Genres

Visitors Review

vet140976 2012-05-25 05:54:35

sly till i die

The supporters of dick and Pam above should go back to watching Rosieand Jim or the telly tubbies as they obviously lack the appreciation ofa good movie with a star-studded cast. you are a grain of sand in avast desert so keep your insignificant opinions to your insignificantself. i waited twenty years to see a movie with Arnie and slyco-starring so to get Jet li, Jason statham and the rest of thismulti-billion dollar cast,(yes that is what their net worth would cometo) together in the same movie makes it a must see. violence,action andsuspense were included by the shed load , what did you expect? maybeyou critics like batman or swamp thing well they just ain't toughenough OK?

J-SON 2012-05-24 17:45:29

Brawn over Brain for your ticket.

Graced by tons of muscles, grit and explosive firepower, this is theGolden Age 80's action genre reliving itself in modern theatres thismonth. With 7 major sets of Hollywood muscles working themselves out onthe big screen, you will be buying more brawn than brain with yourticket.Reckon we've just listed a long list of action heroes and to add on,there's also retired Expendables member - Tool (Mickey Rourke) whodelivers all the non-lethal substance. Tool's emotional extremeclose-up scene of war-inflicted psychological trauma was the only onethat came from the muscular line-up to melt hearts, while the restserved to only stab hearts.Stingy dialogue lines are delivered by the cast, as they are mostlyone-line punchers, but a healthy dosage of humour filled some of them.The fun derives from said humour and later on, the saturated watts offirepower and violence that were a product of the strong egos. Speakingof which, Stallone did a good job in handling all the egos withouthaving these veterans feel individualistic all in vie of screen time.By having rapid cuts of intense action for the climatic royal rumble inthe closing chapter.The closing action scene is indeed one grand finale as Stallone leavesthe best for the last with massive explosions, lethal projectilebuffet, fierce close-quarter combat exchanges and everything Hollywoodonce threw in for classic action genre closures.It wasn't a bad thing, hell yeah.Stallone isn't the best directing action choreographer in the business,but he has reminded us of how veteran glory has been achieved in thepast decades through classics like Rocky, Rambo, The Terminator, andDie Hard. He isn't exactly full of himself as a veteran, as he leavesspace for the young blood to prove their worth with the likes of JasonStatham.Amidst all the male testosterone smeared across the film, we do lovehow these sturdy men own little bits of big boy moments where they doshare their hearts out and talk about their love affairs and comforteach other's soul. All in the name of brotherhood. Statham is seenhurling Stallone a question in the film as follows."Have you ever been rejected by a woman before?"Already in the talks of a sequel as Stallone expresses an idea in mindrecently, we are certain of how Hollywood works after all these years.Just like how it's mentioned in the film, "We don't care what thebusiness is about, the only thing you need to know is the job's real,and the money's real".If you are able to discount the story-telling hindsight and view thisas a classic 80's genre reliving, Stallone brings on some raw andfierce action in blatantly painful fashion and shows that he still hasit despite being at the age of 64.

blandiefam 2012-05-22 20:33:43

Good Movie If It's Your Style; Botox Commercial

I liked the movie for what I should like this kind of movie. Guns,explosions, fights, one liners, and old heroes. It was a shame to seeall of the Botox used on many of the actors trying to regain theiryouth. I met Stallone about 15 years ago and I know he always wanted tomake an impact in Hollywood by being a triple threat. I am sure heknows he has more than done this. It seems, though, that he is tryingto go out with a bang by doing stuff like this looking like this.Still, the movie was fun to watch and I took it for what it was. I alsolike the fact that the old men acted like old men. The young men didwhat the old men could have done about 15 years ago. The girl wasn't abad actress either. I would tell anyone renting this to remember thatStallone is just an action hero and take him as such.

Jack Gattanella 2012-05-22 05:18:57

for a dumb, 80's-inspired ULTRA-violent action movie... it could be better

You'll get what you expect when you go see The Expendables. It's justone of those movies: if you're expecting it to be a non-stop actionextravaganza with (almost) every big action dude, large or small, fromthe past thirty years, you'd get that, but if you're expecting it to bea big steaming pile of stupid action movie-ness taking from the dumbestof 80's action movies (at least in "plot"), you'll get that. For me,and I don't think I'm entirely alone- you may think different lookingat the message board and whatnot online, but just look closer- it's inthe middle. It's neither a triumph nor a failure. It has such a castthat it makes it impossible to dislike, if only on guilty pleasuregrounds. But it also doesn't really have the kind of gusto to take itsBIG status and do something really interesting with it.The Expendables rides on its mega-action, which includes muchULTRA-violence, but really the people who will be most psyched will bethose wanting to see the cast blow ***t up real good. There is some ofthat... maybe TOO much of that, but hey, what can you do when Rambo:First Blood Part 2 and Commando are the main influences. But the movie,as enjoyable as it can be, has its share of problems. For one thing,the villain(s) can't rise to the occasion. One of them, Eric Roberts,is a slimy guy who can't grow poppy on the ground that theGeneral/Dictator of a small island in the Gulf controls- that other guy(David Zayas of Dexter) is also a kind of good-bad guy. You get thesense if the Expendables didn't come back to kick ass and, uh, kickmore ass and blow ***t up real good, the two villains would take careof themselves, regardless of the factor of the General/Dictator'sdaughter.But yeah, cardboard plot: Expendables get assigned to take out aGeneral on an island, his daughter is the contact, they get spotted andneed to leave, she stays, Stallone feels guilt leaving her behind,brings back the guys to get her back. Beat for beat, this is just thestory, with a few surprise appearances (Schwarzenegger, Willis) - thatis, if you haven't seen the torrent of TV commercials that hype upAh-nuld to be the main star with Stallone, when it's simply a walk-on.Sadly, his scene is one of the highlights in an otherwise decent butlacking action picture. There is bang for the buck, but it's such acartoonish-numbing buck. The combination of drama and action that onesaw so strong, at one time, in Rocky or First Blood, is much morediluted, much more concerned with such frenetic action - to the point,I should add, that it dulls the senses. The fast editing is far fromthe kind of pacing, yes, from even those 80's action movies. It's moreBourne than Cobra.Again, the actors, when they're effective, do do what they can. DolphLundgren, of all people, gets to shine in a character that, as written,is kind of confused as to his allegiance. Mickey Rourke gets a coupleof great scenes, even if he doesn't get full camera-eye-line. But forthe most part other supporting actor people, like Terry Crews, who onehas really admired as of late, get only a few moments here and there.Oddly enough Stallone's character is given the least to do, except tosort of reprise his last conflict in 2008-Rambo (going back to save thegirl, yada-yada). Statham has a quirk with his girl, and Jet Li isshort. Randy Couture (yeah, does okay with little as the oneleast-known in the cast) has some ear tick. And Stone Cold Steve Austin(yes, Stone Cold) is just a heavy.I really did go into the Expendables hoping to have a good time. Up toa point, I did. I had some laughs. I felt like cheering once or twice.Other times I just got annoyed by, oddly enough for a movie assuming tobe ambitious with its cast, how lax it is. Its one big BANG is to keepthe violence and explosions going for twenty minutes at the end. Dumbaction movie violence is dandy, even if it's repetitive andunimaginative after so long (hey, again the 80's). However, bad CGIblood plus bad editing plus no plot and dialog that is just barelypuncho and overly macho, turns into something that is kind ofunpleasant. It met somewhat the expectations, and at the same time Iwonder how long it will linger in the mind. 5.5/10

Robert McElwaine 2012-05-21 20:01:16

The sort of fare that would have gone direct to DVD had Stallone not been behind it

It has to be said that you either have to admire Sylvester Stallone orlaugh at him. Either way he's a like his most famous iconic creation,Rocky Balboa he's never been one to go down without a fight. However inmore recent years, age and diminishing box office clout has forced himto retread old ground by revisiting familiar territory with both "RockyBalboa" and "Rambo". Once again he more or less does the same thingwith "The Expendables" a tribute if you like to the loud, slam bang,action films of the eighties with which he made his name with.Gathering around him a mixed bag of old pro's some of which made theirname (which is now somewhat dubious given where their careers haveended up)back in the day. "The Expendables" could be seen as an oldman's affectionate if some what shallow, back slapping look back onpast glories. And while satisfying enough in a superficial sense itwon't win any wards for innovation. For to be honest the movie had itnot had Stallones stamp upon wouldn't have seemed out of place in adirect to DVD bargain bin. A place where a certain Dolph Lundgren hasfound himself relegated to. Fortunately Stallone to his merit Isn'twithout some writing or notable directorial attributes which is whatmanages to raise it slightly above the hackneyed tripe that Lundgren isnow to forced peddle. An elite team of mercenaries, The Expendables of the movies title arehired by government bigwig, the enigmatically titled Mr. Church tobring down a corrupt South American dictator. A man who runs a smallIsland country with the aid of former CIA agent gone rogue James Munroe(Eric Roberts). Barney Ross (Stallone) and his number two Lee, (Britishaction star Jason Statham who is the baby of the bunch at 38) travelahead to scout the territory and meet with their secret contact andlocal rebel Sandra. But when things go awry, Ross and Lee are forced toflee with Sandra being left behind to face the music. With the choiceof walking away from the entire mess, Barney's conscience tells him todo otherwise and he assembles his crew to go back in, rescue Sandra andfinish the job. Like I said, It's abouts as shallow as they come.One big celebration of bygone days and of the action genre, it's hardlya surprise that Stallone has assembled a cast that includes Jet-Li,Dolph Lundgren et al. Of course you can't have a slam-bam action throwback to the eighties hey day without the obligatory cameos from acertain Bruce Willis and a dubious governor of California, the latter'sbeing so fleeting, gratuitous and heavy handed it borders on offensive.Subtle this film Isn't but then what were we to expect. Lundgren seemsto mainly inhabit a role that might as well be an extended cameo and isleft with a character that conveniently sits upon a moral see saw andresults in eventually being nothing more than a tool utilised tobriefly kick some ass and forward the films leaden plot. The rest ofthe Expendables seem with the exception of Statham (who unsurprisinglyis lumbered with the hackneyed minor romantic sub-plot) to be theirmainly just to make up the numbers while Mickey Rourke is merely onhand to offer some "sage" counsel as old friend and former team mate,Tool. But for all the requisite clichés that abound Stallone does seem to behaving fun on and off camera and as he has proved in the past thatwhile he has a habit for at times being a tad trite and all too crowdpleasing. His direction is never the less fluid and he manages to neverlet the pace of the film drag. The action sequences are fairlyimpressive and although neither he and Statham aren't the greatest ofactors they gel well together and have a likable, aimable chemistry intheir shared scenes, leading me to wonder if their was as muchcamaraderie off camera as there is on. It is to Stallone's merit thathe even managed to film some of the movies more hands on, fightsequences. And added to this it's a film that never takes itselfentirely too seriously, although it does of course lapse in to the oddmoment of dramatic gravitas. But to some extent you can't help butthink that with every explosion and obliging one liner you would cometo expect that Stallone is wallowing in the absurd and superficialityin it all. He knows basically knows what his core audience wants and isunashamed to deliver.As arguably the main villain, Eric Roberts a fine and undervalued actoronce again is left with the typical sneering bad guy that he has becomemainly known for playing. Although solid you can't help but think hedeserves better than being forced to play two-dimensional villains. As hollow as what it would be on paper, "The Expendables" is somethingof a guilty pleasure. It Isn't the most inspiring and original ofprojects that Stallone has helmed and yet considering most of hiscareer, it's just another one of a number of glossy action pics that hecan associate himself with. You might say It's an affectionate look ata period with which Stallone and others like him made their name. Andwhile I'm in no doubt there is affectionate intent when It's all saidand done It's just another dumb, loud action pick all be it a solid oneat that.

ekmc-71-783840 2012-05-21 03:56:24

Lacklustre action amongst a cast of weak characters

Firstly let me say that I am going to be very negative here. My friendrecommended it, we watched it, and I didn't know whether to laugh orburst into fury as the credits rolled; I opted for the former to ensuremy flatmates safety.When hearing about this film last year, I thought it was going to be anaverage blockbuster. However not even action star veterans cancollectively bring life to this film, in fact probably nothing could.What we have instead is a group of unfulfilled men, considering wherethey are in their lives against, and I emphasise against, the backdropof action.As far as I'm concerned the plot didn't make much sense so I'll try andexplain it as much as I can. Basically it starts off with a typicalhostage situation where a team of ageing action men showcase theirrange of skills, all with their respective stereotypes. From here itswitches to home where they all come to terms with their lives, familyand personal issues. And then after a short meeting with old friends(I'll explain later) the team are off to some place where a leader iscontrolled by an American, and it all spirals out of control andlogical sense from there until the American dies and they can all goback to the way things were "sigh".The main issue here is that for an action film, the action is prettypoor, reflecting probably their increasing incompetence with age; afight scene between Jet Li and Dolph Lundgren results in a poorly shotfight that becomes a slow brawl rather than fancy moves and acrobatics.Instead as mentioned we have many scenes where the likes of SylvesterStallone and Jason Statham among others discuss relationships, pasttimes and the future. I can understand the direction here to representsomething meaningful but it just doesn't work. For instance, Stalloneand Statham discusses the need for relationships when meeting with aninformer, and low and behold their informer is a young woman, who castagainst lavish lighting is portrayed as a possible love interest (andyes slow motion is used) to re-kindle their love lives. But I'll stopyou right their before you consider one of the pair getting off withher, as this portrayal is instantly, and thankfully, thrown away as sheimmediately gets kidnapped.Yet here the entire motivation for the characters, or Stallone, is torescue her instead of a fallen nation that has fallen to corruptAmericans, which doesn't make any sense considering by the end Stalloneexplains to her that he'll visit every now and then; there is noaffection! Maybe its their compassion for women as seen earlier in thefilm, but she is such a weak character that the whole thing becomesillogical.As such there is a lack of characterisation as well. One prime exampleis where Stallone meets with a CIA agent played by Bruce Willis beforethe events of the film kick in. Yet another massive star appears, whohappens to be Arnold Schwarzenegger in what is possibly the mostuseless role for a film ever conceived.Here's a basic outline:Hi Guys, been a while. Give Stallone the job. See you later.So the point is literally so he could show his face. Although worse isBruce Willis, who comments to both of them saying something along thelines of "Now you're not gonna start sucking each other's dicks now?"followed with an awkward laugh and silence, yet the camera never cuts,so you sit there cringing at yet another ill-conceived cameo. Thenthere is the foreign leader, which is the most confusing aspect, as allhe wants to do is liberate his army and be against everyone, making hisallegiances so unpredictable that by the time he is shot and falls offa balcony you don't even notice. The only positive thing to say aboutcharacterisation would be Mickey Rourke, who is the sensible one forbeing the character thats stays out of this confusing mess, andtherefore actually holds the key to providing at least some scrap ofemotion that we can vouch for.There is a lot more I could say but to be honest writing such a reviewis draining, so I will summarise that with unexciting action sequences,poor characterisation and a messy narrative, this will definitely makeme destroy a copy of this film any time I see it.

2012-05-19 15:15:45

One word "AWESOME".

This review is from: The Expendables (DVD) A MUST buy. This movie was fantastical. I didn't get to see this movie at the theaters so I bought it as soon as it came out on dvd because all my friends kept telling me how awesome it was. It was well worth the wait because I must have replayed certain scenes 10 times. I really love this movie, Stallone has definitely mastered the art of producing movies. He would get a 10 star rating if I could give it.

2012-05-19 06:14:26

Real Heroes, not Sparkling Pansies

This is a hero adventure STRAIGHT out of the 1980s. You know, before Hollywood set out to pansify men and take away their muscle and give them "sparkles" (I just threw up in my mouth a little). In fact, if you were in the 1980s, you would cry on yer pillow to see this film because it would've been the best action movie you have ever seen. Ok, maybe today we demand a little more intelligence out of our films, but this is still a damn good movie. And Mickey Rourke raises the whole film 5 notches in acting and made everyone else step up. Even Dolph Lungren, who is notoriously wooden as an actor, did the best acting job of his life in this film. He was wonderful, I couldn't believe it was the same guy. This is one FUN damn film and entertaining all the way through and more action and guns, bullets and flying body parts than anything your Schwarzalloned-mind can remember. Loved it!

fisherbee1-1 2012-05-13 23:07:29

True Action Classic!

One of the absolute BEST action films I have seen in a long time! Onceagain, Sly has given us the real deal. Great characters, tons ofaction, good setting. If you are, as I am, a fan of the 80's actionmovies, you will LOVE this one. None of the dark feel you see so muchof these days, but plenty of speed, bullets, fighting, and great goodand bad guys all over. Very refreshing change! Hope some others inHollywood will take a hint, and get us back to movies we can love.Stallone is looking great, and the cast he put together is phenomenal.Big names, that know what the genre is really about, and they do notdisappoint. Plus, the whole idea of having more seasoned actors, andnot relying on some new pretty face is wonderful. Youth doesn'tautomatically make one good, and older can mean far better. Can't waitto add the DVD to my action collection, and hope Sly has more in theworks for us. Far too few of this quality being made these days. Topnotch movie, in every way.

Sir_Cellophane_Beak 2012-05-13 06:43:03

Tomorrow's New Horizon

Some stories are built on passion, some on courage and some on hope.Very rarely do you come across a love story that encompasses itselfaround a journey. The Sly Guy introduces us to the world of TheExpendables, which mirrors the most innocent of sentiments which lielocked up within the depths of our heart. He wins us over in the firstframe, because he is one among us. It is not his heroism which makeshim surreal, but his vulnerability which makes him endear-able. Theaudience falls in love with Bernie Ross because he is scared of theunknown just like us. What makes him a hero is his conviction andspirit, which makes him embark on a nationwide journey for the searchof love and faith. It is somewhere in that journey, that you no longerroot for Ross and his victory, but for Sylvester Stallone and hisbelief, which makes The Expendables a winner right from the openingcredits.His name is Ross, Barney Ross. Brought up in an unforgiving society,Ross battles the alternate evils of racial profile and scornful peerswith equal focus, trying to make sense of the world that burns homes,bullies people at school and make a false show of sympathy. He goes bythe doctrine of his Grandma, who taught him that there are two classesof people in the world, those who are good and would offer a lollipopand those who are bad and would point a gun. There is no caste, creedor religion but just people who shape the world. It is this philosophywhich Ross carries forward in his love and faith, painting his journeyin a collage of alternate light and dark emotions, shadow plays ofhuman nature which guides him to the world or perhaps, guides the worldtowards him.The Expendables is appreciable because of its brilliance, acceptablefor its nobility and unquestionable in its integrity. SylvesterStallone weaves in a tale of love, faith, religion and humanity withina cinematic frame of 103 minutes pulling out a riveting and compellinghuman drama of innocence poised against the system, through thefiltered sensibilities of a former South American prime minister, onewho cannot understand the world, but love it enough to change it. Thekeynotes of each frame, drenched with subtle social comments andcomplex emotional undertones makes the movie an amalgamation of thecolors of hope and persistence, with layered textures of unspokenbonds. With Ross, Stallone succeeds in bringing the system on trialthrough the eyes of one who cannot bias himself on any ideology, makinghis emotions pure and though provoking, which touches the innermostchords of the heart, moistening the eyes and serenading the senses.The story is filled with emotional subtexts which move at breakneckspeed throughout the length of the film, constantly switching gearsbetween the palettes of emotions. The dialogs exude class andconfidence holding grip of the story yet laced with the finesse thatallows for emotional drama combined with spiritual uprising, casting asatire on the entire system and its treatment of identities. The scriptpenned by Stallone is one of par excellence, allowing the audience toblend into Ross through his smiles and tears, laugh in his joy andcringe with every blow dealt to him. The screenplay drops hypocriticalmoral ambitions to make scathingly relevant comments on modern outlookof the world, making it rise several notches above anything attemptedin Hollywood.In the end, The Expendables becomes the experience it is because ofStallone, essayed flawlessly by dream team of Hollywood Megastars.Stallone exudes the spirit of the titular Expendables in every breathand pulse of the film, putting in a performance that is beyond anybenchmark of excellence. He controls every single emotional nerve ofthe audience with vacant stares and dimpled smiles, towering like anillusionist conjuring up a magical performance of a lifetime. He breaksevery stereotypical mould attached to him to rise like a phoenix fromthe ashes with Ross, who reigns over the audience in a sweeping wave ofemotions, establishing a bond that scales beyond the arc-lights of the70mm screen. He is complimented by those others whose very presencelights up the entire rooms with just their flashing smiles. He balancesthe sensitivity of love and charm with the emotional conflict of aravaged heart with effortless poise. The interactions between Ross andhis expendables form the highlights of the film, filled with thecackling chemistry of a uninhibited passion, captivating the audiencein the mesmerizing spell of the couple. Jason Statham as Ross's cohortdelivers a matured and restrained performance while Dolph Lundgren asGunner Jensen blends in simplicity with sensibility in a performancethat comes straight from the heart. Mickey Rourke is exceptional as theyoung freedom fighter, "Tool" in his mannerisms while the supportingcast all deliver credible performances including Arnold Schwarzeneggerin a dazzling cameo.There will always be movies that enchant us with their magic, but therewill hardly be a journey that goes beyond cinematic borders to deliverthe experience of a lifetime. The Expendables is undoubtedly the newface of global cinema that enthralls with each passing frame, healingthe hidden scars of the heart with its message of a better and humaneworld. There might be superheroes, but there will ever be one BarneyRoss, who takes pride in being ordinary and yet changes the face of theworld.Earlier time scales used B.C. and A.D. to mark important events. After12th February 2010, the scales of humanity would mark the world beforeand after the release of The Expendables.My Rating- 5/5 (Exceptional!!)

joycie-3 2012-05-07 17:47:41

Want my $1.50 back Redbox

Truly horrible movie! No flow whatsoever acting unbearable and Sly'sface scared me more then the bag guy. I found it creepy therelationship between Sly and the young girl. It was very creepy andseemed chimoish to me. Its hilarious has they lie that Bruce Willis isin it. Why is he even on the cover. I will say he was the best actor inthe movie all 5 words he said. I enjoy action movies and this was oneput me to sleep literally I fell asleep it was so boring. I havewatched a decent amount of movies in my life and this is by far theWORST movie I have ever seen! I cannot believe that there is a secondone coming out in 2012! DO NOT RENT/BUY you will regret it.

2012-05-07 02:34:26

Good Action, But Not Much Else

The Expendables has some of my favorite action stars together in one movie. I mean, there's one scene where Sylvester Stallone, Arnold, and Bruce Willis on screen together and it was just exciting to see. And there is a lot of action in this one, but it really isn't anything we haven't seen before. It's basically Rambo all over again, only with a far better cast. The first hour has way too much dialogue, which wouldn't be a problem if it were really good dialogue. But it isn't. And that's what made 80's action movies like Lethal Weapon, Commando, and Predator so great. Not only did they deliver the action-packed goods, but they also had good, interesting, often funny dialogue.The Expendables is worth seeing. Just don't expect the next action classic. I did, and I was a little disappointed.

MichaelConnellyFan 2012-05-04 17:01:16

The Expendables....Im very sad....

Very disappointed biggest Sly fan, and i have to be as honest as i can,it will hurt but life will go on. I was very upset. So much this couldof gave us, and the acting let us down. In my view some of the guys inthis movie were shocking and as hard as this is Sly was bad as well..The best acting was from Jason Strathan and i am not normally a fan,but i have to be honest. The second movie will be out next year and iwill be there, (wene i stop crying over this). I hope Sly sort's outthe dialoge as it was shocking. I think he might need some actors andget rid off the wrestlers and Jet li....I am going to drink now to washthe memory away. but this is only my though't not anyone else's so iwill stick with Sly as i have for 30 years he has never normally let medown i still know he is a legend ....THE WORLD KNOW'S THAT....YOADRIAN.

L_Knight_91 2012-05-04 08:30:28

Great action with a little story

The Expendables are a gun for hire team that will do your dangerouswork that none other can for money.------------------------------------------------- The story is a bitdull, not much story there it's your average overthrow-a-dictator plot,acting could use some improvement, I felt that all the actors were abit afraid to act with all their power, the action is superb, not adull moment in the movie every time you see a gun get ready for loudnoise, blood splashing and total and utter annihilation of any buildingin sight. ------------------------------------------------- This was agood Stallone work, it might not be Rocky or Rambo, but it's stillworth it.

Mark Solanki 2012-04-29 20:26:53

Old school violence no CGI, No pretencions for Oscars & Awards, just good old fashioned action !

So I finally got there in the end. Ever since last year when I firstheard about this movie my blood's been pumping and the sheer mention ofthe words "expendables", "Stallone", "Jet Li" or "Couture" have sent ashiver down my spine and got the Goosebumps raised.It was hard to keep a level head and not be excited for a 30 year oldman who grew up on old school action movies like Rambo, Die Hard,Predator, Universal Soldier and more recently Crank & Transporter. Allthese movies have a common theme and ingredient. Non stop actioncentred around a hero or hero(s), women unable to defend themselves anda pretty flimsy plot. Usually the main character has little emotionalbackground or epic dialogue sequences. But what these movies do deliveris pure unadulterated action in bucket loads. Ingredients of Guns,violence, blood, profanity and a little sprinkle of sex usually onlyprovided by a screaming half dressed lady ! it's what I grew up on andthat is all I expected & wanted from The Expendables. In a day and agewhen action movies have become about deeply enriching plots and complexcharacters like The Bourne series (which I love), Matrix Trilogy,Inception or even The Dark Knight we can all see the way the genre isgoing. So I think Stallone has gathered the best he can with the toolshe has. Mickey Rourke supplies the wise old man role and has a smallhand full of scenes, Jason Staham, Stallone & Jet Lie probably sharethe most screen time together (more so Statham & Stallone) and thismakes sense as its Stallone's movie and Statham & Li are the biggestnames in the movie that are current action stars with actual big roles.Both have integral roles, Statham is like Stallone's right hand man andconscious. Jet Li is the comedy relief unfortunately his height andChinese background is the butt of most the jokes. Randy Couture haslittle to do but does it well as does Terry Crews. Steve Austin & EricRoberts were born to play villains and again deliver the big baddie inbucket loads. The two female characters in the movie (Statham's girl &Stallone's love interest) have one task to do, look pretty and helplessand they both do that perfectly with a bit of cleavage thrown in forgood measure. One of the biggest surprises has to be the 53 year oldDolph Lungren who plays one of the expendables who goes AWOL, Gunnar.To be honest one of the big major gripes with this movie is theincomprehensible dialogue delivered by most the actors. You have actorslike Jet Li & Dolph Lungren given quite a bit of dialogue when Englishwas never their first language and then you have other brutes who justgrunt and groan their lines including Stallone, Rourke & Steve Austin.By now I'm sure most of you know the plot. Bunch of mercenaries arehired to liberate a South American country from its evil dictator whoin turn is actually controlled by a more evil American villain (EricRoberts). Initially the leader of the mercenaries, Barney Ross aka SlyStallone does a little recon of the country and he is entranced by arather good looking local woman probably half his age ! anyway Statham& Sly just escape the island before their recon is finished and decideagainst taking the suicidal job of liberating this country. That isuntil Sly has a little chat with an EX-Expendable (another 80's star)Mickey Rourke. Who convinces him you should never leave a women indistress. So after returning to the island with his full expendablescrew to rescue the girl and save a nation. We are led from one boy hoodplayground dream debate to another. UFC Vs wrestling who would win?well Couture Vs Stone Cold Steve Austin puts an end to that. There arefunny comedic moments like when Austin has Stallone held prisoner andis questioning him "Who sent You?" Stallone replies "Your hairdresser"no doubt to tease the fact Austin has no hair, oh Stallone we canclearly see you were in charge of the dialogue ! Of course we all knowwhat happens at the end, Stallone & his gang obviously save the islandand the damsel in distress. As for the much talked about and much hypedscene between Stallone & Willis with Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggerwell I'll save that to say its well worth the ticket price alone and iscinema gold. Many reviews have said about the whole movie the storylineis weak, the acting terrible, character development poor and thedialogue just plain stupid. An action movie should never be about thedialogue or character development. You don't go into an ice creamparlour and judge it by the Hot Chocolate they serve so why judge anAction movie against the criteria you would judge an IntricateThriller. The Expendables isn't pretending to be The godfather or SevenSamurai or even Gran Torino so don't judge it by it. It's an ActionMovie judge it against other Action movies. I even read Stallone isdoing a terrible job of trying to be Clint Eastwood in being an actorcome director. Come on please! When people deserve to die he doesn'tjust pump them full of lead he makes sure they feel pain with a bladeor some other form of long suffering death, exactly what you want froman action movie. So if you want old school violence no CGI, Nopretencions for Oscars & Awards and probably no repeat viewing apartfrom needing subtitle switched on then this is the S**T for you, Iwould have given it 9 if Segal, Snipes had made it in the picture, ifVan Damme was in it it would have got 10 for sure! BRING ON THE SEQUELIS WHAT I SAY!

2012-04-29 08:47:35

So bad, but so funny

This review is from: The Expendables (DVD) This is not a great film with great acting.However, because of that (or maybe in spite of), it's enjoyable.Just don't expect too much.The cameos are great - The Governator looks a bit peakish.

GUENOT PHILIPPE 2012-04-29 10:41:04

A very expendable film

I already knew what I was going to watch before the beginning. But I amdisappointed by this feature. I won't see it again. Never. it's a sortof homage to action movies from the eighties, with actors from theeighties: Stallone, Rourke, Lundgren, Schwarzennegger, Willis - evenwith cameo appearances for the two latest, and also actors from thenineties and 2000's: Li, Statham, Austin...I would say it is a pyrotechnics flick: explosions, useless talk,clichés seen a thousand of times before, especially twenty years ago.No really outstanding sequences, except perhaps the one with Stallone,Schwarzy and Willis. And Rourke's character is touching,as a formersoldier of fortune tortured in his soul.It's not a boring film, although. You can watch it while eatingpopcorn, or, when it will be released in DVD, while preparing dinner.Period.

mailbox91 2012-04-28 19:23:57

Big Names,, Small Film !

If u are twelve 12 y.o or PYROMAN u would probably like it, even if uare older u wouldn't hate it. I don't say that film is completerubbish, but damn, there is to many explosions of TNT, gun powder andBOTOX. Movie should be named "league of botox gentlemen", hope Slysface didn't melt down.Great cast, in the way i can compare it to a "Space Cowboys" not by thequality of acting or story. Question is how many time can Hollywoodchew the same story over and over and over again. Acting is like, osorry, there is no acting in this movie, best performance goes to:Bruce Willis, witch is BTW best highlight of the film.Someone said, what did u expect, well let me tell u, with this amountof the names working on the movie, expected better quality of film ingeneral.

Shameless_in_the_shower 2012-04-26 19:23:39

Adding negatives don't make a positive!

I'm a big fan of action movies.I grew up in the eighties where both Arnie and Stallone were a staplediet so naturally I was excited about the Expendables. After coming outof the Cinema I felt my heroes had let me down a bit.I keep seeing the same type of postings as I did for Transformers 2 andother similar disappointing action films, all along the lines of "Whatdid you expect, this is all about the action baby".Errr, no not really. People don't watch Gladiator and say "it's allabout the swords and the tigers man". No good film is all about action,there has to be some kind of emotional content to make the action countso that we actually care about what happens to the characters. Asidefrom caring about what happens to the careers of the legendary cast(which I do), I didn't really feel for anyone in this film nor carewhat the outcome was.********************************** Spoiler Alert************************************************The side story about Stathams character and his girlfriend was morethan welcome. A bit hammy maybe but more than welcome. In the contextof the film, without other character side stories it seemed a bitrandom though. I think from seeing this Statham bit in the Trailer, Iwas disappointed not to have seen similar side stories on the otherguys who seriously lacked screen time.Mickey Rourke was great as always. The (possibly improvised) banterwith Statham about the tattoo on his head was great and the emotionalscene about the woman on the bridge was nice but maybe just not quiteenough to instigate Sly's character to revisit a South American islandand fight an army to rescue a woman who he only met for 5 minutes. MmmmThe whole friendship thing, we're coming with you whether you like itor not. Didn't buy it! Maybe... a big argument, they go separate ways,then they all show up at the end and work together? Formulaic maybe butwould have probably worked better I think (It needed a major rewrite inother words, probably not by me).Some of the fight scenes were good although maybe a bit too close andfrenetic, suffering from Transformers Syndrome. Some great one offmoves but maybe a little too much phony CGI blood and guts as in thelatest Rambo instalment (which was a better film).The scene with Arnie, Sly and Willis Didn't work well. Willis doing hiskind of Tarantinoesque B movie cameo could have worked but Sly andArnie weren't there. Did Arnie not looked genuinely offended? The wholescene seemed completely contrived just to get the three together sothey could put the names in the credits.Back in the eighties I really believed that John Matrix would gothrough all he did to rescue his daughter. I was right there with Rockyto avenge Apollo's death from Ivan Drago. I even felt the glass on myfeet when John Maclaine didn't have any other way to go. Was I with theExpendables? Nope. Overall a Disappointment. The reason being, is that it could have beengreat. There could have been a lot of things said about friendship,warrior code, getting older in a young mans job. All sadly missed! On the other hand, definitely worth a watch. That AA-12 Shotgun at theend is pretty cool!

2012-04-26 00:23:17

Horrible

Read all the other 1 star reviews. They've covered everything that was so very wrong with this movie. I am so grateful that I only paid $6 to see it at a matinée.