The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discussion

[Aragorn]

A group of mercenaries are hired to infiltrate a South American country and overthrow its ruthless dictator. Once the mission begins, the men realize things aren't quite as they appear, finding themselves caught in a dangerous web of deceit and betrayal. With their mission thwarted and an innocent life in danger, the men struggle with an even tougher challenge, one that threatens to destroy this band of brothers.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6RU5y2fU6s[/yt]

The good reviews:

A testosterone-fueled all-star action orgy that wouldn’t be out of place on the Cinemax late-night schedule circa 1986, “Expendables’’ is the closest thing to movie Viagra yet invented. It’s reprehensible. It’s stoopid violent. It’s a lot of unholy fun.

Retreads of The Dirty Dozen are now a dime a dozen, but what's distinctive — and backwardly fun — about The Expendables is that it's a completely low-tech, brute-force movie, a real meathead jamboree.

This is action as timeless as the reptilian brain—and if The Expendables is no classic, for about 20 minutes, it blowed up real good.

The body count is enormous, the explosions deafening, and none of it makes sense -- so why did I find this such a guilty pleasure?

A gang of old pros ripping through an $US80 million budget by doing what they like to do best. And given the sad state of the modern action movie, such passion is almost endearing.

The bad reviews:

Take the cast away, and there's not much more here than the straight-to-DVD schlock that has kept conspicuously absent rivals Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme busy of late.

Is it fun? Sort of. But it shoulda coulda been a ton of fun. Instead you take your auto assault 12-gauge shotgun splatterings and unintentional laughs, which I have a feeling were intentional unintentional ones, where you can.

Friends may not let friends die alone, but bogus philosophizing is apparently business as usual.

It yawningly snaps into place as yet another series of explosions that are dressed up with no place to blow. Things really get dull during the vast stretches of the film when everybody just sits around insulting each other.

It's not like the movies these guys made (with some obvious exceptions, such as the first "Rocky") were any great shakes to begin with. Sure, it's fun, after a fashion, to see them all in the same place, kicking and creaking. But that's about all it is.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Re: The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discus

They list Couture and Crews like anyone knows who the fudge they are.

 

[Jetfire]

Re: The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discus

The poster looks like it could be used for a Terminator film too.

 

[John Clark]

Re: The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discus

Well, I've seen Crews around (6th Day and he's popped up in a number of other flicks I've seen, though not in a major way). Couture I've seen on a couple of direct to dvd boxes (not seen the films though) and in the C&C Red Alert 3 trailer.

The gang and I will most likely go to see in a couple of weeks. It looks like it'll be entertaining enough.

 

[Trekker4747]

Re: The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discus

The poster looks like it could be used for a Terminator film too.

Who's Stalone Statham, Li Lundgren, Couture Austin, and Crews And Rourke?

Seriously, could they have jumbled up and cramed the names on the poster together in an even worse manner to make it almost un-understandable?

As for seeing this movie?

Yeah, I think not. I'm kind-of over Stalone.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Re: The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discus

Terry Crews also played the young Chris Rock's father in Everyone Loves Chris or whatever that show was called and was pretty good. Randy Couture you'd probably only know if you watched UFC on a semi-regular basis or were a fan. I've been looking forward to this film since the thread on it first cropped up a year and a half ago. I have listened to Brian Tyler's excellent score twice now and it's among my favorite of the year. He really understands how to score action films and this has an 80's action film feel to it to reflect the film. I'm seeing "Scott Pilgrim Vs The World" this weekend and "The Expendables" probably next weekend or the weekend after that.

 

[Jetfire]

Re: The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discus

Terry Crews also played the young Chris Rock's father in Everyone Loves Chris or whatever that show was called and was pretty good.

Everybody Hates Chris.

 

[Captain Craig]

Re: The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discus

I'm all over this and will see it Saturday.

I too am surprised that Couture and Crews get billing. Crews I know to look at but I don't follow UFC and if his movies are just straight to DVD he doesn't belong. Even Austin is pushing it, he's had what 1 maybe 2 theatrical movies the rest DDVD. Eric Roberts? What action films of consequence did he headline? Yeah I know him but still.

The names IMO for this movie that should be billed on the poster are Stallone, Li, Statham, Rourke and Lundgren. Willis and Arnie are just cameos so they don't belong on the poster either unless they are more than cameos.

At any rate tracking is apparently looking at a near $30m OW and if it does Sly has a sequel in mind already.

With pre-release surveys for "The Expendables" indicating huge levels of excitement among male filmgoers, director Sylvester Stallone says he's ready to roll on a sequel if investors are willing.

"If this does perform, I think it will open a little more liquidity in funding the sequel," he said. "I have an idea ready to go. People think doing a sequel is easy, but it's not because you need the element of surprise. I'm going to try to do something that's quite radical."

Stallone offered few specifics on what that radical idea might be, but the hyphenate isn't shy about what "Expendables," which is poised to open north of $30 million this weekend, means for his career. In an interview for a story that ran in today's Times, Stallone said he first pitched the movie, which he also co-wrote, at the American Film Market more than two years ago.

 

[JarodRussell]

Re: The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discus

Crews is the guy from the Old Spice comercials. That's all I need to know.

BLOCK! BUILDING KICK! EXPLOSIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[Gil T.Azell]

Re: The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discus

So I've only seen the TV trailers I'd take Arnold's appearance is a Cameo?

 

[Agent Richard07]

Re: The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discus

So I've only seen the TV trailers I'd take Arnold's appearance is a Cameo?

Yeah. It was shot in a few hours on a Saturday. Stallone said that he hopes Schwarzenegger will have a larger role in future installments if they get made.

 

[Agent Richard07]

Re: The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discus

I didn't know that Bruce Willis' role was also a cameo. I was wondering why his name wasn't on the poster.

It also looks like Steven Seagal, Wesley Snipes and Jean Claude Van Damme turned down roles in the film. Having them would have been nice. The cast they have now is alright, but looks a bit second tier-ish.

 

[Jetfire]

Re: The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discus

I still think Mel Gibson should have been in this.

 

[Aragorn]

Re: The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discus

I didn't know that Bruce Willis' role was also a cameo. I was wondering why his name wasn't on the poster.

It also looks like Steven Seagal, Wesley Snipes and Jean Claude Van Damme turned down roles in the film. Having them would have been nice. The cast they have now is alright, but looks a big second tier-ish.

Willis has his name on this even though he's not part of the regular billing:

There was a role for Snipes, but he had certain legal problems which prevented him from leaving the country. Supposedly the chain was Wesley Snipes to Forest Whitaker (either a scheduling conflict or he didn't like the rewrites) to 50 Cent (who was quickly replaced because the internet exploded) to Terry Crews.

Seagal apparently had a falling out with someone at the studio this movie is at, so he said no.

Van Damme still has an ego despite his DTV career so an ensemble wasn't going to be in the cards especially if he wasn't the star, plus apparently there are a few reports of his sheer stupidity in why he rejected the role (like he wanted the movie to be about helping poor people in South Central).

 

[Gil T.Azell]

Re: The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discus

I didn't know that Bruce Willis' role was also a cameo. I was wondering why his name wasn't on the poster.

It also looks like Steven Seagal, Wesley Snipes and Jean Claude Van Damme turned down roles in the film. Having them would have been nice. The cast they have now is alright, but looks a bit second tier-ish.

Wesley Snipes was probably preparing for his jail term...

 

[Jack Bauer]

Re: The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discus

That looks extremely bad ass. A man's man movie.

 

[Aragorn]

Re: The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discus

Don't know how accurate it is, but this is supposedly everyone's tallies prior to The Expendables.

A side of The Expendables you won't see in the movie:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSZeXGi3b8M[/yt]

 

[Jetfire]

Re: The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discus

The guy behind Jason Statham & Charisma Carpenter kinda looks like Jason Statham...who is that guy?

 

[Aragorn]

Re: The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discus

UFC fighter Randy Couture.

 

[Kelso]

Re: The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren) Grading & Discus

Anyone seen it yet?