The Expendables

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UK Release Date: August 10th 2010

A CIA operative hires a team of mercenaries to eliminate a Latin dictator and a renegade CIA agent.

Director: Sylvester Stallone (Rambo, Rocky Balboa)

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis, Arnold Scwarzenegger, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, Randy Couure

The Expendables is an action hero lover's wet dream. How did Sylvester Stallone get so many respected action stars in one film? It's hard to believe that none of them were tied up elsewhere. Needless to say, having the cast listed above has attracted plenty of attention, especially when some of them haven't been in films together before. The big question is, does the story match the incredible cast? 

Barney Ross (Stallone) is the leader of a black ops group called The Expendables (go figure). They are hired by CIA agent Church to take down an ex-CIA agent-turned drug lord and the army he controls. That's all there is to it. Simple yet sweet. 

The action in The Expendables comes thick and fast. It's derivative of 80's action classics like Rambo, Predator and Die Hard. Stallone was 64 when this was filmed, so not as able bodied as he once was. That's where the likes of Statham, Li and Lundgren step in, who can keep up with the pace of the film. 

The black ops members have a small amount of character development, but they do gel as a team. Stallone, Statham and Li have bigger parts to play than the others. This works well as too many cooks can spoil the broth. Lundgren, Crews and Couture have smaller roles but plenty of personality. 

It is what it is; a mindless action film for action junkies. The story is pretty straight forward, with no attention to detail. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as director, writer and main actor Sylvester Stallone doesn't try to sugar coat it with twists. The Expendables is predictable but so much fun to watch.