Ed's Review Dot Com

Millenium Films, Nu Image Films, Rogue Marble

Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, David Zayas, Giselle Itie, Charisma Carpenter, Gary Daniels, Mickey Rourke, Hank Amos, Terry Crews

The Expendables are a gang of mercenaries, for hire, wherever in the world they’re needed. Of course they’re all misfits but each has a skill. Barney Ross (Stallone) is the leader of the group. Lee Christmas (Statham) is a knife enthusiast. Ying Yan (Jet Li) is a martial arts expert. Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) is a heavy weapons specialist. Toll Road (Randy Couture) is a demolitionist. Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren is simply a loose-cannon sniper. These guys are hired by the mysterious Mr Church (Bruce Willis) to head down to a small South American Island to assassinate the ruthless dictator. While there, Barney meets Sandra (Giselle Itié) a rebel and when the team escapes the island, Sandra stays behind and they have to decide whether to risk their lives to save her, or to walk away. This is the hardest mission they’ve ever faced.

This movie was highly anticipated, and loved and hated in droves. It was number one at the box office when it opened, thanks to a lot of non-competition I think, and also due to an over abundance of chick flicks and a shortage of blow em up-blast em up boy movies. This is strictly a guys movie! It’s strictly bad ass blow up everything and shoot everything in sight type movie. But for those who love lots of action and explosions, this is going to fit nicely. Don’t expect a great involved intriguing story line. It’s see the bad guys, shoot the bad guys, but some of it is very entertaining. The whole argument/competition about whether guns or knives are better is funny. (Bullets get there faster!). The South American scenery is interesting and Giselle Itié is certainly an exotic beauty. But like the typical Stallone, Lundgren, Seagal, or Norris movies of the past, this is exactly what it is supposed to be, Action, Action, and more Action!!! I didn’t rate it extremely high because of the fact that I am not a huge action movie fan. Shooting people just to shoot people is not my thing so much. But I realize that those who simple love action will give it a 5. Those who hate violence will give it a 0. I’m in the middle. I see it as a really decent action movie, but Raiders of the Lost Arc, it ain’t. If you’re an action fan, you’ve got to see this. If you’re not, feel free to rent something with a little more plot.

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Millenium Films

Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes

This is a well told story about 3 cops.  Each has a different problem and is in a bad way.  Richard Gere’s character is a week from retirement and burned out and just tired.  Ethan Hawke is trying to be a good cop and support his family, but no matter what he does, he can’t seem to get ahead.  Don Cheadle has been undercover for so long that he’s not sure who he is anymore.  The three come together at the same place and the stories come together in a fairly predictable, but still very exciting way.   The nice thing about this movie is that it is a great character study.  You get to learn enough about the characters to understand the reason behind the choices they make.

I must say I’m a bigger fan of the character’s in this movie, than the actors themselves.  I haven’t seen such a good performance out of Richard Gere in a long time, and I’m a big fan of either Ethan or Don, but perhaps it’s a tribute to the writer and the director to get such good performances out of this bunch, because the characters are really well developed.  Not the greatest movie of all time, but I enjoyed watching it.

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