Fun action flick full of veterans from the 80s & 90s

Rating: 7/10 (17 November 2015)

Released in 2010, "The Expendables" stars Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross, the leader of a group of mercenary veterans who are hired by the CIA to do their dirty work. In this case their mission is to assassinate the merciless dictator of a small South American island. A scouting expedition to the island by Barney and his right-hand man (Jason Statham) brings them into contact with local rebel Sandra (Giselle Itié) who turns out to be the dictator's daughter. Barney later attempts a suicidal rescue mission with his so-called Expendables. Eric Roberts is on hand as the main villain while Charisma Carpenter has a small role.
This was a great way to get all those action stars from the 80s & 90s together for a fun action flick that balances quasi-seriousness with amusing moments and over-the-top action scenes. With just a little more effort and depth this coulda been great, but it works well as it is. Uber-fans of those old action movies will like it even more than I did.
The film runs 103 minutes and was shot in Louisiana, Los Angeles and Brazil.
GRADE: B