"The Expendables" - Film Review

The Expendables is a film all about massive wish-fulfillment. It seeks to answer what diehard action fans have surely pondered to themselves for ages: what would happen if you took the biggest action stars and put them all into one film?  You'd apparently get The Expendables which features a cast that includes Sylvester Stallone (who also directed), Jason Statham, Jet Li, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke, Randy Couture, and Dolph Lundgren teaming up to do badass action-y things.

We get the loosest of plots about an extra-paramilitary force (called The Expendables) that runs covert missions for private gain. There's a mission about taking down a South American dictator and the American business man he's gotten into bed with, but it really doesn't matter. This is a film that isn't concerned all that much with a plot and is more concerned with hyper-masculine, over-the-top action. And in that regard it's rather successful.

The film's most obvious shortcoming is failing to take advantage of its cast. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis make cameos but it feels like a throwaway. Besides Stallone, Statham and Li, most of the other actors are sidelined.

Going into a film like this, you're aware you're not getting a film with a spectacular story or depth, but that's okay if you're interested in some well-choreographed, explosive fight scenes. The action is at times so excessive that it's hard not to laugh in the face of its extreme self-indulgence.   

This is a dumb film but it's never one that pretends to be smart. If you're willing to overlook some glaring storytelling problems, there's some high-octane entertainment to be found in The Expendables.

Grade: C