there to give him an excuse to beat up a bunch of guys playing basketball.
Another problem with The Expendables is that it has all these great action stars together in one film but rarely together in one scene. The film does not give its cast enough to do and bizarrely mishandles them in a strange way. We see parts of the film just focusing on Stallone and Statham, then on Stallone and Lee, the on Stallone and Rourke, then a brief moment with Stallone, Willis and Schwarzenegger. The Expendables also seems to try a little bit to hard at times to be comedic and a lot of the banter between the team comes off as rather forced.
A lot has been written and spoken about the scene featuring Stallone, Willis and Schwarzenegger. However in my eyes the scene is incredibly anti climatic, forced and quite frankly rather embarrassing. It is one of the worst scenes of the film in my opinion and is a complete waste of the talent at its disposal. It is also kind of cheeky to have Willis and Schwarzenegger as big names on the poster when their roles are nothing more than cameos. The actor in this film who really comes out of it well is Eric Roberts who plays his villainous role perfectly.
While The Expendables does have its problems, takes itself slightly to seriously at times, doesn’t fully utilize the talent at its disposal, has clunky, predictable, clichéd and embarrassing attempts at humour and character depth, there is some really enjoyable stuff in there. The action in this film is crazy, there are bodies flying all over the place and the film must have one of the highest body counts in film history. In fact the only time the film really works is when in the last half an hour it completely goes out of control into a huge action scene full of shoot outs, fist fights, showdowns, explosions and cheesy one liners…it has it all.
The Expendables should have been a dumb, fun, enjoyable, over the top action film with the ultimate cast. However if you take out the cast then it is a very average and poor film and despite the mishandling of the cast they do hold the film together and along with the fantastic action scenes make The Expendables a fun time at the cinema. And despite its flaws there is still enough moments in this film that hit that “awesome” mark it was going for in terms of action that it wasn’t a complete missed opportunity. However one cannot help but feel a fantastic idea, cast and action sequences have been wasted on a rather average film.
One Sentence Summary: The ultimate action cast but not the ultimate action film, The Expendables is let down by taking itself to seriously.
5/10
The plot to The Expendables (not that the story should matter in a film like this) centers on the titular Expendables, a gang of mercenaries led by Barney Ross (Stallone). They are approached by the C.I.A in the guise of Bruce Willis to go to an island and overthrow a dictator who has been getting support from a rogue C.I.A agent (played by the brilliant Eric Roberts)
Ultimately though, you don’t go into The Expendables expecting a deep or complex story with character depth and emotions however the film seems to think that is what you wanted to see. What spoils The Expendables is that it takes itself to seriously and is not as over the top, action packed and as fun as you would want it and expect it to be. There are large sections of the film that are surprisingly action light and rather dull as the film tries rather poorly to develop its characters. One particular character plot twist is seen coming a mile off and the love interest for Jason Statham’s character barely utters a word and seems to only be there to give him an excuse to beat up a bunch of guys playing basketball.
Another problem with The Expendables is that it has all these great action stars together in one film but rarely together in one scene. The film does not give its cast enough to do and bizarrely mishandles them in a strange way. We see parts of the film just focusing on Stallone and Statham, then on Stallone and Lee, the on Stallone and Rourke, then a brief moment with Stallone, Willis and Schwarzenegger. The Expendables also seems to try a little bit to hard at times to be comedic and a lot of the banter between the team comes off as rather forced.
A lot has been written and spoken about the scene featuring Stallone, Willis and Schwarzenegger. However in my eyes the scene is incredibly anti climatic, forced and quite frankly rather embarrassing. It is one of the worst scenes of the film in my opinion and is a complete waste of the talent at its disposal. It is also kind of cheeky to have Willis and Schwarzenegger as big names on the poster when their roles are nothing more than cameos. The actor in this film who really comes out of it well is Eric Roberts who plays his villainous role perfectly.
While The Expendables does have its problems, takes itself slightly to seriously at times, doesn’t fully utilize the talent at its disposal, has clunky, predictable, clichéd and embarrassing attempts at humour and character depth, there is some really enjoyable stuff in there. The action in this film is crazy, there are bodies flying all over the place and the film must have one of the highest body counts in film history. In fact the only time the film really works is when in the last half an hour it completely goes out of control into a huge action scene full of shoot outs, fist fights, showdowns, explosions and cheesy one liners…it has it all.
The Expendables should have been a dumb, fun, enjoyable, over the top action film with the ultimate cast. However if you take out the cast then it is a very average and poor film and despite the mishandling of the cast they do hold the film together and along with the fantastic action scenes make The Expendables a fun time at the cinema. And despite its flaws there is still enough moments in this film that hit that “awesome” mark it was going for in terms of action that it wasn’t a complete missed opportunity. However one cannot help but feel a fantastic idea, cast and action sequences have been wasted on a rather average film.
One Sentence Summary: The ultimate action cast but not the ultimate action film, The Expendables is let down by taking itself to seriously.
5/10
This trailer was taken from: “The Expendables” Trailer HD (Video). March 31, 2010. Retrieved August 28, 2010 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6RU5y2fU6s
