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Rating: 9/10 (3 September 2010)

Recap: A team of mercenaries get recruited to overthrow a general that with the support of a rogue CIA-agent has taken a brutal control of a small island in the Mexican Gulf. A mission that they initially decline, but when the leader Ross take a personal interest in a woman that seems to be single-handedly fighting the oppressors the team decides to take action. And it promises to be a violent fight with neither side holding anything back.
Comment: The veterans of the genre still know how to do it. The cast, spearheaded by Stallone, Li, Statham, Lundgren, Rourke just to name a few, is perhaps the best an action movie has ever sported It is almost as impressive as the action offered by the story. As you can understand The Expendables is a high paced, action packed, violent and adrenaline filled movie that entertains from the first moment to the last. With a few inside jokes, some great cameos and a string of well delivered one liners this is and will be, in my opinion, a classic in the genre.
It starts out in a high pace, and excels by keeping it throughout the entire movie without any real or noticeable dips. But where it surprises most, is the well balanced, well written mix of characters. With the size of the cast there really is no time to explore and develop more than a few more extensively, but none of the seem like a cardboard character. Each and every one of them has at least a few unique characteristics that defines a spot for them on the roster. Ironically, none of them are expendable with concern to the story. All of the acting veterans are given a cool character with the opportunity to shine.
A friend told me that the movie was what you would expect of it. It was true but, it contained all the elements I did expect of it, just much more of it than I could ever have hoped for. That said it really isn't very realistic, it isn't a deep perspective shifting drama with an important statement. But who expected that? The best statement made, as one characters puts it, is made best by huge explosions. This is a movie made for entertainment, and it does. Massively.
9/10