‘THE DEPENDS’ABLES”
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Terry Crews, Steve Austin and Giselle Itie
Directed by: Sylvester Stallone
MPAA Rating: R for strong action and bloody violence throughout, and for some language.
Genre: Action/Adventure
Running Time: 1 hr. 43 min.
Distributor: Lionsgate
Release Date: August 13th, 2010
By John Delia
Here’s an adventure film filled with action actors that really have screen presence including Sly Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li and more. Each actor in his own way muscles his character and thinks brutality is a way of life. You can see the aging killer elite in the bloody kick butt film called The Expendables.
The film centers on Barney Ross (Stallone) and his team of mercenaries who take on the jobs that most hired killers won’t. After returning from an Asian gig Ross gets approached by the CIA offering him an assignment on an island off the coast of a South America country where he will have to take out their ruthless dictator. He agrees but decides to go and check out the situation with his lead man Christmas (Statham) to make sure there are no traps. After a narrow escape from the clutches of the dictator’s hired crime boss during their recon and trying to save the dictator’s daughter Sandra (Giselle Itie), Ross has some apprehension on wanting to return and proceed with the job. When one of his team members defects to the dictator, Ross takes his team to the island for a bloody showdown.
You’ve seen the cast before in films like Rambo (Stallone), Crank (Statham), Kiss of the Dragon (Li), Red Scorpion (Lundgren) with violence being the center of attraction for high adrenaline seekers. They even top off the cast with appearances by top dogs Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwartzenegger. In The Expendables the lead actors push the envelope spilling blood and mayhem across an island in South America, and that’s what these action engineers do best.
The film starts out with a bang, drags a bit and then gets into the heat of an amazing battle during the last 20 minutes of the film. The action hero’s are getting a little frayed around the edges as they get further on in years, but they still put on a good show. Director Stallone keeps his actors freaky and fearsome in his final killing spree at the fortress of the dictator. Each of Stallone’s cast is a killing machine, especially Statham with his expert knife throwing and Terry Crews wielding some awesome weapons.
The Expendables is rated R for strong action and bloody violence throughout, and for some language. If you shy away from brutality, this film may not be for you.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Another Rambo, but with friends. (3.5 of 5)