Review of The Expendables (2000) by Tommy H — 11 Apr 2015

With an exceptional cast of legendary action heroes lined up and Sylvester Stallone leading the crew, The Expendables was an unmissable action spectacle for me.

For a lot of people, The Expendables delivers exactly what it promises. For me, it delivered less. The fact that it failed to deliver much of a story at all was something I could see coming a mile away, but the key flaw in the film really boils down to the fact that The Expendables fails to make use of its cast. Sylvester Stallone gives the film a stylish directional effort and he makes the film suitably shallow enough, but the issue really comes down to the action scenes. The action in The Expendables is both its best tactic and a central example of its downfall. To expand, I mean that The Expendables makes use of some action scenes which are exciting and bloody enough as well as filmed with great cinematography and quick editing without being that choppy, and by the standard of action films today this really transcends the usual limit of quality. So The Expendables reveals that Sylvester Stallone still maintains a keen eye for exciting action scenes. The problem is that his direction is a little self-indulgent. I have no problem with him as the central protagonist Barney Ross because he gives a good performance and he is my all time favourite action hero, but this time around the film is not titled after him. Unlike previous action vehicles such as Demolition Man, Cliffhanger or any of the Rambo movies, The Expendables boasts a title referring to a team of mercenaries and not solely one action man. But still, Sylvester Stallone gets his way into most of the action scenes while the rest of the titular Expendables are dealt with sporadically. The central two action heroes are played by Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham. Sylvester Stallone is always the head of the action though, and later on he teams up mainly with Jet Li. There is not enough focus on the actual Expendables as a whole, and it is mostly centered on the character Barney Ross which means that it is a very misleading film. So the action scenes in The Expendables do not contain enough of the team of mercenaries that the film is about, and more solely about Barney Ross which makes it rather disappointing and misleading, as well as the fact that it reduces the scale of the action in the film to a low point instead of what it could have been if it showed more of the team engaging in big-scale battles.

But still, The Expendables does manage to bring back some old-timey action entertainment, especially in an age where action films are currently in a state of decline.

The script of the film is pretty decent. It isn't perfect because a lot of its character-intended dramatics are blunted by the thin nature of each character, but when it comes to the general dialogue of the film things prove fairly effective. It has some weak moments, but it cleverly plays on the self-referential nature of itself as an action film. Its attempts at one-liners are really hit and miss with some ones coming out clever and a lot of them seeming really forced, but it is to be expected considering the send-up nature of The Expendables. Essentially, the script does the job well enough even with a few weak moments in the film, and while the premise of the film is not an exciting or original one, it is transcended by its superior aspects. There are a few moments of humour in there too, even if they are extremely subtle and a not high enough in quantity to get many laughs out of the film.

And like I said, the action in the film is pretty great. Plus, thanks to the scenery of the film the tale feels legitimate, and it is all captured with atmospheric cinematography and edited well. So The Expendables succeeds from a technical standpoint and has a strong musical score to assist it along the way. The action in the film is of sufficient quantity even if it does not have enough of the titular Expendables teaming up. Essentially, the film is exciting enough for fans of old-school action films thanks to an energetic pace and a high quantity of well-crafted action films which take a few pauses during the first half of the film and none during the second.

But the greatest novelty of the film and the other source of dictating the film's success is its cast.

Sylvester Stallone is a bit self-indulgent as the lead in The Expendables, but frankly I could not give many shi*ts about that because he is a legendary action hero. He separates himself from his many other roles because this time around he is not only confident but seems to be having a certain level of fun in the role since he is really attached to the project. He is emotionless, but not an emotionless hulk like he was in films like Cobra. Most importantly, he separates himself from the role of Jon Rambo by turning himself into a man going out to do his job without projecting any sort of past torment, and so he sets up a new character in the role of Barney Ross. Barney Ross is actually a great character because he is an awesome action hero with plenty of energetic confidence It's one of those roles that Sylvester Stallone was born to play and it puts him back in the blockbuster spotlight again deservedly because he still has a lot of punches to throw in his career. Sylvester Stallone puts up an awesome fight in The Expendables by handling every weapon confidently and acting with a quick wit, as well as the fact that his line delivery is consistently lean without being all that hollow, so he manages to justify his role as the lead very easily.

Jason Statham is an awesome casting decision. He is known in so many films for being the standalone leading action hero, and so it is awesome to see him in The Expendables because he is part of a team. But more specifically, him and Sylvester Stallone are a duo in the film and they pack an awesome punch together. Jason Statham injects his natural heroic persona into the part really well and he makes himself a great presence as a kickass action hero thanks to his ability to constantly maintain a rough edge, and considering that his character is given more depth and understanding than the many others in the film, he is the right person for it to have been given to. Jason Statham does his part in The Expendables very well and has some unforgettable moments in the film, and the fact that it sees him, a 2000's action hero with one from the 1980's is just awesome.

Jet Li isn't capitalised on as much as he could have been, but he manages to use his natural skills as a wushu champion to beat up his fair share of enemies in The Expendables. His line delivery is semi-decent, but it is more important just to see him getting into awesome brawls with nameless foes nad Dolph Lundgren because that is what The Expendables is truly about. He Wushu skills make the action in The Expendables slightly more versatile, even if there is not enough of them.

Dolph Lundgren is stuck with one of the more weak characters in the script because it is challenging to establish if he is a hero or a villain some of the time, and his line delivery is a bit off. But as a whole, he is a key cast member because he has an intimidating nature to him and he has a past as a 1980's action hero spanning back as far as when he fought Sylvester Stallone in the role of Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. His line delivery pays him no favours as an actor, but it is awesome to see him getting into brawls again with his team. His screen time is not that great and his character is cheap, but his presence is a grand thing.

Terry Crews isn't emphasized enough as the angry African-American archetype along the lines of Danny Glover in The Expendables mainly due to his insufficient screen time, but when he is in the final scene of the film dominating with an explosive submachine gun, he manages to hit the endeavour of his level of herosim. Terry Crews has some awesome moments in the second half of the film and justifies his casting easily with masculine aggressive energy which makes the film slightly more entertaining.

Randy Courture is a name I am not all that familiar with, but he does his part to kick some ass in The Expendables and it is really no surprise that he succeeds. He makes a great member of the team and packs an easy punch as an action hero, mostly because he has many scenes where he is able to use his abilities as a Mixed-Martial Artist and former professional wrestler really well in some good moments, particularly during a cleverly implemented battle scene with Steve Austin. Randy Corture does his part to ensure that there is plenty of ass getting kicked in The Expendables.

Mickey Rourke makes a nice touch to the cast, although it would have been nice to see him get in on the action. But admittedly, seeing him rock a Harley Davidson again takes me back to when he played the titular role in Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, an underrated action film from a low point in Mickey Rourke's career which I still found to be thoroughly interesting. Mickey Rourke made a good presence in The Expendables and delivered his lines with a decent dramatic passion and sense of stoicisim.

Eric Roberts makes an awesome villain in The Expendables. While his screen time is limited, when he is on it he works through the script and even some cliche lines to deliver them with domineering confidence. He makes a manipulative and intense villain really easily in The Expendables, so he plays out a pivotal role.

David Zayas makes an intense supporting presence, and Charisma Carpenter is good to see up and active again and the cameo appearances of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis were just perfect. Steve Austin was a nice touch as well.

It is worth mentioning that my third viewing of The Expendables raised my value for the film. I still had problems with the way that it didn't use enough of the cast, but the action is astounding and I enjoyed the fact that the film attempted to build drama within the characters. This gave the series a good start before it skyrocketed into a series of over the top legendary action films. The Expendables is a great start for a magnificent series, and though it needed to spread out the use of its cast more, the characters and their drama are entertaining, the action is awesome and inspiring and the deadpan comedic edge makes it more of an enjoyable experience.

So although The Expendables is short on story and doesn't make full use of its awesome cast, they do their best within the limited screen time they receive which proves awesome while the action in the film does its job to be seriously entertaining as well which means that The Expendables hits hard enough to entertain fans of action cinema.