Possibly one of the greatest film concepts ever, when The Expendables was announced and the first trailers were shown, I must admit I was extremely excited. This movie couldn't possibly suck with the literal and figurative firepower fueling it. Now that this big, dumb, action romp to end all big, dumb, action romps is finally in theaters, does it live up to expectations or is The Expendables not worth your expendable income?SO WHAT IS THIS MOVIE ABOUT?
The Expendables follows the titular mercenaries on a suicidal operation on the fictional island nation of Vilena. A dictator, backed by a shady American, is bleeding the country and its people dry, and the CIA needs some heavy hitters to bring down the regime at all costs. Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), must decide whether or not he should risk the lives of himself and his team for a noble cause and a chance at redemption.
SO WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT THIS MOVIE?
The cast of this movie does what they do best, and that's to kill things and blow things up. When the action is good in this movie, it's very good. Highlights in the film include Jason Statham fighting a group of preppy basketball players, a "wrestler vs. boxer" rematch as Steve Austin takes on Sylvester Stallone, Terry Crews firing a huge gun, and Randy Couture executing the most pointless finishing blow I've ever seen in an action flick. Also, despite not having too much to say, the chemistry shared by the stars of the film is great, and it helps to compensate for some of the movie's faults. There also exists an incredible geek-out moment when Sly, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzeneggar share a fairly comical scene inside a church. Lastly, Mickey Rourke continues to be one of my favorite actors as, despite his limited role in this movie, he adds unmistakable charisma and emotion to his character with just a few monologues.
SO WHAT SUCKS ABOUT THIS MOVIE?
The problem with The Expendables is, although it takes obvious cues from films of yester-year, it fails to eclipse any of them. The sad fact is that The Expendables is just too tame for its own good. Sure, there is plenty of bloodshed (some of which is obscured by some... interesting photography and editing choices), but some of it feels hollow when compared to the cast at work here. I mean, we're talking about a collection of action stars here, and sadly they all just feel like they're too contained and there's never a moment when these guys are just allowed to get nuts. When combined with the bare-bones plot with very few compelling villains and a very flimsy driving force for our heroes, you're left with something that amounts to an appetizer rather than the feast of action that this movie should have been. It should also be said that the Dolph Lundgren subplot started out with great potential, but failed to end satisfyingly. It's a shame because Lundgren actually does a good job, and sadly he doesn't get nearly as much time on-screen as he deserved (this can be said for a couple other cast members, as well). I mean, it's Dolph Lundgren. Throw the guy a bone.
ANYTHING ELSE?
Since the name of his character is mentioned MAYBE once in the entire movie, I'm just gonna assume Steve Austin played himself. I mean, it's even said how he has no qualms with laying the smack down on a woman (in real life, Austin was accused of abusing his ex-wife Debrah Marshall), so that's just further evidence that the Texas Rattlesnake is not acting so much as just walking on set and talking.
Also, Terry Crews in a movie without letting him do the robot dance? Blasphemy.
SO WHAT'S THE FINAL VERDICT?
This is a very entertaining movie whilst it lasts. Putting aside any wasted potential, The Expendables is a great action flick the likes of which hasn't been in theaters in quite some time. That being said, with a weak plot and some even weaker characters, this movie lives and dies on both its action and the personality of its main cast. Both of these are relatively strong, making this a movie worth watching at least once, but there just isn't much to latch onto once the final credits roll.
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