3 out of 5

Director: Sylvester Stallone

Everything explodes. Thats all you really need to know. The Expendables is / isnt your typical he-man actioner. On one hand, you get sweaty, muscley bodies with grunting guys and tons and tons and tons of explosions, with a we shouldnt do this but we have to plot-line that wont hold any surprises. On the other hand, you havent seen these type of muscle-bound films in a while, done this dirtily and with this much grit, with that weirdly grounded Stallone pathos that he writes into things that gives that predictable blow-em-up story a bit of true character interest. But, that dedication aside, its a bit much for the screen and so it never quite gels in the way youd want. You know youre looking at some awesome set pieces, and almost all of this was done practically so it feels real real real, but for every smirk and fast-paced fight scene, youre left with a bit of expectation. For what, I have no idea. Honestly, its just too much – too many people for a 103 minute movie with so many huge action pieces to wrap youre head around. Its awesome, its truly a spectacle, and Stallone is a genius for getting it to work this well. For this reason, the behind-the-scenes documentary about the movie – Inferno – is actually more satisfying. Expendables is definitely worth watching – and probably re-watching, and probably owning (the color scheme screams HD), but its shot and cast like a blockbuster and yet still has that struggling underdog Rambo feel to it, making it a an overall disjointed effort.