Hard core action at its best! That is the impression with the movie “The Expendables”, reviewed here. The Expendables is a 2010 film collaboration by some of the biggest stars there is. Sylvester Stallone works at the helm of the movie, writing it with David Callaham, and directing it himself.

The Expendables seemed like a reunion of action stars, past and present. There’s Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Jet Li, Gary Daniels, Bruce Willis, Arnold “the Governator” Schwarzenegger, Jason Statham, Randy Couture, Terry Cruise and Steve Austin. What else can you expect? This is a hard core action that will leave you at the edge of your seat.

The Expendables tells of a story of mercenaries, trained, and deadly. Barney Ross (Stallone) leads the pack and at the beginning of the movie, a conflict arises between members when Jensen (Lundgren) threatens to hang a pirate. Sensing that this was a behavior that resulted from drug use, Ross drops Jensen from the team, albeit a little reluctant.

After a mission in Somalia, the team receives a project from Mr. Church (Willis); they are to kill a dictator, Garza (David Zayas), out in the island of Vilena. Ross and Christmas (Statham) go to the island first to have a little go-see before the team goes to the island. Here, they meet Sandra (Gisele Itié), later revealed to be Garza’s daughter. What seemed like a little visit to the island is sparked by action, a reason for Ross to have second thoughts in accepting the mission. Meanwhile, Jensen sides with Garza and his partner, ex-CIA agent Munroe (Eric Roberts).

He later realizes though, that he cannot think of Sandra. He talks with Toole (Rourke), a close friend. Toole tells him a story of how he is consumed by guilt by a woman he saw during the Bosnian War. Realizing that he has to do something, Ross decides to go and save Sandra himself, a decision that Yang (Li) supported. Just when they were to set out for Vilena, they have a run-in with Jensen and Munroe’s men. A fight arises between the two groups, with Yang and Jensen battling each other. Ross shots Jensen, and at death’s door, Jensen tells Ross of the lay-out in the Vilena palace as well as other information that can help Ross.

The mercenaries go to Vilena, mission is to save Sandra and kill whoever is responsible for the terror overcoming the island. The operation was a gory, bloody battle between Garza’s men and the mercenaries. The battle ends when Ross shoots Munroe, and Christmas (Statham) throws a knife clean to his heart.

Well, this movie may not sit well with the ladies. All the blood, gore and action may make girls turn their heads. However, if you are looking for action, and thrill of chase, then this movie is good. Personally, I like the plane scene of Stallone and Statham. It got my blood pumping. However, there are some points that do not entirely connect too much to the story and kind of had loose ends. For instance, the movie had a portion of Statham’s romance but was cut short to get back to the action. Also, Rourke gives good acting but was not given a lot of screen time.

All in all, the movie is fast, thrilling, and the action would compensate for the loss of emotions that was in the movie. Movie is worth watching. So get the beer out and some chips. No pizza though; all the blood and cut flesh may not trigger your appetite a lot.

About the author: Fred is a movie and software fan who can mac recover deleted files and likes disk defragmenter.