Movie Review – The Expendables (2010)
Every once in a while it’s nice to enjoy a good, solid action movie.
Normally action movies have one movie star, or sometimes up to two or three of them. But what happens when you cast half a dozen of Hollywood’s tough guys into one great big movie?
The answer is 2010′s ass kicking film, The Expendables. In this case, the “expendables” are a group of highly skilled mercenaries who carry out daring missions. If something is deemed too controversial (or expensive or dangerous) for a government’s military, then it’s time to hire mercenaries to carry out the assignment.
Following the incredibly bloody action and high praise for 2008′s film Rambo, Sylvester Stallone continued the writing, directing and starring theme with The Expendables. In The Expendables we’re treated to a who’s who of the action world as the movie features tough guys such as Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Steve Austin, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Eric Roberts, Gary Daniels and Mickey Rourke. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis both have non-action cameo roles.
The Expendables (2010) – (c) Lionsgate
The Expendables begins in the Gulf of Aden with the mercenaries attempting to stop Somali pirates from executing their hostages. The group of mercenaries includes leader Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), former SAS soldier Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), martial artist Yin Yang (Jet Li), sniper Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), weapons specialist Hale Caesar (Terry Crews), and demolitions expert Toll Road (Randy Couture). In addition to being specialists in their respective fields, all of the team members are marksmen and experts in hand-to-hand fighting.
The Expendables (2010) – (c) Lionsgate
The mercenaries try to pay the Somali pirates their requested fee, but the pirates refuse. They demand more money. As they’re about to execute a prisoner to show that they’re serious, the mercenaries attack, ultimately killing all of the terrorists. Gunnar tries to hang a pirate after the battle, but his fellow soldiers object. Yin Yang fights him and Gunnar is finally subdued at gunpoint.
The Expendables (2010) – (c) Lionsgate
Back home in New Orleans, the men return to their regular lifestyle. When Christmas visits his girlfriend, Lacy (played by Charisma Carpenter), he’s shocked to discover that she has a new boyfriend in her life. Lacy tells Christmas that he’s never around and she doesn’t even know what he does for a living. Back at the hangout, Expendables mission coordinator, Tool (played by Mickey Rourke), finishes giving Ross a tattoo as Christmas arrives and tells them both his woes.
The Expendables (2010) – (c) Lionsgate
Meanwhile, on the island of Vilena, dictator General Garza is seen questioning some men regarding a recent theft. We see ex-CIA officer James Munroe (Eric Roberts) kill the first man and then encourages the general to kill the other two. General Garza does so as Munroe leaves the scene.
Back in New Orleans, Ross meets with a man named Mr. Church (Bruce Willis). The two of them are joined by rival mercenary leader, Trent Mauser (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Mr. Church offers the two men a contract to overthrow General Garza. Trent refuses the offer, claiming that he’s too busy (a pun as Arnold Schwarzenegger was still governor of California at the time of The Expendables‘ filming). Trent also claims that Ross “loves playing in the jungle” (a reference to Stallone’s Rambo movies).
The Expendables (2010) – (c) Lionsgate
Having accepted Mr. Church’s contract, Ross returns to the hangout to brief his fellow mercenaries. Ross fires Gunnar, claiming that he’s too out of control to continue going on missions with them. It’s decided that Ross and Christmas will fly down and check out the island before bringing in the rest of the team. The two of them do so and pose as conservationists as they arrive at the tropical island. Once there, Ross and Christmas meet with their contact, a woman named Sandra (Gisele Itie).
The Expendables (2010) – (c) Lionsgate
Sandra gives Ross and Christmas a quick tour of the island, and they get a quick look at General Garza’s forces in action. Christmas is dropped off to do more reconnaissance, and Sandra takes Ross to a field where they have an overview of the town. Just as Ross is asking Sandra how she got involved in everything, the general’s troops arrive and attempt to take them prisoner. Ross fights back and Christmas arrives, and the two of them kill all the troops.
The Expendables (2010) – (c) Lionsgate
Ross, Christmas and Sandra make their way back to the aircraft, but Sandra refuses to leave the island. Ross and Christmas flee from more troops and make a getaway. Before flying away for good, Ross turns around the aircraft and Christmas climbs into a special seat on the nose of the aircraft. The airplane has hidden machine guns, and they make a strafing run over the troops, finishing them off by dumping fuel and igniting it with a flare gun. As the pier burns, Ross and Christmas fly back home to New Orleans. While Ross and Christmas fly home, we see Gunnar offering to join James Munroe and carry out his revenge against Barney Ross.
The Expendables (2010) – (c) Lionsgate
Back home, Christmas has a visit from his ex-girlfriend, Lacy. She’s showing off an impressive bruise on her face. Christmas takes her and goes to meet with her abusive boyfriend and his friends. On a basketball court, Christmas fights and beats Lucy’s now former boyfriend. Back at the hangout, Ross talks to Tool, and Tool reminisces about a previous mission in Bosnia. Tool is still upset that he allowed a woman to commit suicide. Down in Vilena, Sandra is revealed to be General Garza’s daughter. The general is further enraged when Munroe’s men torture and waterboard Sandra, demanding to know who the men were who attacked his soldiers.
The Expendables (2010) – (c) Lionsgate
Ross is motivated by Tool’s story, and he decides to go back to Vilena to save Sandra. He tells his fellow mercenaries his plan to go back there alone, but Yin Yang joins him. While riding through town, Ross and Yang are attacked by Munroe’s men, this time lead by Gunnar. They have a gun battle while driving through the city’s streets. The two vehicles crash into an abandoned warehouse, and Gunnar fights again with Yang. Just as Gunnar is about to impale Yang on a spike, Ross shoots Gunnar in the chest. Lying on the ground and believed to be dying, Gunnar tells Ross the layouts of Vilena and the general’s mansion.
The Expendables (2010) – (c) Lionsgate
Ross and Yang return to the aircraft, and Ross is surprised when Christmas, Caesar and Toll Road are waiting and ready to aid him. All of the men fly down to Vilena and sneak into the general’s palace at night. The men split apart and infiltrate the compound, silently killing the guards and placing explosives throughout the structure. Meanwhile, Sandra is in a closed room and gets attacked by two soldiers. Ross makes a surprise appearance and uses his knife to brutally kill the two soldiers, saving Sandra. As the two of them make their way down an underground hallway, they’re attacked and captured by more of Munroe’s henchmen.
The Expendables (2010) – (c) Lionsgate
Ross is beaten and interrogated by The Brit (Gary Daniels) and Dan Paine (“Stone Cold” Steve Austin). The team arrives and saves Ross, killing a bunch of soldiers in the process. Separate fights continue between Paine and Ross along with The Brit and Christmas & Yang. The Brit is ultimately killed by Christmas and Yang, but Ross gets his ass kicked by Paine.
The Expendables (2010) – (c) Lionsgate
The mercenaries re-group and attempt to fight outside the compound, but they’re pinned down by the troops. Munroe kills General Garza and flees the compound with Sandra being held hostage once again. Once they’re clear of the building, the mercenaries blow the explosives and bring down the massive structure. They use the chaos to emerge and fight the enemy soldiers. The men ultimately kill all the troops in addition to Paine. Ross and Christmas both finish off James Munroe at the end of the battle.
The Expendables (2010) – (c) Lionsgate
Back in New Orleans, the men are celebrating at their hangout. Gunnar is revealed to be still alive and once again a member of the organization. We see Tool and Christmas insulting each other while competing in a knife throwing contest. Christmas finishes the contest by throwing a bullseye from outside the building.
The Expendables (2010) – (c) Lionsgate
The Expendables ends with the men taking a joy ride on their motorcycles.
So was The Expendables any good?
As a whole, The Expendables is a decent movie. The story isn’t very original, but the action along with the tough guy characters is fantastic. It’s clear that this was a fun and action-filled movie made for a male audience.
Once again, Sylvester Stallone has pulled off the role of being older yet still capable of kicking ass on the big screen. He wowed the audience in Rocky Balboa in 2006, he thrilled the crowds with Rambo in 2008, and he just plain kicked ass in 2010′s The Expendables.
In The Expendables, the characters with the most screen time are Stallone and Jason Statham. After them comes Jet Li, Dolph Londgren, and then Steve Austin, Terry Crews, Randy Couture and Eric Roberts. While Mickey Rourke is listed as a big name, he only appears at the hangout spot in New Orleans. Don’t expect to see him in any combat scenes. Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger only have cameo roles in this movie.
It’s Stallone and Statham who carry the brunt of the movie on their shoulders. And it works. The two of them work great on the big screen, and their fight scenes are outstanding. It’s going to be great seeing them again when The Expendables 2 is released in a couple of weeks.
The Expendables was definitely made for the action-oriented crowd. Like it was stated, the movie’s story is okay. There’s a believable scenario of an island’s general being secretly controlled by an ex-CIA officer. Throw in some tough guys supporting the villain, a general’s daughter who needs to be rescued, and the movie’s heroes saving the day in the end. It’s not a super or Oscar story, but it works in a movie like this one.
Oddly enough, it felt like The Expendables was slightly less bloody and gruesome than Stallone’s previous film, Rambo. It felt like Stallone set new standards with combat violence in Rambo, only for his next action movie to feel (to me at least) slightly less violent and gory. This isn’t a bad issue, it’s just something I noticed between the two movies.
The Expendables (2010) – movie trailer
As far as The Expendables, it’s a great action movie! Gather your friends, drink some beer, and get ready for a good time!
For those of us looking for more, The Expendables 2 is scheduled for release on August 17, 2012.
Hale Caesar – “What happened to you?”
Barney Ross – “I got my ass kicked.”