Does Exactly What It Says On The Tin

Rating: 8/10 (13 August 2014)

Continuing my plan to watch every Sly movie in in order, I come to the beginning of a franchise that really divides the fans, 2010's The Expendables.
Plot In A Paragraph: A mysterious A CIA operative, hires a team of mercenaries known as The Expendables, to eliminate a Latin dictator and a renegade CIA agent.
I can't believe it's been 6 years since this movie was released.After back to back success with Rocky Balboa and Rambo Sly was on a roll and excitement for this movie was high!! As with Rocky Balboa and Rambo, Sly stars, wrote and directed this movie.
I can still remember the onset pictures coming out almost daily, I remember the use of Arnie and Bruce Willis in the promotion of the movie was a big deal, and caused lots of arguments around here!! Andrew and Mark called it right, they were used, whilst I said they would not be. I love Sly's look in this, I liked the goatee look in Get Carter, and it's back here.
I love the scene with Sly, Arnie and Bruce together. I waited years for that, and it was a lot of fun. I remember leaving the cinema initially being disappointed, that Robert Knepper (T- Bag from Prison Break) wasn't in the movie, as it was announced he was.
All of the main cast get there individual moments to shine!! Jet Li and Lundgren get their solo fight, Couture has his fight with Austin, as does Sly, Cerews (who I like) has his moment with the gun, Rourke gets a passionate Speech and Statham has his fight on the basketball court.
Sly really brings the best out of Statham. Normally I find him very wooden if he is not actually fighting someone. He actually has some charisma about him here.
I think the movie had a great soundtrack too, mixing classic rock songs with Brian Tyler's score.
It has a few problems with it, some of the effects aren't the best, the General is a bit bland, it's a good job Roberts filled the void. There was a no real lack of concern for the Expendables, you never thought any of them would die, and I found the damsel in distress subplot dull.
What I did like was Sly showing his age, visible grey in his hair and beard, he needed saving from the soldiers by Statham when he was about to be shot, again by the gang in the tunnel and when he "got his ass kicked" by Austin. He relies on the team and never takes out a main villain on his own.
Another of the things I liked was the natural chemistry between Sly and Statham, who I have said I was not a fan of, pre this movie, they have the best rapport of anyone in the group.
Finishing with a domestic gross of $103 million, The Expendables ended the year the 28th highest grossing movie of the year. It was also the first Movie with Sly in a lead role, to gross over $100 million at the domestic Box Office since Rocky IV in 1985.