Movie Review: The Expendables

Barney Ross(Sylvester Stallone) leads a group of mercenaries known as the Expendables. The group consists of Lee Christmas(Jason Statham), Yin Yang(Jet Li), Gunnar Jensen(Dolph Lungdren), Hale Ceasar(Terry Crews) and Toll Road(Randy Couture). While trying to rescue hostages from Somalian pirates, Gunnar becomes uncontrollable. He not only acts in haste but also tries to hang a pirate. Ross interrupts the ensuing fight between Gunnar and Yin. Then, Ross expels Gunnar from the team.

On their return, Tool(Mickey Rourke) assigns Ross to a new mission. For the new mission, Ross meets a mysterious man named Mr Church(Bruce Willis) inside a church. Another mercenary leader named Trench(Arnold Schwarzenegger) also joins them. Mr Church wants to eliminate General Garza, the dictator of a small island named Vilena. On hearing the mission, Trench backs out citing disinterest. So, Ross goes to the island with Christmas. General Garza is backed by James Munroe(Eric Roberts) whose henchmen are Paine(Steve Austin) and the Brit(Gary Daniels). The reconnaissance operation turns out to be eventful. Very soon, Munroe and the Expendables cross swords. This forms the rest of the story.

Sylvester Stallone directs this action movie. The script consists of mix and match of various scenes from the popular movies of this genre. The ensemble cast coupled with the two cameos makes this treat for the action lovers. The emotional scenes are a drag but provides the unintentional laughter. The dialogues does the thin wire act between self deprecation and narcissism; leaning to the latter generating either smirks or guffaws from the audience. As a director, Stallone gives the audience enough action. The techniques used by Stallone sometimes fails. For instance, the fight between Gunnar and Yin(Goliath v/s David) is lost due to quick change of camera angles and the way the scene is cut. Similarly, the actions sequence in the climax fight are difficult to follow although it contains some of the best fights.

Jason Statham shines above the rest with his energy. Jet Li is underutilized and his fights have not been shot in a way to highlight his strengths. Stallone put in his heart into the role but miserably fails. When he runs for cover, his age shows.

The emphasis is on the old school action. The green screens are minimal. If you are an action fan, go for it! Forget the logic and enjoy the stupidity on the screen.

Language: English

Genre: Action

Rating: ***

Tags: Movies,Sylvester Stallone,Jason Statham,Jet Li,Dolph Lungdren,Terry Crews,Randy Couture,Mickey Rourke,Bruce Willis,Arnold Schwarzenegger,Eric Roberts,Steve Austin,Gary Daniels,Action