Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Libramedi Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

crendine For the trivia enthusiasts out there : Barney Ross was actually a professional prize fighter in the 1940's who held titles in 3 different classes. As for this film : The best way for me to describe it would be like listening to 2 opposing arguments about professional wrestling. One would be that it's mindless and lacking any authenticity. The other would be that it's simply entertainment. Nothing more. Nothing less. If you're a fan of this genre, you will probably enjoy this film a great deal. The crew assembled around Barney Ross (Stallone) seems very team-oriented and operate like a well-oiled machine. Eric Roberts turns in a convincing performance as an international villain. What Stallone has managed to do here is expand the tongue-in-cheek action film like he did in Demolition Man. He brings in all sorts of action heroes who actually make fun of their own films in the course of the dialogue. The hand-to-hand combat scenes are incredible and well choreographed. In general, this is an action film not to be taken seriously at all but still viewed closely. My only regret about the plot itself is that there is no explanation as to how this team gets assembled, what Ross and his teammates did before becoming "The Expendables", etc. It simply begins with them venturing out on their first mission. But that's just a minor point. Again, if you're a fan of Rambo, Terminator, Die Hard, etc., just sit back, relax and enjoy an action-packed adventure. My personal favorite is Jason Statham as "Lee Christmas".

stevenrotherforth The ExpendablesLet's face it if you grew up in the 80's then you grew up watching these guys. Sly, Arnie, Willis and Lundgren where a staple for the youngsters of that decade. Along with a whole host of other stars, some also featured in this movie. Films such as First blood, The Terminator and Die Hard were big business and the stars of such were superheroes of the time. No tights or cape needed. Just bulging biceps and the well timed one liner. Fast forward on to 2010 when this flick was released and todays youth are fed a diet of Iron man and other marvelicious delicacies. For the grown ups action stars now come with a PHD. Jason Bourne has moved the action genre on forcing even James Bond to step up his game. The Expendables goes back to old school action. A flick that could have come straight from the 80's. But let's face it, getting Rambo, the Terminator and John McClane on screen together back then would have been impossible. Just think of the budget needed just to pay their salaries. Every young boy in the world would have exploded in their cinema seat with excitement. Probably every boys father too! In 2010 it's a reality and you've got to admire Sylvester Stallones business brain. Rocky sure knows how to make a dollar or two. He's selling us nostalgia and we'll eat it up because nostalgia is good. Take the A Team movie that was released around the same time. It flopped slap bang on its ass because nobody wants to see someone else playing their beloved heroes. We want to actually see our beloved heroes. Can you imagine if Mr T and the original gang returned for that movie if it was possible. Everyone would have flocked to the cinema to see it and I would have pitied the fool that didn't. Stallone's action mash up reminds us of an era when the cheesy action flick was something you looked forward to. A trip down to the local video store in hope that Rocky 15 didn't have that little red tag on the top of the box that said it was on hire. The Expendables is a silly film about fictitious good guys beating the snot out of fictitious bad guys in a fictitious country. That's it, plain and simple. No point in analyzing the plot because there barely is one. The negative reviews on here are ridiculous. They are over analyzing something that has been manufactured to wash over you. A product that allows you to take out your brain leave it on the side table and just be entertained. If you analyze the acting, script,plot,direction and every other thing then you've totally missed the point. If this type of movie isn't for you then don't waste your precious time watching it. You know what it's gonna be it says so right there on the tin. As for the rest of us, what's wrong with a little trip down memory lane? A walk down Nostalgia Avenue?

dworldeater The Expendables is an 80's style action movie with an all star cast brought to life by action icon Sly Stallone. Sly was on a roll with excellent sequels to both Rocky and Rambo making a strong comeback to the cinema. Then he made this and rounded up a very good cast of tough guys with Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Dolf Lundgren,Randy Couture and Terry Crews. The much under rated Eric Roberts is an excellent villain and Steve Austin and Gary Daniels are excellent heavies. Plus cameos from Arnold and Bruce Willis. While this film is in some ways flawed with not too much time to spend on character development and not the best dialouge, I appreciate and enjoy The Expendables regardless. The film looks great and delivers huge on action. Great shootouts, explosions, fighting with fists, knives, feet. It also is very violent and bloody along the lines of the last Rambo film. While not quite as gory or violent as Rambo, the action scenes are bigger and more over the top. The tone of the film is lighter than Rambo and has much in common with the 80's action flicks that this is in the same tradition of. However, this is an ensemble piece and plays like a modern version of The Dirty Dozen. While not as good as The Dirty Dozen, it is a breath of fresh air for me as I am not a fan of most modern action movies that rely on cgi and cast with wimpy actors. The Expendables has a very credible cast of tough actors and brings down the thunder with the firepower and gritty violence much needed in modern cinema. This is not the type of film that critics will praise, but is just what the doctor ordered in an era where the film market does not make films specifically for men anymore, The Expendables are much needed and were a shot in the arm to otherwise lame Hollywood action. Almost a decade has gone by and this holds up pretty well and is much better than the sequels. I did like the second film, but it had too much comedy and was more of an 80's action parody rather than 80's styled action film. The third film was complete garbage and a complete mess and waste of time.

Eric Stevenson I guess the only reason I was interested in seeing this was because it was the last (or one of the last) movies to ever be reviewed on Siskel and Ebert or Ebert and Roeper or Roeper or whatever. I really didn't need to know anything about the plot at all, given that it was just a movie about a bunch of action stars getting together and blowing stuff up. That's what I thought I was getting and that's exactly what I got. There actually is a major complaint I have. The most famous star of all was Arnold Schwarzenegger and he barely appears in the film at all! I mean, I thought he'd at least appear at the end to rescue everybody.That really did annoy me. Even Bruce Willis didn't have much screen time. So, this movie features a bunch of action scenes and killing in all sorts of ways. The action was decent, but there just wasn't anything that good about the characters. It especially got clichéd at the end when they were talking about how the hero and villain were similar and everything. I guess I like the settings. It's just really nothing you haven't seen in many other action movies. I heard Eric Roberts was the most prolific actor out there and it was nice to see him in this movie. **1/2