The Expendables opens to a group of highly skilled mercenaries boarding a ship off the coast of Somalia to free a group of hostages held by Somali pirates. The mercenaries are:
- Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), a former SAS soldier and team leader.
- Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), bladed weapons specialist
- Yin Yan (Jet Li), a mysterious martial artist
- Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), an unstable sniper
- Hale Caesar (Terry Crews), weapons specialist
- Toll Road (Randy Couture), explosives expert
In the process of freeing the hostages, Jensen’s short fuse results in a firefight. After heavy casualties, Jensen wants to hang one of the pirates to send a message, and Yang attempts to intervene feeling that it is morally deplorable given the victory over the pirates is complete. Team leader Ross intervenes, and realizing Jensen’s instability, Ross removes Jensen from the team.
After returning from their mission, Ross goes to see a contact about a potential job, where he sees a rival team leader, Trench (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger). The contact, Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) eventually awards Ross the mission- to overthrow dictator General Garza (David Zayas) on the fictional South American island of Vilena. Ross and Christmas travel to Vilena to scout for the mission, and meet Sandra (Gisele Itie) who explains the situation on the island. Ross finds out that General Garza is being manipulated by former CIA agent James Munroe (Eric Roberts) and Munroe’s assistants Paine (Steve Austin) and The Brit (Gary Daniels). Ross discovers that Sandra is Garza’s daughter, and she explains that Garza maintains control over the people of Vilena through a campaign of terror organized by Paine and The Brit. Ross and Christmas narrowly escape the island, only to be confronted by Jensen upon their return, asking to rejoin the team.
Meanwhile, Christmas goes to visit his girlfriend, Lacy, to find that the man she has left him for has beaten her up. Christmas responds by taking Lacy to a basketball game where he wins her over by beating up the new boyfriend and his friends and explaining what he (Christmas) does for a living. Meanwhile, Ross, Christmas, and Yang determine that the real target of the mission is Munroe, and that Mr. Church was sent by the CIA to hire the Expendables. Ross discusses the mission with former team member Tool (Mickey Rourke), who tells Ross a story of watching a woman commit suicide during the Bosnian conflict. Ross realizes he must go back to Vilena to rescue Sandra. Yang decides to go with Ross, but they are waylaid by Jensen who they eventually leave for dead after a fast paced shootout and fight in a warehouse. As Jensen lays, apparently dying from a gunshot inflicted by Ross, he reveals that he has been working for the other side and gives Ross information about Garza’s palace.
Yang and Ross meet with the rest of their team who have decided to aid in the mission. The team flies to Vilena and enter Garza’s palace, which they rig with explosive devices throughout. Garza finds out that Munroe has captured and tortured Sandra, and appeals to his army to stop working for Munroe. Munroe kills Garza, and the Expendables run into Garza’s soldiers, still under orders from Munroe, and must fight their way out of the compound. Munroe is ready to escape on a helicopter, but Ross and Caesar destroy it before he can escape with hostage Sandra. Christmas and Yang battle and kill The Brit, while Toll kills henchman Paine. Ross and Christmas race to save Sandra, eventually killing Munroe. Ross decides to take the money earned from the mission to give to Sandra to help save the people of Vilena. After the mission, the team gathers at Tool’s garage tattoo shop, where we find that Jensen has survived the gunshot and has reformed.
Given the cast of the film, I had very high expectations for a great action flick. In fact, I was worried that I would be disappointed because, as the tag line said, some movies have action heroes- this one has all of them. However, Stallone and the rest of the cast did not disappoint. The movie was action packed, funny, and bloody- everything I want out of an action flick. It is admittedly gory and graphic, but with the stars and director of the film, I wouldn’t expect anything less. Despite the high level of gore, the way the violence takes place actually adds to the quality and storyline of the film. The film reminds me a lot of the action films I loved in the 80s and 90s, and the director is not afraid to let us know that killing isn’t pretty.
The cast of this film is what makes it worth seeing. While these actors have each been involved in incredible flicks on their own, they manage to work together for this film in a way that makes the team seem both believable and amazing. The team keeps up a banter but also makes you feel like you are part of the elite team. The Expendables are everything you imagined that an elite squad of the worlds most bad ass actors would ever be. While the cameo appearances of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis are short lived, they do make a great (and hilarious!) addition to the film.
The Expendables is a perfect movie to watch when you want to be flat out entertained. The action sequences kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time- I didn’t even take a break despite an ill-advised extra large coke. If you ever wondered what would happen if Demolition Man met Rambo and fought against Rocky, this is the movie you have to see. While the plot will probably not surprise you, the quality of the film and the interactions between the ultimate all-star line up makes this movie worth every penny. This is one I will buy just so I can watch the fight scenes over again. It is not a kids movie, and it isn’t for anyone who is afraid of a little blood, but it is a must see movie for anyone who wants to have an intense, exciting two hours of their life.
