The Expendables is exactly what we were expecting – a great 80s action film. But is that enough?

With The Expendables, Sylvester Stallone focused less on the plot and more on the cast. The film features Stallone himself as the head of the titular mercenary group for hire which include Jason Statham, Jet Li, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Dolph Lundgren, and Mickey Rourke, who has retired from the group. These tough guys are hired (over a similar group led by Arnold Schwarzenegger) by the mysterious Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) to take out a dictator (David Zayas) on the small island of Vilena in the Pacific who is being funded by an American (Eric Roberts) and his thugs (led by “Stone Cold” Steve Austin). Although reluctant to go through with the job, Stallone is lured back by the beautiful Sandra (Giselle Itié).

The Expendables is an action film in the purest sense. Eschewing the recent innovations of the gritty spy genre jump-started by The Bourne Identity, Sylvester Stallone provides a raw, violent film full of guns, knives, and explosions. The visceral action on display here is a rare sight in cinema today, having almost died out in the 90s. It’s odd that such a thriving genre got pushed aside in favor of comic-book and sci-fi flicks (which I also love). Action has remained an integral part of popular entertainment, but the true action film, unfortunately, is a dying breed. Not only does The Expendables bring back this fun genre, it does so with the most impressive ensemble cast in recent memory. Seeing Stallone, Willis, and Schwarzenegger on-screen together is quite a treat, but the rest of the cast is also great.

But has nostalgia blinded us? If you take out the action legends, would it be the same? Of course it wouldn’t. Part of what makes the film so enjoyable is seeing these stars back on the screen. Most of them aren’t retired, per se, but its been a while since we saw Stallone, for example, in a true leading action role. Bruce Willis, who gives the best performance in the film by far, and Arnold are left with mere cameos, but that scene is so fun to watch. In any case, I am judging this film based on my observation of it in the here and now.

Without such a fantastic cast, The Expendables would be a very mediocre film. The plot is nothing new, and the dialog and characterization is shoddy at best. From a writing perspective, Stallone has seen better days. Still, the charisma that these actors bring to their roles and the classic over-the-top action makes up for any shortcomings in the more subtle aspects of filmmaking. Unfortunately however, the film thinks that it should be more than an action film, so we are forced to sit through too much mediocre dialogue and half-hearted character development. I understand some of this, but at times the film’s faults are pushed to the edge and almost, but not quite, mess with the awesome action. The most egregious example of this is the random Jason Statham side-plot that is completely unnecessary. The film needs a villain so I understand setting up the actual job, but anything not related directly to the mission at hand should have been trimmed out completely.

In the present flood of comic-book and superhero films, “The Expendables” are a group of tough, manly heroes that use firepower to achieve their goals. There is the story about redemption and heroism, but that was unfortunately pushed aside. Still, I defy you to come up with another film this year that packs so much true action into one movie.

The Expendables is a film that pushes its flaws to the center, trying to be something it shouldn’t be but still remains an awesome action film that really delivers what it sets out to and the amazing cast is a a must-see.

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Stone Cold is Expendable

AFI at this moment is already reshaping their 100 Movies list to put The Expendables at number one. This movie just keeps getting better with an already stellar cast with Sylvester Stallone, Mickey Rourke, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and Forrest Whitaker. Add Stone Cold Steve Austin to that list.

ScreenRant reports that the Texas Rattlesnake will be joining the aforementioned and Charisma Carpenter in Sylvester Stallone’s epic action film. For those not up to speed, the film is about a group of mercenaries who are sent to South America to take down a dictator only to realize it’s a suicide mission because they are, well, “expendable”.

At this point, I’m expecting the world’s population to increase by the millions when this film comes out due to the pregnancies this film will cause. The cast assembled is any action fans wet dream and the story oozes with the ultimate in kickassery.

Filming begins March 28, 2009 and here’s hoping the cameras don’t explode from filming too much awesome.