A male testosterone blood and guts fest!

Rating: 6/10 (22 August 2010)

This is not a movie I would have normally paid to see, but my buddy was paying, so I said OK. The advertising campaign is misleading. Bruce Willis is NOT 'a co star', nor is 'the Governator' Arnie Black Plowman, they both have mere 2 to 5 minute cameos near the beginning of the film. It was fun to see old farts kick some serious booty. 64 year old Sylvester Stallone wrote, directed and stars here. The Expendables is typical male ego 'my d--k is bigger than yours' stuff. Not an Oscar worthy film, but a fluffy 'no-brainer' action flick that says 'let's blow sh-t up and kill the bad guys'. Typical macho stuff. I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it, but I did. Seeing crap like this in a theater is so much more fun. I usually wait to see the DVD or I frequently ignore films like this.Bombs, bullets, bodies....! I am NOT a prude when it comes to movie violence, but wow, this film is seriously violent and freaking LOUD! I guess I am too damned old at age 45.
I cannot even begin to guess the 'body count' in this film. It reminds me of 'The Dirty Dozen' a lot, story-wise. I guess that there are only so many original story ideas left in movie land. The body count reminds me of Sam Peckinpah's film, 'The Wild Bunch'. Old Sam brought the bullet hits squirting/spraying blood and brains in slow motion to a fine art. We as a society have been bludgeoned over the heads with all the blood, gore and Gut splattering in movies for quite a while now. Video games bring that 'kill as many bad dudes as you can and f--k people up' attitude as well. We think all people who are shot will get up and walk again because gee, in the movies & games it's all pretend, right? How many soldiers have a rude awakening on the battlefield realizing it's NOT a video game or a movie?
The Expendables has some 'Ultra Violence', most of which was CG. I HATE what CG has done to film. It's ruined it for me in a lot of ways. Now I know why I don't go to see films in the theater much anymore. Now I know why I love classic films made 'pre-CG' so much! Most of the stuff being released today is forgettable garbage, in my opinion. Maybe about 30-40 % of films released these days are any damned good. I really love the indie films, documentaries & foreign films being released these days.
The Expendables is a 'guys night out' sort of flick, a male YEAAAHHHHHHHHH! A Giant Testosterone fest! 6 of 10 possible stars. NOT FOR KIDS under 13.