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

2 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:

island | mercenary | sniper | mission | dictator | 

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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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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong action and bloody violence throughout, and for some language

Details

Official Sites:

Midget Entertainment [dk] Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

13 August 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los indestructibles

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, Rogue Marble

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

Julie Benz, Charisma Carpenter's co-star from Angel suggested that Carpenter try out for the role of Lacy. Sylvester Stallone had a hard time finding the right person prior to casting Carpenter in the role. Her final scene in Angel: You're Welcome convinced Stallone to cast Carpenter in the movie.

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Goofs

When Barney Ross and Lee Christmas arrived at the island for the first time to investigate, Lee had a smaller prime lens mounted on his camera. But then in the city he had a bigger zoom lens attached . He didn't seem to be carrying a bag with him so there's no logical explanation on how he changed lenses.

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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

References Happy Feet (2006)

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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

People get shot with bullets, from guns, and die as a result.

If you aren't sure what to expect going into this think Rambo, only there are five Rambos instead of just one, and two of them know karate.

If you do have high expectations going in (as I did), you will start to wonder if perhaps this movie isn't going to be what you were expecting as you watch it. The first hour gives you the two 'big' cameos, which weren't worth the hype (or any hype for that matter), and an out of place Mickey Rourke emotional moment but not much else.

The real payoff comes in the last half hour or so of the movie which is a beautiful symphony of mindless violence, and more than makes up for the beginning.

Overall the movie seemed a little rushed as far as the story goes and I won't be surprised to see a extended cut when this comes out on DVD but it is a solid action movie and worth the watch. And hats off to Randy Couture who actually steals the movie a little bit during the big action scene at the end.