Better than it looks!

Rating: 6/10 (4 October 2012)

It's funny when the trailers, posters and other movie-advertisements make a film look cornier than it actually is. Stallone's 2012 action/adventure—though not perfect, but very entertaining—falls into this category. A tight-knit group of mercenaries go to Vilena to stop an evil ex-CIA officer (Roberts) who is using a powerful general (Zayas) as a puppet to dictate the small helpless island. The setting, design, style and tone of the film are all superb; and while the action is above-par, it gets a bit cartoonish and fails to be mind-blowing. While the acting and choice of casting is exceptional, the characters are either cliché, hypocritical or both—Zayas seems to be the only actor amongst the large ensemble that brings to life a character convincingly conflicted and three-dimensional. The amount of characters is completely unnecessary, with most of them lacking any purpose—even Mickey Rourke can't seem to earn his keep despite having a terrific monologue mid-film. While the pros outweigh the cons, there are a couple of unacceptable missteps in this blockbuster homage. Have fun watching, because that's all it really offers and that's not a bad thing **½ (out of four)