Tsk tsk, Trading Standards will have something to say

Rating: 7/10 (19 August 2010)

The advertising for this film has been a little misleading, so let's get it straight right from the off: The Expendables stars Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham. Supporting them are Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren,, Mickey Rourke, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, and Eric Roberts at his most reptilian. Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenneger, despite the publicity, cameo for 5 minutes (during which Willis unnecessarily lets off the "F" bomb half a dozen times, the only point at which it features in the film). So what we have here is the Stallone and Statham show.
Stallone leads a group of (we are led to assume) mercenaries called (we are also led to assume) The Expendables - there is no exposition, although we do see them at the end of a previous mission before the movie proper starts. The main story concerns a mission to a Latin American island where the local corrupt military leader is in cahoots with an American drug lord. Having carried out a reconnoitre with the aid of the military bloke's daughter (and killed 41 soldiers and destroyed a vast amount of military kit), they turn the gig down, but go back (for free!) to rescue the girl, who is now being tortured by the bad American.
There are no surprises in this vague riff on The Magnificent Seven other than the inconsistent approach to violence - sometimes the approach is almost coy, sometimes it is very graphic, if brief. And, of course, the film is full of guns which fire hundreds of rounds before reloading, goodies who hit the target every time, baddies who couldn't hit a barn with a bazooka from five feet away and, frankly, the legendary blowing sh*t up. There is a brief attempt at giving Mickey Rourke some depth, but hang in there, because it's back to mayhem before you know it.
This movie is fun, if you like violent action thrillers. The characters are enjoyable, the script is light and amusing - I saw it in a full cinema with a predominantly young audience and there was frequent laughter in the right places - the action is well choreographed and frequent, and the denouement is satisfying. Stallone is wearing his age well and Statham is a suitably gritty action lead.
There isn't much heart to the movie, but it passes a couple of hours entertainingly enough.