Is The Expendables a Good Movie? (And 24 Other Urgent Questions)
by Mike Ryan
August 11, 2010, 9:35 AM
Sylvester Stallone and an all-star cast of testosterone-fueled action stars (Jet Li, Jason Statham, et al.) storm into theaters this weekend in The Expendables. So it’s not really a question of if something will blow up or whether someone will be knifed in the throat. It’s more the question of how often **** will blow up and how many people will be knifed in the gullet. As a service, we try to answer every question that you could possibly have about The Expendables.
Q: What exactly are The Expendables?
A: The Expendables are a crack squad of mercenaries that are hired for various different suicide missions. Though they have no actual affiliation with the U.S. Government, it’s said that the C.I.A. will hire them, from time to time, for missions that the U.S. wants no official role in leading.
Q: Who are The Expendables?
A: The Expendables consist of Barney Ross (Stallone), Lee Christmas (Statham), Yin Yang (Li), Hale Caesar (Terry Crews), Toll Road (Randy Couture), and (for a little while) Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren). They travel to each mission on a pretty nifty sea plane. They are the Best of the Best.
Q: Seriously, those are their names?
A: Yes.
Q: The “Best of the Best” is led by a man who is 64 years old?
A: Well, we are in a recession.
Q: That’s the whole team? I thought there were a lot more action stars. What happened to Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, and Arnold Schwarzenegger?
A: They’re all in there. Rourke more than the other two, but none of them are actual members of the strike force. Rourke, who plays a man named Tool, is asked to join, but his days of fighting are over. He now spends his time winning his money on knife-throwing bets and spending his time with a revolving door of ladies, just as I imagine Mickey Rourke does in real life.
Q: Knife throwing? This is what The Expendable do with their free time?
A: Absolutely. Getting tattoos and throwing knives. Just another night out with the boys!
Q: Does Rourke still use the Russian accent he used in Iron Man II?
A: Thankfully, no.
Q: So, it’s confirmed: Arnold is in the movie?
A: Yes, it’s been confirmed for awhile. He’s only in the movie for about three minutes, and it’s with Stallone and Bruce Willis. Additionally, Schwarzenegger’s appearance makes him the only sitting United States governor who has ever made a cameo in a movie where the scene’s punch line involves an oral sex joke. (Unless there are some videos from Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell we’re not aware of.)
Q: Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sylvester Stallone are all in the same scene? You know, there’s so much star power between the three of those guys, maybe they should all go into business together. If these guys opened a theme restaurant chain together, what would it be called?
A: That’s a tough one. Probably something with a Hollywood theme? Maybe something like “Planet Los Angeles” or “Hollywood World”?
Q: Is it weird watching Rocky and Drago fighting for the same team?
A: It doesn’t last long. In the opening scene, Lundgren’s character gets a little too barbaric while killing captured enemy soldiers. Stallone cuts him from the team, which doesn’t sit well with the former Drago.
Q: Which one was married to Brigitte Nielsen?
A: Stallone was married to Nielsen in real life. Lundgren was married to her in Rocky IV.
Q: What is the mission that The Expendables accept?
A: Bruce Willis, who goes by the name Church, offers the team a mission that involves going to a South American island named Vilena and overthrowing the island’s general. Stallone and Statham go on a scouting mission to the island first and discover that an ex-C.I.A. agent names James Munroe (Eric Roberts) is actually running the island from behind the scenes. The two agree the mission is too dangerous, but while he’s down there, Stallone falls in love with the general’s daughter, so he must return.
Q: Eric Roberts is the villain? Does his character resemble Salvatora Maroni in The Dark Knight?
A: Not at all. Actually, I could be convinced that Roberts’ character in The Expendables is the same apple throwing, checkers playing character that he played in the video for The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside.”
Q: What’s the best part about The Expendables?
A: Well, a lot of things blow up and people seem to like that. And it is fun to see all those guys onscreen together (especially the aforementioned scene involving Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Willis) even though the plot is razor-thin.
Q: What’s the worst thing about The Expendables?
A: There are a few. One that stands out is Jason Statham’s subplot involving his ex-girlfriend that leaves him because, as she tells him, “we’ve been dating for a year and a half and I have no idea what you do?” I can see how that would be problematic.
Q: Did she leave Lee (Statham) for an abusive new boyfriend?
A: Of course.
Q: Does she ever figure out what Lee does for a living?
A: Well, at least he thinks she does. When Lee discovers that she has a black eye, he confronts the abusive new boyfriend while he’s playing a game of pick-up basketball. After beating up not just the boyfriend, but the entire team, Lee dramatically tells his ex, “now ... you know what I do.” I have no idea how she gets “international mercenary” from “bully of over-40-basketball-league.”
Q: What’s another problem with The Expendables?
A: I was expecting more out of Jet Li. He’s reduced to a character that constantly complains he isn’t being paid enough. If these were scenes from a hidden camera and actual real life negotiations, it would explain Lee’s phoned-in performance.
Q: Since this is an unapologetic action film, is it safe to assume that The Expendables’ raid of the island comes pretty early in the film?
A: Surprisingly, no. The full Expendables team does not set foot on the island until 75 minutes into the film.
Q: Is The Expendables a good movie?
A: Absolutely not. But, to be fair, it’s not really trying to be a good movie.
Q: Considering all of Sylvester Stallone’s movies, where does The Expendables rank?
A: The Expendables is better than the softcore porn Stallone starred in, The Party at Kitty and Studs. It’s obviously not as good as his great movies like the first four Rocky films or the original First Blood. I’d rank it somewhere in between Rhinestone and Over the Top.
Q: Wait, Stallone was in a softcore porn? What was it about?
A: He was! As for the plot, well, Stallone plays Studs. As the title suggests, he and Kitty throw a party. You can probably guess what happens after that.
Q: If you are going to be blurbed in the commercials for The Expendables, what do you hope the quote will say?
A: “The Expendables is better than Stallone’s softcore porn! - Mike Ryan, Vanity Fair.”
Q: In the three-way battle for box office supremacy between The Expendables, Eat, Pray, Love, and Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, why will The Expendables win?
A: If The Expendables does win, it’s because every male who does not own a hoodie will want to see this movie. Conversely, every female who does not own a hoodie will want to see Eat, Pray, Love. All male and females who own hoodies will want to see Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. It’s simple, the more you think about it.
Q: How many future divorce papers will cite August 13, 2010, as the day their marriages were effectively beyond repair?
A: The over-under is currently at 1,700.