Action for Action-Lovers

Rating: 10/10 (9 January 2018)

For the trivia enthusiasts out there : Barney Ross was actually a professional prize fighter in the 1940's who held titles in 3 different classes.
As for this film : The best way for me to describe it would be like listening to 2 opposing arguments about professional wrestling. One would be that it's mindless and lacking any authenticity. The other would be that it's simply entertainment. Nothing more. Nothing less.
If you're a fan of this genre, you will probably enjoy this film a great deal. The crew assembled around Barney Ross (Stallone) seems very team-oriented and operate like a well-oiled machine. Eric Roberts turns in a convincing performance as an international villain. What Stallone has managed to do here is expand the tongue-in-cheek action film like he did in Demolition Man. He brings in all sorts of action heroes who actually make fun of their own films in the course of the dialogue. The hand-to-hand combat scenes are incredible and well choreographed. In general, this is an action film not to be taken seriously at all but still viewed closely.
My only regret about the plot itself is that there is no explanation as to how this team gets assembled, what Ross and his teammates did before becoming "The Expendables", etc. It simply begins with them venturing out on their first mission. But that's just a minor point.
Again, if you're a fan of Rambo, Terminator, Die Hard, etc., just sit back, relax and enjoy an action-packed adventure. My personal favorite is Jason Statham as "Lee Christmas".