The boys are back in town. Must see for 80s action fans but not a masterpiece

Rating: 7/10 (10 August 2010)

The expendables feels more than an action movie featuring lots of action stars and as such, the end-result more than the sum of what each individual action star brings to the movie. It feels like a high-school reunion and a philosophical musings of what it means to be an action star. It takes it's time to carve out the habitat, the conversations; the little cracks in their façade that makes us love and cheer our action heroes. This isn't in the James Bond action hero mold with lavishness and sex thrown around, nor is it the losers style music video inspired color splattered offering of style. It feels gritty with history seething out of every line and every interaction. The expendables gather in something like warehouse converted to a machine shop like it's the living room of an aging group of friends. It's the world of soldiers turned mercenaries competing in a small world of like-minded mercenaries like it's some kind of competitive sport.
On the other hand, it's infuriatingly full of clichés. Tough as nails protagonist but with a heart of gold, South American dictator tied to the drug trade with rouge CIA agents. The script really drops the ball big towards the end and jumbles up a good buildup. The action scenes sometimes suffer from portions where it's a blur of arms, legs, gunshots and explosions and nothing really is visible.
So, all in all, it's a notable addition to the action genre. There are numerous explosions, high impact bullets that tear baddies apart and as you'd expect a good dose of hand to hand combat that some of the stars bring to the table. While the personalities and environment they create are truly awe inspiring, the story and lackluster finale really fizzles this out. However, in the end, the story which is bolted together from a staple of generic 80s non-offensive action plot devices is not the main attraction of the movie. It just provides a palette for all the actors to craft their art which is the highlight of the movie on which it delivers wonderfully.