The Expendables
Sylvester Stallone's cameo-filled action film starring himself, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Eric Roberts, Dolph Lundgren, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and Arnold Schwarzenegger. What a line up.
The Expendables - a team of hardened war veterans lead by Barney Ross (Stallone) - take on what appears to be a routine assignment: a covert, CIA-funded operation to infiltrate the South American country of Vilena and overthrow its ruthless dictator General Garza. But when their job is revealed to be a suicide mission, the men are faced with a deadly choice that threatens their brotherhood.
- Director:
- Sylvester Stallone ('Rambo', 'Rocky Balboa', 'Rocky II')
- Writer:
- Sylvester Stallone
- Cast:
- Sylvester StalloneJason StathamMickey RourkeArnold SchwarzeneggerJet LiDolph LundgrenEric RobertsSteve AustinBrittany MurphyBruce WillisTerry Crews
Reviews & comments
Variety
pressA nearly incoherent all-stars-on-deck actioner that plays like "Grown Ups" on nitro or a brutish, blue-collar "Ocean's Eleven."
Total Film
pressArnie, Sly and Bruce cut hard-edged, iconic silhouettes but don’t expect depth , shading or, indeed, a great deal of entertainment. Don’t you hate it when a plan falls apart?
The New York Times
pressMight more aptly be described as Bad Kurosawa, Bad Peckinpah or Bad Leone. Which might be a way of saying that it's better-than-average Stallone. I can't quite say that it's not bad: it is bad! But not entirely in a bad way.
Rolling Stone
pressSo why oh why is The Expendables such a limp-dick bust? Because Stallone forgets to include non-spazzy direction, a coherent plot, dialogue that actors can speak without cringing, stunts that don't fizzle, blood that isn't digital and an animating spirit that might convince us to give a damn.
Hollywood Reporter
pressAn effective mix of lean and over-the-top, The Expendables is often preposterous, but it achieves the immediacy of a graphic novel without the overdone mythology.
Empire Magazine
pressMore The Wild Geese than The Wild Bunch, The Expendables is not a wasted opportunity, but more one not fully exploited.
Christchurch Press
pressThe cast list for this fun, formulaic film, reads like a roll call of old school action heroes - Stallone, Statham, Lundgren, Li, Rourke, Austen, Roberts, Couture, Crews, Willis, Schwarzenegger
Chicago Tribune
pressAt one point Rourke delivers a monologue about his time in Bosnia, and the conviction the actor brings to the occasion throws the movie completely out of whack. What's actual acting doing in a movie like this?
The Wrinkleys
Wrinklies and grave dodgers unite to bring a very, very 80's throwback to the likes of RAMBO 2 to the screen. Predictable, silly and surprisingly violent (once it gets going!). Stallone writes and directs and stars - and the whole cast are clearly having a ball - all of them: Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric...
A fun time at the movies
This is just a mindless action film nothing more nothing less. Thats the way you should go into this film. If you go into it hopefully for a great story then just forget it. The cast is great Sly, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Arnie for a few seconds and the list goes on. It's a fun testorone filled action film and that's all its...
Yeah... Nah...
This is indeed Sex and the City for dudes, with the film being equal to the sum of its faulty parts. The plot has more holes in it than a machine-gunned Columbian. The script would be laughable if it wasn’t so painfully unfunny. But perhaps worst of all, it’s dull. If your movie makes me yawn during an explosion, you messed up. You can see me shoot this...
jet lei is way better than that in real life
ok but we didn't get to see jet lei unleash (he was the worlds un-armed combat champion @ 18)! Dolph was classic and although mickey got a bit too teary-eyed during a bit of a introspective sililoque (maybey thats wrong coz he was kinda talking to sly) it was yet another raw action film we're coming to expect from stalone.
Review
Thank you Scott, really appreciated :P i see you knee jerking to my comment, thats fine. I know what the scene was referring to but the comment was rather obtuse and felt like a poor attempt at ad-libbing dialogue. I respect your opinion however, glad you enjoyed it. I personally can not recommend it to anyone!.
Freeking awesome action.
This movie is proof you don't need good acting to make a kick arse ACTION movie. The action scenes in it are second to none! Marley the its not easy being green is referring to his cauliflower ears. Which was what that entire scene was talking about. You mentioned leaving your brain at the door - you did a good job of it.
Variety
pressA nearly incoherent all-stars-on-deck actioner that plays like "Grown Ups" on nitro or a brutish, blue-collar "Ocean's Eleven."
Total Film
pressArnie, Sly and Bruce cut hard-edged, iconic silhouettes but don’t expect depth , shading or, indeed, a great deal of entertainment. Don’t you hate it when a plan falls apart?
The New York Times
pressMight more aptly be described as Bad Kurosawa, Bad Peckinpah or Bad Leone. Which might be a way of saying that it's better-than-average Stallone. I can't quite say that it's not bad: it is bad! But not entirely in a bad way.
Rolling Stone
pressSo why oh why is The Expendables such a limp-dick bust? Because Stallone forgets to include non-spazzy direction, a coherent plot, dialogue that actors can speak without cringing, stunts that don't fizzle, blood that isn't digital and an animating spirit that might convince us to give a damn.
Hollywood Reporter
pressAn effective mix of lean and over-the-top, The Expendables is often preposterous, but it achieves the immediacy of a graphic novel without the overdone mythology.
Empire Magazine
pressMore The Wild Geese than The Wild Bunch, The Expendables is not a wasted opportunity, but more one not fully exploited.
Christchurch Press
pressThe cast list for this fun, formulaic film, reads like a roll call of old school action heroes - Stallone, Statham, Lundgren, Li, Rourke, Austen, Roberts, Couture, Crews, Willis, Schwarzenegger
Chicago Tribune
pressAt one point Rourke delivers a monologue about his time in Bosnia, and the conviction the actor brings to the occasion throws the movie completely out of whack. What's actual acting doing in a movie like this?
The Wrinkleys
Wrinklies and grave dodgers unite to bring a very, very 80's throwback to the likes of RAMBO 2 to the screen. Predictable, silly and surprisingly violent (once it gets going!). Stallone writes and directs and stars - and the whole cast are clearly having a ball - all of them: Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren,...
A fun time at the movies
This is just a mindless action film nothing more nothing less. Thats the way you should go into this film. If you go into it hopefully for a great story then just forget it. The cast is great Sly, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Arnie for a few seconds and the list goes on. It's a fun testorone filled action film and that's all its...
Yeah... Nah...
This is indeed Sex and the City for dudes, with the film being equal to the sum of its faulty parts. The plot has more holes in it than a machine-gunned Columbian. The script would be laughable if it wasn’t so painfully unfunny. But perhaps worst of all, it’s dull. If your movie makes me yawn during an explosion, you messed up. You can see me shoot this...
jet lei is way better than that in real life
ok but we didn't get to see jet lei unleash (he was the worlds un-armed combat champion @ 18)! Dolph was classic and although mickey got a bit too teary-eyed during a bit of a introspective sililoque (maybey thats wrong coz he was kinda talking to sly) it was yet another raw action film we're coming to expect from stalone.
Review
Thank you Scott, really appreciated :P i see you knee jerking to my comment, thats fine. I know what the scene was referring to but the comment was rather obtuse and felt like a poor attempt at ad-libbing dialogue. I respect your opinion however, glad you enjoyed it. I personally can not recommend it to anyone!.
Freeking awesome action.
This movie is proof you don't need good acting to make a kick arse ACTION movie. The action scenes in it are second to none! Marley the its not easy being green is referring to his cauliflower ears. Which was what that entire scene was talking about. You mentioned leaving your brain at the door - you did a good job of it.
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