The Expendables (2010) Review:

In some cases, having a large cast of actors is not the best idea. Sometimes the chemistry just isn't there. An example of this would be like City Heat (1984). It was not an awful movie but it wasn't great and I thought that Reynolds and Eastwood were not the best choices for the movie. On the other hand, you get your occasional movies with a great cast AND they work well off each other. The Expendables is one of these great films, and that's only the tip of the iceberg.

The original "Expendables" team

The Expendables are a deadly team of mercenaries that are hired to take out certain individuals. In a sense, they are like The A-Team (2010), but a little more unforgiving. At least we get this feeling from the MPAA rating and we see it throughout the film. Sylvester Stallone who hasn't directed his own set of films in a while besides Rambo (2008) and Rocky Balboa (2006) has done a superb job with this film.

I really enjoyed the interactions between the main characters. I say this because the screenplay seemed so laid back, but in good way. The Expendables are trained killers, they show no mercy to the people they must kill, BUT they also show some light heartedness. The trailer itself shows an example of this; in the beginning when there is a Mexican standoff, one of the character's phones vibrates and one of them asks, "What's that", "I'm getting a text", "Excuse me". Its simple but funny dialog like this that made me admire the film even more.

Sylvester Stallone still can do action even in his 60s!

Sylvester Stallone stars as the leader of The Expendables along with a whole slew of other good actors that make this film really only a guy would like. Yes there are some women in this film and they are attractive but this movie's main theme is not romance. It is a "Blow 'em up real good!" film. Before I went to go see this film, I heard from other viewer's comments saying how it's only in theatres for its enormous explosions. Isn't this not what action and adventure are about? Explosions are practically half the "action" in any action adventure movie! That's what people like about this kind of genre.

One other feature that I liked about this movie was the energetic soundtrack provided by talented composer Brian Tyler. For any movie involving action I feel that it should be backed up by good music and Tyler does this well. Throughout this film, you will here a lot of strings and timpani and the way it is used is great. This plus all the action you will experience will keep your eyes glued to the screen because this movie is done so well.

Much of the violence is heavy during this film, but for any action adventure lover, The Expendables will pack the punch they're looking for. Even more fun will be listening to the screenplay and dynamic soundtrack by Brian Tyler.

Points Earned --> 10:10