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Stallone is ‘Just Here’ in ‘The Expendables’

Sylvester Stallone helms a star-studded cast in The Expendables

There’s a moment towards the climax of The Expendables when Sylvester Stallone’s character saves the damsel in distress, prompting her to ask him “How did you get here?” Stallone’s response? “I’m just here.” Aside from this being an annoying cop-out that covers up a giant plot hole from earlier in the film, it’s actually a rather apt statement to describe the movie as a whole.

Leading up to its release The Expendables made some bold announcements about the star power of its cast, touting the big three: Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Willis under one roof.  Despite Willis and Schwarzenegger’s appearances being nothing more than cameos, Stallone also played up the presence of other giants of the genre like Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, and Steve Austin. Instead of creating a compelling action movie with all these stars though, Stallone “is just here” running this film on autopilot. He fails to utilize the potential of these actors in favor of churning out a mediocre product that he knows will make money because of the names involved.

The title team, which includes Barney Ross (Stallone), Lee Christmas (Statham), Ying Yang (Li), Gunner (Lundgren), Toll Road (Couture), and Hale Cesear (Crews) is introduced as a gang of highly skilled ex-military men for hire that go to the highest bidder. We know that one of them is a drug user, but we don’t know what drugs he does or even why he does them. This member is kicked to the curb, while the others consider a new job that involves assassinating the brutal Latin American dictator of an island.  After Ross and Christmas travel to the island to scout the mission, the men discover that things are more complicated than they seem; American businessmen are bankrolling the dictator so that they can exploit the island’s natural resources.

An encounter with a local woman who risks her life to help them escape, inspires Barney to liberate the people from captivity. He easily convinces  his teammates to return with him, even though there is no money involved in this venture. Once the men set foot on the island again, the bad guys are enveloped in a hailstorm of bullets, explosions, and knives.

The Expendables lacks the very minimal character development that belongs in an action movie. Giant questions remain unanswered such as who these people are, why they are friends, what they have been through together, and why they continue do what they do. The only characters that get back story are arguably second string: Jason Statham’s Lee Christmas and Mickey Rourke’s Tool. Statham’s romantic story is bland and uninteresting; however Rourke’s remorseful soldier actually has some weight. You get a chance to see the emotional impact that the mercenary life has on Tool’s conscience.

Another reason The Expendables disappoints aside from weak characters, is the lack of jaw dropping action sequences. It does not really deliver the epic explosions and the high body count consistently, waiting until the final act to go wild. Even then the battle is not well shot or cut, amounting to a shaky mess. The one thing that does work to Stallone’s credit in this movie is that it’s effects are as old school as its actors. Very little if any CG is used in the film, producing a more realistic gritty experience for the viewer.

✭✭ ½

Evan Crean: Hello! My name is Evan Crean. By day I work for a marketing agency, but by night, I’m a film critic based in Boston, MA. Since 2009, I have written hundreds of movie reviews and celebrity interviews for Starpulse.com. I have also contributed pieces to NewEnglandFilm.com and to The Independent, as a writer and editor. I maintain an active Letterboxd account too. In addition to publishing short form work, I am a co-author of the book Your ’80s Movie Guide to Better Living, which is available on CreateSpace and Amazon. The book is the first in a series of lighthearted self-help books for film fans, which distills advice from ’80s movies on how to tackle many of life’s challenges. On top of writing, I co-host and edit the weekly film podcast Spoilerpiece Theatre with two other Boston film critics. I’m a founding member and the current treasurer for the Boston Online Film Critics Association as well. This site, Reel Recon.com, is a one-stop-shop where you can find links to all of my past and present work. Have any questions or comments after checking it out? Please feel free to email me (Evan Crean) at: ecrean AT reelrecon DOT COM .
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