The Expendables (Lionsgate)
The Boys Are Back In Town
The Expendables is an action packed film filed with action stars of all ages. Most prominent is Sylvester Stallone whose fingerprints are all over this movie from directing to co-writing the screenplay to being one of the stars. In Stallone fashion he probably had a hand in the casting and in the selection of the locales where it was filmed. It isnt Rocky by any means but it is a passable escapist movie that will appeal to a male audience.
Barney Ross (Stallone) heads up a group of mercenaries that include Lee (Jason Statham), Ying (Jet Li), Gunner (Dolph Lundgren), Toll Road (Randy Couture) and Hale (Terry Crews). These guys are soldiers of fortune who can get the job done when no one else can. The are contacted by a man named Church (Bruce Willis) who offers them a job helping a woman freedom fighter on an island in the Gulf.
The woman, who is named Sandra (Giselle Itie), is determined to free the people on the island from the cruel rule of former CIA Agent James Munroe (Eric Roberts) and the island dictator General Garza (David Zayas). It is clear the invasion by Barney and his men will lead to a bitter battle but they take the job and make plans for their invasion of the island.
In this film the plot is negligible. The focus is on the action, and a lot of action there is. There is also an attempt to give some of the characters a back story. That means we see Lee meeting with his girlfriend Lacy (Charisma Carpenter), and Ying showing some comedic sides in his relationship with the other guys.
There also is a brief monologue in the first half of the movie delivered by a guy named Tool (Mickey Rourke) who owns a tattoo parlor where the team hangs out. The character of Tool appears to have been added just to get Rourke into the film.
Stallone still looks to be in great shape, for his age, and does a lot of running and fighting in the movie. Statham is the most natural actor and action man in the film, while Li has the most appealing role. Roberts gets to create another slimy character, and Steve Austin is seen as his menacing henchman.
The film is rated R for violence and profanity.
Stallone and company provide the audience with one exciting battle after another. For most male audience members that will be enough. Those who are looking for some good acting and a valid storyline had best stay at home. If things blowing up dont make you happy then you will be out in the cold as far as this movie is concerned.
It is good to see Stallone back on the screen along with Arnold Schwarzenegger in a brief cameo. The rest of the action guys fall right in behind him and have a blast both literally and figuratively.
I scored The Expendables a keepable 5 out of 10.
