The Expendables (2010)

A CIA operative hires a team of mercenaries to eliminate a Latin dictator and a renegade CIA agent.

Director:

Sylvester Stallone

Writers:

Dave Callaham (screenplay), Sylvester Stallone (screenplay),

Stars:

Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li

3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sylvester Stallone	...	Barney Ross
Jason Statham	...	Lee Christmas
Jet Li	...	Yin Yang
Dolph Lundgren	...	Gunner Jensen
Eric Roberts	...	James Munroe
Randy Couture	...	Toll Road
Steve Austin	...	Paine
David Zayas	...	General Garza
Giselle Itié	...	Sandra
Charisma Carpenter	...	Lacy
Gary Daniels	...	The Brit
Terry Crews	...	Hale Caesar
Mickey Rourke	...	Tool
Hank Amos	...	Paul
Amin Joseph	...	Pirate Leader

Storyline

Barney Ross leads the "Expendables", a band of highly skilled mercenaries including knife enthusiast Lee Christmas, martial arts expert Yin Yang, heavy weapons specialist Hale Caesar, demolitionist Toll Road and loose-cannon sniper Gunner Jensen. When the group is commissioned by the mysterious Mr. Church to assassinate the merciless dictator of a small South American island, Barney and Lee head to the remote locale to scout out their opposition. Once there, they meet with local rebel Sandra and discover the true nature of the conflict engulfing the city. When they escape the island and Sandra stays behind, Ross must choose to either walk away and save his own life - or attempt a suicidal rescue mission that might just save his soul.

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Plot Keywords:

rescue mission | action hero | assassination attempt | machine gun | explosion | 

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Taglines:

Every movie has a hero. This one has them all.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Certificate:

18A

Details

Official Sites:

Midget Entertainment [Denmark] Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

13 August 2010 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Les sacrifiés

Filming Locations:

Fort McComb, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£3,910,596 (UK) (20 August 2010)

Gross:

$102,981,571 (USA) (15 October 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Millennium Films, Nu Image Films, Nimar Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min 113 min (extended director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the auto commentary Sylvester Stallone reveals that in the final battle, Steve Austin almost lost his leg, due to an explosion that went off next to his foot. What saved him was the bag he was holding took the bulk of the blast. The bag acted as a shield when the explosion happened. (You can this happen at the 1:24:05 mark in the movie.)

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Goofs

When Barney is firing his sidearm at incredible speeds during the final shootout, the sounds of the gunshots come much faster than he can be seen pulling the trigger. Furthermore, he fires far more rounds than the Colt pistol can hold between reloads.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Barney Ross: We are the shadows and the smoke, we rise. We are the ghosts that hide in the night.

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Movie Review: The Great 2010 Review (2010)

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Soundtracks

Mississippi Queen
Written by Corky Laing (as Laurence Laing), Felix Pappalardi, David Rea and Leslie West (as Leslie A. Weinstein)
Performed by Mountain
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

Big action balls!!!

So I guess with any film review - it's all about the answers to the important questions. So let's get them out of the way first shall we?

Q) Is the plot descent, with a substantial storyline including dramatic arcs, twists and/or turns?

A) Not particularly.

Q) Are there character arcs and meaningful character developments?

A) A little.

Q) Is there romance?

A) Next question, please.

Q) Is the overall film original?

A) Not at all.

Q) Is it a likely Oscar nomination contender?

A) Hell no!

Q) Is it still awesome?

A) HELL YES!!!!!

Critics should be banned from reviewing films such as these. Anyone with half a brain can tell exactly what kind of film this is and what they're in for purely by the film's trailer alone.

This is a film made for action movie fans and not just regular action movies - I mean REAL action films in the style of the classic 80's action movies where plot and substantial character developments and dialogue took a backseat to intense over-the-top violence, explosions, car chases, sex scenes and catchy, memorable one liners!

The 80's action hero (and villain) breed was a rare phenomenon which will likely die with those very actors who gave them life. No 90's or new millennium "action" movie star will ever come close to being anywhere near as genuinely tough and just plain bad-arse as their 80's predecessor's! Even now with the main 'Expendables' cast pushing 60 +, you know that they would snap Matt Damon's spine in 2 with one hand tied behind their backs!

The 'Expendables' cast consists of Sly Stallone as the fearless leader of the team, Jason (Basketball stabber) Statham as the trusty knife-throwing sidekick, Dolph Lundgren as the treacherous giant one, Jet-Li as the small one, Terry Chews as Wesley Snipes, Mickey Rourke as the tattoo/previous knife-throwing sidekick and Randy Couter as the "who the hell is this guy, oh he's a UFC fighter" guy.

I still can't believe the unbelievable shape these guys are in! They're giants (exception for Jet-li of course).

Still, despite it's 80's throw-back appeal - the film isn't all action. Believe it or not there are slow parts. Mostly unnecessary filler between the action scenes. However the third act of the film makes up for the lack of action and then some!

It's when this third act commences when the true action film we've been waiting to see kicks in and steps up several notches to become the manliest most testosterone-fueled film since the last 'Rambo'!

It's funny, it's loud, it's un-relentlessly violent, an action-packed no-brainer of a film! An 80's action movie fan's wet-dream!!!

Bring on the sequel/s and bring on Jean-Claude Van Damme so he can give Statham the butt-kicking he so desperately deserves!!!