That The Expendables is one of the most anticipated films of the year is a reminder of why we go to the cinema; to have fun. Stallone’s latest offering benefits from being released so soon after Inception and Toy Story 3 as it’s a film to be enjoyed on one level. No need for interpretation here, how refreshing.
Much has been made of ‘The Greatest Action Ensemble Ever’, and rightly so, they’re all here; Machine Gun Joe, Rocky, Rambo, Cobra, Tango and John Spartan have made a new action film. That’s enough to get anyone exited.
Other than Jason Statham, the rest of the cast don’t get a lot of time on screen, and of the entire ensemble, it’s Stone Cold Steve Austin who surprises the most. He’s not a great actor, but he has an amazing presence on screen due to his size (he reminds us just how small Stallone actually is) and the fact we can tell that in real life he’s probably not someone you’d want to upset. There’s a scene where he hits a woman in the face, and we shouldn’t laugh, but he has been arrested for spousal abuse.
Mickey Rourke is also good, almost too good. I get the feeling he may have improvised many of his lines, and in his big emotional scene he shows every one else up. Terry Crews is underused, although he gets the best line of the film, and has the biggest muscles.
The Expendables is of course about the action. There’s plenty of it and the standard is high, although personally I prefer my fight sequences to have longer shots that involve more than three strikes between cuts. Stallone isn’t interested in stunningly choreographed martial arts, he likes large men hitting each other very hard and he knows how to shoot it. The final action set piece is reminiscent of both Rambo III and Commando (no bad thing) as it is confined to the bad guys’ compound which must be infiltrated and destroyed in a large explosion.
This is Stallone’s eighth as director, and his attempt to make a contemporary film are clear to see. If there isn’t any action taking place, the majority of shots are composed with a shallow depth of field. It looks like a TV cop show in some scenes (has Sly been watching NCIS?). Even though it’s clearly a big budget film, it doesn’t really look like it cost the reported $80m, maybe they blew it all on cars and bikes?
Stallone has almost been cynical with a lot of the aspects of the film; it was clear to him that a large proportion of the domestic target audience would be UFC-watching, Affliction-wearing, tattooed bikers (or those who aspire to be such things). This may be the reason Stallone’s character hangs out in a tattoo parlour filled with fancy choppers, drives a custom vintage pick-up and is mates with MMA legend Randy Couture.
Will the expendables prompt a resurgence of manly action films being released at the cinema? I don’t think so, but it will do the straight-to-DVD market a world of good. Even though they both turned down roles, Seagal and Van Damme will both benefit from the increased number of action B-Movies that will be made thanks to the popularity of The Expendables.
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