A Hoot and A Holler!

Rating: 8/10 (28 November 2010)

Even for those who are fatigued by the loud, bloody, pyrotechnical messes, and absurd cloned plots of the past few years' thriller movies, THE EXPENDABLES is bound to please. Why? Simply because it is a parody of this genre, with a hilarious script of puns written by director and star Sylvester Stallone (with David Callaham, probably the one responsible fro sticking the story line together). No one really takes this action flick seriously because of the fun the actors are having.
It is reunion time for the likes of Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), knife pro Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), martial arts pro Ying Yang (Jet Li), rasty renegade Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), Toll Road (Randy Couture), and Tool (Mickey Rourke) - collectively called The Expendables, biking through another impossible adventure. The 'other side" (villains who are destroying a Gulf island include Eric Roberts, Paine (the impossibly huge Steve Austin), the good/bad puppet General Garza (David Zayas form 'Dexter'), and the general's rebel daughter Sandra (Giselle Itié). There is a lot of body destruction, firebombing, and breathless chases, and for an action drama it is very well paced. But the pleasure of the film comes form seeing all the famous guys of yesteryear having such a great camaraderie. There are even small cameos for Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger! It is a fun ride with a lot of unexpected laughs as these men make fun of their past films and stereotypes!
Grady Harp