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☆ 

Stephen King’s The Shining is not only a classic film directed by one of the best of all time, Mr. Stanley Kubrick, but also an endless source of artistic inspiration and expression as evidenced by this poster designed by Nick Tassone.

Chris Thornley designed this homage to Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets which had a fantastic official poster when the film was released in 1973 starring Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel.

If you’ll remember the line, “Make yours like mine.” from Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums then you know exactly what Ibrahim Youssef has illustrated in his poster for The Royal Tenenbaums.

Another Chris Thornley design this time perfectly capturing the dark humor and playfulness of Christian Bale’s American Psycho. This is as perfect a time as any to point out that recently Bale was quoted as saying he used Tom Cruise as a model for his Psycho role. I don’t know whether or not Cruise should take that as a compliment.

Matt Needle designed this Michael Caine Get Carter poster, unlike Sylvester Stallone’s remake the original was as cool as Caine and Matt Needle’s poster has harnessed that coolness.

What do you think of these posters? Do any of them make you want to revisit these films? Have you seen any good lookin’ posters or reinvisioned posters lately, please share them with us!

This is yet another Tuesday Top 10 List from Atomic Popcorn and today I have brought to you all what I think are the Top 10 Fight Scenes of recent memory. Below are the movie’s along with their videos of said fight.

PLEASE leave your comments with better video or even better yet, better fight scenes. I would love to see what you all have to say as what the Top 10 should be.

Without further interruptions I bring you the Atomic Popcorn Top 10 Fight Scenes.

10. The Way of the Dragon:
Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee – come on folks you CANNOT forget this fight scene!

9. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children:
Cloud and Sephiroth – this is an great fight scene along with awesome animation.

8. Raiders of the Lost Ark:
Indiana Jones doing what he does best – do a google search and read why this scene actually came about!

7. Lethal Weapon:
Mel Gibson against the ever crazy Gary Busey – great stuff all around.

6. Rocky IV:
Rocky kicking some Russian ass – this movie can make me cry in a matter of minutes. Great all around movie and a great great fight scene. Gloves and all!

5. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon:
Gorgeous ass kicking at it’s finest. What more can you want from a fight scene? Oh yeah Bamboo walking/flying!

4. The Karate Kid:
Crane Kick anyone? Enough said…

3. Snatch:
Mickey O’Neil vs. Gorgeous George – this just looks like it hurts.

2. Fight Club:
Come on you cannot leave out a movie with the word “fight” in it. And besides this is a classic scene in many ways.

1. The Matrix:
One bad actor versus many different agents? And kicking some serious agent ass..The Matrix is number 1 on my list!

Deep down, I think we all knew it was too weird to be true. Sylvester Stallone had been talking a while back about how the fifth entry in the Rambo franchise would feature his character hunting down a genetically engineered monster. If ever there was a shark to be jumped or a fridge to be nuked, this was the grand-daddy of them all.

But now, Sylvester himself has notified the world of a slight change of plan. You’ve got to respect the guy for being extremely communicative with his fanbase in recent years. Here’s what he had to say:

I’m letting you know that Rambo has changed course and the story about hunting the man/beast will be done using another character in the lead. Rambo himself will be heading over the border to a violent city where many young women have vanished.

There will be blood.

Best,

Sly Stallone

This has its perks and pitfalls. We’re missing out on the chance to see something potentially really crazy awesome, a total genre-bender mid-series, but now we can also breathe easy and know he’s sticking to what makes the character strongest. Personally, I think as long as he doesn’t make another Rocky, we’ll be just fine.

The next time you’ll see Sly will be in The Expendables next year, which I cannot wait for.

I’m a huge fan of the Rocky movies. I have been since 3rd grade when I was home sick for a week and my dad decided to rent all five of the movies for me.

My personal favorite in the series is Rocky IV, in which Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky fights Dolph Lundgren’s intimidatingly droid-esque Communist. Seriously, it’s epic. Classic underdog story, coupled with an excellent montage bit.

Rocky V was an unfortunate follow-up to the fourth film, which Stallone himself even once rated 0 out of 10 in an interview.

Luckily, Stallone decided to add a sixth film to the franchise with Rocky Balboa which, while not amazing, was pretty decent and managed to redeem the series after Rocky V.

Now Stallone is ready to take Rocky Balboa back to the ring. After Stallone wraps up with Rambo 5 and The Expendables, he’s planning on tackling Rocky VII.

Stallone acknowledges that such a move will be met with criticism (his wife has even told him not to, because he’s embarrassing their kids), but says that, as an artist, he won’t be happy with himself unless he at least gives it a try.

Rocky VII is still in the ‘just a concept’ phase, so we really have no idea what Stallone might do with the film. All Stallone has said is that he hopes to make it “a film about becoming older, not about boxing but about myself.”

Since there’s not yet a plot for Rocky VII, I can’t make a call as to whether or not it will be a worthwhile endeavor for Stallone. However, being the Rocky fan that I am, I’m going to put aside skepticism until I know more, and for now hope that Stallone can go one more round with Rocky.

If you’re an action junkie, you’re pretty much already sold on Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables. I need not explore the plot of the film, because with a cast consisting of Stallone himself, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, Bruce Willis and Mickey Rourke, you need no other reason to purchase a ticket.

That, and this clip (which seems to reveal a lot from the film, so spoiler warning) seems to deliver a pretty clear message about the fun experience we’re in for. Enjoy, and get excited for August 20, 2010. I’ll be in line for this one.