The Expendables: Clever homage or silly excuse for explosions?

Barney Ross leads a ragtag group of mercenaries called The Expendables that take on assignments most teams would not. Their latest, however, might be their last as they are tasked with overthrowing a tyrannical South American despot with shady ties to a group of Americans.

It is unclear if writer/director Sylvester Stallone intended The Expendables to be a cleverly disguised homage to the kind of action films that made him a megastar in the 1980’s, given the fact that the story was as thin and transparent as the moustache drawn on his face and that there were more explosions in the final fifteen minutes of the movie than a person sees in a typical round of Call of Duty: Black Ops, or if it was a “serious” attempt to create a slick and entertaining action film. However one chooses to interpret it (I prefer the “homage” take personally), The Expendables delivered the goods and provided enough gun/fist fights, explosions, and continual violence to satiate action fans of any and all age. The all star cast surrounding Stallone (including names like Jet Li and Dolph Lundgren) played their parts well but Sly was right to focus parts of the film on his co-star (and seeming replacement as the new action film leading man) Jason Statham. There is only miniscule development in both he and Stallone’s characters, but it is enough to pique the audiences’ curiosity and give their ear drums a rest before the next round of deafening explosions and gun play started. The part that truly helped to make the film watchable were the cameos by two of Stallone’s follow action hero icons, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The verbal jabs that Sly and Arnold exchanged were enough to have most in the audience rolling in the aisles.

This film is destined to become a staple on the cable channel Spike TV because it is the prototypical guy film.

Grade: C