The Expendables Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: A group of elite mercenaries are hired to stop a rising dictator on a small island.

Review: This film would have been phenomenal had it actually been made in the '80s, or even early '90s, rather than merely paying tribute. There's just a kind of magic that existed back then because it was all so natural, but here it felt more forced and empty. While I do respect them for homaging the style of those films, it just doesn't hold up. Most things obviously don't make a lot of sense as it was meant to be a purely brainless action flick; the plot is paper thin. There was something about some wannabe dictator, his daughter, some American badguys...eh whatever. Also, we get almost no background information about the Expendables team which sucked. The choice of actors was impressive to start things off which is a big plus with the likes of Stallone, Arnold, Jet Li, etc. However, I can't stand Statham, and I thought Terry Crews had been doing comedies? While the overall cast was awesome, the film would have benefitted from having the older stars as leads and some of the existing main characters should have been the cameos. Nevertheless, it was entertaining to see a lot of these guys doing a role like this again too since most have been out of the game for a while like Dolph Lundgren. It is worth noting that all the characters had at least one chance to shine and show us a little of their classic styles even with the badguys like Steve Austin. Obviously Stallone knew how to bring the action in the vein we would be accustomed to in the past; the CGI blood was annoying though. There are explosions left and right and enough people being blown away to appease even the most diehard (oh, the puns!) fans. But at the end of the day, they just don't make 'em like they used to. This film is good for a watch, especially if you liked these kind of movies back then, but other than that there isn't much going for it. If you're into nostalgia or mindless action films, give this one a go, but this is definitely not date night material.

Notable Moment: When the team is fighting in the tunnels and face off against the main henchmen.

Final Rating: 6/10