The Expendables

THE EXPENDABLES (2010) - Aug. 14, 2010
A bit of a disappointment, and not quite the ultimate '80s action throwback that the premise and the cast might have led you to believe.  About a group of mercenaries who travel to a small island to overthrow a dictator, there's a suprising amount of non-action here, and it's actually pretty boring.  The problem (or, one of the problems) is that, for the most part, the film just takes itself way too seriously, and none of the characters are particularly interesting.  The action itself is vaguely servicable, but without the comically over-the-top violence that made the last Rambo film so entertaining, Stallone's deficiencies as a director become awfully clear.  He leans very strongly towards the old close-up/quick-cut style, which is disappointing (I have to wonder why Stallone even bothered casting a legendary martial artist like Jet Li when his one fight scene was so obscured by quick cuts, it could have been anyone doing the fighting).  Meh.  **