HOLLYWOOD—Never in a million years did I think it would be possible for someone to develop a film that included every major action star for the past 30 years, but alas it has happened. “The Expendables” provides the most action that I have ever seen in a film. It has more gunfire, explosions, fights and testosterone that will leave any alpha male floating on air.
The film stars Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross, the leader of a group of mercenaries who are hired to overthrow the dictator of Vilena, a small fictional island. Joining him along the way are Lee (Jason Statham) his right-hand man, Yin (Jet Li), Hale (Terry Crews), Toll (Randy Couture) and Gunnar (Dolph Lundgren). While the film has many stars, they each hold their own. Barney is dedicated to his work; Lee has issues with a relationship with a former flame, played by Charisma Carpenter; and then there is Yin, who feels the need to prove himself because of his size.
The film even has a cameo by the juggernaut of action films, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in a comedic confrontation with Stallone and Bruce Willis. The chemistry between Schwarzenegger and Stallone is classic as the two take jabs at one another. Willis, on the other hand, comes across a bit forced in the scene. His lines feel a bit stilted like a case of bad dialogue.
Of course with any action film you have to have a villain, and in this one you have James Monroe, who is played effortlessly by Eric Roberts. Monroe is after only one thing—money. He is the bad guy that we all love to hate; he talks tough, but he is never ready to get his hands dirty. He leaves that job to his side-man, Paine, played by former wrestler Steve Austin. Paine has no problem tacking orders and punishing the innocent, making him memorable on the screen.
Hollywood bad boy Mickey Rourke also appears in the film as Tool. He’s the guy Barney comes to for advice and guidance. I must say I would’ve liked to see Rourke throw a few punches in the film, but who knows, that may happen in the sequel. He also delivers quite a few laughs that are well needed through the testosterone driven flick.
We also have the damsel in distress Sandra (Giselle Itie) who stands up to her dictator father, General Gaza (David Zayas), and plays a love interest for Stallone.
One argument to be made about the film is that you’d expect the villains to be more merciless. With so much star power you’d expect the bad guy to be more relentless when it comes to violence, but that’s not the case. They use more of a torture element to frighten people, which is likely to strike a cord with some audiences, but others may not buy it.
Since this film had many characters, I thought it would be hard to give all of them ample screen time, but that’s not the case. Everyone has their moment to shine, whether it’s through laughs or memorable fight scenes (there are quite a few). The climax towards the end will leave any action junkie begging for more; I’ve never seen so much blood, bodies and explosions in a film and there’s a ridiculous car chase that’s epic.
“The Expendables” is not a perfect film, but it’s thoroughly entertaining and will appeal to most action film fans.
