Inferno: The Making of 'The Expendables' (2010 TV Movie) User Reviews

INFERNO: The Making of "The Expendibles"

[chris-429-687204 · 22 July 2012]

Unfulfilled expectations and disappointment are a big part of Michael's take on the documentary although I do understand his fanboy view.

This is not a TMZ feature on the film; rather, Inferno gives extraordinary insights into film making. While Inferno is longer than the original film, I would suggest watching this before the feature, as you'll appreciate it even more. (No, no "spoilers" in Inferno.) I watched the documentary through the eyes and filter of a director, as I was fascinated to see how Stallone balanced his roles as writer, director and lead. The aesthetic, management and leadership challenges were enormous as he changed his approach to scenes in real time, always thinking about continuity and what he needed downstream for editing the final product together.

That's an enormous amount of pressure, especially with an $80 million production budget of OPM (other people's money).

I especially enjoyed the scripting scenes before production began and the relationships he had with his staff. Stallone's efforts to balance the demands of work and family were extremely revealing and touching, too.

The dangerous physical demands of the role, where he literally got beat-up, were amazing to watch, especially the reactions of the crew, trembling at the thought that the star-and-director would be unable to continue and, uh-oh, there go our jobs and the mortgage payment! Inferno also presents a big dose of Stallone's movie making philosophy, as he is intensely immersed and tightly focused by the process. I was constantly amazed by his ability to pull off his trio-role, which he did quite well.

The film grossed $275 million, 62% of that foreign. Not a bad return!

A Few Good Spots but Mostly Bland

[Michael_Elliott · 21 June 2012]

Inferno: The Making of 'The Expendables' (2010)

** (out of 4)

A rather bland look at the making of THE EXPENDABLES comes off more like a video diary of Sylvester Stallone. What we pretty much get is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film as Stallone has to put up with one issue after another with the main problem being constant injuries to himself. I must say that I was extremely disappointed with this thing for a number of reasons. For starters, it seems like the director never fully came to terms with what type of documentary he wanted to make because the thing is all over the place. This isn't your typical making of featurette that you find on most releases because this clocks in at 91-minutes, which turns out to be too long. I think the film got off to a pretty weak start because Sly is talking in such a slow, drawn out way that it really becomes tiresome just listening. As a fan of the film I thought I'd enjoy this thing but it just never works. There are a few good moments scattered throughout including a look at the filming of the scene with Sly, Willis and Arnold. It was fun seeing the three of them working together but sadly there's not too much footage. I wondered why this scene would get so little while some pretty worthless scenes would get more attention. Another good spot or at least interesting bit was seeing Sly come down with a pretty bad injury and his doctor wanting him to put the film on hold but by doing this other actors would become unavailable. It stuff like this that we needed more of and less talk about the emotion and feelings needed in an action movie.