The Expendables

Let's face it, a nostalgic all-star action megamix movie was bound to happen sooner or later. Echoing the autumnal dream team-ups of once-big names in films like The Professionals, The Wild Bunch and Wild Geese, Sylvester Stallone attempts here to recapture the glories of 80s action epics like Commando and Rambo: First Blood Part II by assembling a who's who of ego-heavy muscle-men. The result could've been a pointless mess ala Righteous Kill, but Stallone's genre-experience in front of and behind the camera ensures a level of dedication and know-how to help make such an audacious project a success.

Barney Ross (Stallone) leads the Expendables, a mercenary team who get hired to do all the dirty jobs in a variety of tyrannical and lawless third-world countires. After a routine mission in Somalia sees one of the team dismissed (Gunner, played by Dolph Lundgren), and some reconnaissance on the South American island of Vilena doesn't go exactly to plan, Ross begins to have doubts about his lifestyle and the role of the Expendables. Urged on by Ross' inner demons, it isn't long before the team decides to head back to Vilena to overthrow the corrupt government and rescue the girl he has fallen for, with typically explosive results.

The plot is almost ridiculously straight-forward: action heroes are sent on mission to kill and destroy an ex-CIA man (Eric Roberts) and his puppet dictator (David Zayas, best known for his role as a latino gang boss in the TV series Oz). But hey, no one is watching this film for it's plot, are they? The emphasis is on the larger-than-life cast of characters, cheesy dialogue, and over-the-top action. It's knowingly paint-by-numbers, Stallone has purposely avoided a complicated plot (or any kind of plot at all) because he knows exactly what this film is about. It's camp in exactly the right way... lots of tongue-in-cheek male posturing, some great lines, and a bunch of cool set pieces strung together by some quieter character moments. The action is fun, inventive and very visceral - there are some shocking moments of incredible violence that highlight this film's intentions as an exploitative throwback. No one will watch this film expecting realism or responsible ethics, and Stallone is smart enough to realise this - he goes all out to give the fans exactly what they want. It's no coincidence the Stallone-starring hit hatrick of The Expendables, Rambo, and Rocky Balboa also all happen to be films that the actor also wrote and directed. For the first time in a long time he's now in complete creative control of his films, and The Expendables is the exciting culmination of this.

It's not a perfect film - I think it could've taken the concept a whole lot further, but it's certainly a firm step in the right direction. The time is ripe for a return of these kind of tongue-in-cheek, big event action films, and I'm excited to hear that Stallone has begun prep-work on an Expendables sequel. Aside from Stallone, The Expendables features entertaining turns from Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts and Jet Li, as well as a now-infamous and very entertaining scene that puts Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis all on the screen together. Rumour has it that Willis will have a larger role in the next film, and here's hoping that Stallone can rope in some more fading big action names like Chuck Norris, Steven Segal, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, Hulk Hogan or Jean-Claude Van Damme into the next film. I guarantee at least one of those guys will show up, and it will be glorious.

DIRECTOR: Sylvester Stallone
WRITER/SOURCE: Written by Sylvester Stallone and David Callaham.
KEY ACTORS: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Terry Crews, Randy Coutere, Eric Roberts, Jet Li, Steve Austin, David Vayas, Charisma Carpenter, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gary Daniels.

RELATED TEXTS:
- The team-on-a-mission action film subgenre was pretty much started by The Dirty Dozen, and is echoed in films as diverse as The Wild Bunch, Inglourious Basterds, Wild Geese, Kelly's Heroes and The Delta Force.
- The film also owes a close stylistic debt to 1980s and early 1990s action films such as Commando, Predator, Missing in Action, Die Hard, The Specialist, Lethal Weapon and a whole host of others.
- Machete is another nostalgic/exploitative action film made at the same time as The Expendables, and also featuring an almost unbelievable all-star cast.