The Expendables - Review

Can somebody explain to me why most action movies this summer have centered around teams of heroes? First there was The Losers, then we had The A-Team, and now we have The Expendables. Arguably the most hyped of the three, the Sylvester Stallone-directed Expendables features a cast of nearly every everyone recognizable action star of the 80s and 90s. Paying a tribute to the action flicks of the 80s, the cast sure packs a punch, but is it enough to warrant a ticket price?

The movie centers around a team of mercenaries known as The Expendables. Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) serves as the team leader with knife specialist Lee Christmas (Jason Statham) and martial arts expert Ying Yang (Jet Li) as his two most trusted soldiers. Also on the team is the unstable sniper Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), demolitionist Toll Road (Randy Couture), and heavy weapons specialist Hale Caesar (Terry Crews). The team is given an assignment from the mysterious Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) to overthrow a South American dictator. Upon arriving to the foreign land, they discover there might be more behind the merciless government than they originally had thought.

I'll say this, just like a have a bit of a soft spot for corny B-Movies (as I mentioned in my Piranha 3D review), I also get a kick out of cheesy action flicks. Seeing an ensemble cast of such legendary veterans of the action genre is a treat unto itself. Unfortunately, when the novelty of the cast wears off, there really isn't too much left in this film. The two most prominent actors shown in The Expendables are Stallone and Statham, who while fun in their own right, are easily the weakest characters of the team. They have their moments, and do their part when they get their moment to shine in some sweet action scenes. Jet Li, however, gets some decent screen time as well, but is also out-shown by the previous two.

Dolph Lundgren was surprisingly one of the most enjoyable actors in the movie. He brings his unstable charisma to a very fun character, but like most of the cast, is pushed aside for a lot of the run-time. Mickey Rourke has a very small part as a former member of the team. This was one of the most disappointing parts of the film, limiting the screen-time of who is easily the best and most credible actor in the movie. Some choice cameos from Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger (seriously, Arnold is in this movie!) were fun but had little impact on the film as a whole.

I don't have much to say about the villains either. David Zayas, Eric Roberts, and Steve Austin portray the Expendables main enemies of the film. Zayas and Roberts do their villainous schtick fairly well, while Austin's tendency to overact hasn't changed since his last few films. Their standard villains for this kind of story, but came off a bit flat. For a movie like this, it would have been fun to see a more over-the-top villain. Watch the movie Commando and you'll know what I'm talking about. For a movie with a concept that is so self-aware and cheesy, a crazier villain would have fit right in.

The writing overall was mixed bag. When the team was all together, the movie was awesome! The intro was great, as was the finale, but whenever it decided to chill out with its individual characters, it lost a lot of zip. There is a mostly pointless subplot involving Lee Christmas and his girlfriend, that adds little to no development for the plot or his character. There were a few other subplots that detracted from the movie's focus and what it represented. Plus, the violence was overall pretty tame for this kind of movie, save for the bloody opening and climax. Any gore looked like it was added in at the last minute, leading me to think that Stallone originally wanted a PG-13 rating, but changed his mind and added some last minute violence in post production to get an R rating. For a premise so thin, its a wonder why it feels so unfocused.

Typically, the movie knows what it is. I could complain about how silly and cliche the plot is, but that would totally defeat the purpose. The Expendables wasn't trying to rewrite the action formula, but rather deliver a nostalgic flick for those who have fond memories of the 80s. Typically it succeeded, but there were times it seemed like it took itself a tad too seriously, therefore killing the mood. Still, for the most part, its good 80s fun.

To no big surprise, the action scenes were pretty awesome... most of the time. There's a bunch of good explosions, some sweet fights (Jet Li always rocks), and a heavy dose of guns and knives. The finale alone delivered some crazy explosions that will likely satisfy anyone with nostalgic feelings for 80s action. Unfortunately, the cinematography was not up to speed. Stallone decided to use the Bourne-style shaky cam technique. When the camera wasn't shaking all over the place, it often used uncomfortable close ups on the actors' faces. Why? I have no idea. I will admit that action films on average have improved since the 80s, I still don't understand why shaky cameras have become so popular. An erratic camera is one thing, but I really prefer to actually see what is happening on screen. Overall, the action is fun when you can see it.

Overall, The Expendables was pretty fun, but with a cast like this, I expected more. Had the team had more screen time together, and the camera not been so erratic, I would have probably rated this higher. Overall, its worth a viewing, but probably only one.

My Score: A 2.5 out of 5!

Back To The Future Review

Now after having done a few single reviews, here's my first series' review. To start, I decided on one of my favorite trilogies', "Back to the Future." To start off, here's my review of the series' first film.

Oh the 1980s, how I wish I could have experienced that decade first hand. I was born in 1987, so my brief memories 80s culture was limited to the leftovers from the early 90s. You know, Ninja Turtles, Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, etc. But we'll always have 80s movies, many of which were colorful campy productions with amusingly over-the-top art direction. Even the worst of the 80s flicks could generally amount to a guilty pleasure (not all, but quite a few). Of course, some of the greatest movies and franchises came out of the 80s. Some of my personal favorites include Ghostbusters, Amadeus, Indiana Jones, A Christmas Story, and many more. Of course, one of the quint-essential 80s flicks has to be none other than "Back to the Future." As cliche as this saying may be, the movie really does have something for everyone. The genre of the movie would probably be considered a sci-fi/comedy, but its littered with various thrills, action, adventure, and even some romance.

The story follows 17-year-old Marty Mcfly living in the year 1985. He is a cool and hip high school student and aspiring musician. He has a good circle of friends and is in love with his girlfriend, Jennifer. Unlike Marty, his family is almost the complete opposite. His father, George, is and always has been a gutless dweeb still being taunted by his high school bully Biff Tannen, his mother, Lorianne, is an alcoholic, his brother works a dead-end job with absolutely no ambitions in life, and his sister is a hopeless romantic. Marty couldn't have fallen any further from the tree. Marty is also friends with a wacky old scientist, Dr. Emmett Brown, whom Marty affectionately refers to as "Doc." On one fateful 1985 evening, Doc reveals to Marty his latest and greatest invention, a time machine made from a DeLorean automobile. After demonstrating the vehicle he reveals its time travelling fuel, Plutoneom. Doc then reveals that he stole the Plutonium from a group of Libyan terrorists. After finding the two at the mall, the Libyans shoot and kill Doc, while Marty jumps in the time machine and accidentally goes back to the year 1955 while attempting to outrun the Libyans. Now stuck in the year 1955, without any Plutonium, Marty encounters numerous problems. First, after running into his 17 year old parents, he accidentally prevents them from meeting, and therefore preventing his own existence unless he gets them to fall in love again in one week. Also, after he tracks down Doc, the two desperately attempt to find a way for Marty to return back to the future.

Okay, I love this movie. I've seen in dozens of times and it just gets better with age. It has its nostalgic value but the film just stands on its own so well. First off, the characters are great. Michael J. Fox portrays Marty in such a clever way. He's a very likable character whom you really want to see succeed by the end of the film. At the same time, Crispin Glover as George is dead on. Glover is well known for playing odd and eccentric characters, and this is probably his most well known. You appreciate the character, but you can't help but pity him sometimes. He can be so pathetic but very likeable at the same time. Lea Thompson is good as well as Lorianne. You want to see George and Lorianne hook up by the end, not just for Marty's sake, but for their's as well. The two stand out performances are Christopher Lloyd as Doc and Thomas F. Wilson as Biff. Lloyd plays Doc with such eccentricity and character that you can't forget. He doesn't really overact, but he does it with just the right amount of "crazy scientist" personality in a way that its funny, effective, and very memorable. I really did enjoy Thomas F. Wilson as Biff Tannen, the dim-witted bully. His character is such a unlikable asshole that while clearly an antagonist and crucial to the character development, never really ascends into the territory of "villain" until the sequels. Still, his performance is spot on, and totally works with the cast. Its a shame the actor didn't get much recognition beyond this series, because he did a very good job.

The characters are great in their own right but they clash brilliantly, especially Marty and Doc. A cool 17-year-old with little interest in science and a wacky old man with few social skills would probably be the least likely duo ever, but thats why it works. Their friendship provides some great comedic moments and keep the story flowing nicely. Speaking of which, there's never a dull moment in this movie. Every second there's either something exciting, funny, or thrilling happening on screen. The time travel concept is really interesting and the way the setting and timeline progresses across 30 years is a pleasure to see. Director Robert Zemeckis and his production team assembled some great sets and props that compliment their respective time periods. The DeLorean/Time Machine looks awesome and seeing it speeding up to 88 mph and traveling across time is awesome to watch. Composer Alan Silvestri's musical score is amazing as well, totally complimenting the action every second of the film. I could go on and on talking about everything I love in this movie, because there is a lot more, but that should be enough.

With the good, however, comes the bad. This is one of my favorite films, and I would prefer to ignore its flaws. Unfortunately, there are some things I just can't escape. Every movie I've seen involving time travel has numerous plot holes, and unfortunately, Back to the Future is no exception. Granted its a fictional concept with no set rules obviously, but it still leaves a lot for the viewer to comprehend. While Marty is back in time, he changes the future (makes sense) but the rules of altering time change periodically according to the story. Its never explained thoroughly and unless you've seen the movie it's extremely hard to explain. They don't bother me much, but they're impossible to ignore. The other complaint I have is pretty minor, but noticeable. The movie's use of product placement is quite excessive. Pepsi, Toyota, Calvin Klein, etc. Granted they're not that noticeable and many of the film's product references provide some of the movie's more clever jokes, so I can let that one slide. The 80s nostalgia might get overlooked by some viewers not born in the 80s as well. For instance, there is a scene where Marty is at a 50s cafe, and orders a Tab and then a Pepsi Free. The joke is humorous if you get the reference, but seeing as both Tab and Pepsi Free either are not as popular or don't even exist will likely result in a missed joke. Again, none of the film's flaws ruin the movie, but they're impossible not to notice.

Overall, I'll always consider this one of my favorite movies. I really really really really really really really want to give it a perfect 5 star score, but with those little flaws I mentioned, I just can't bring myself to do so. For just entertainment value, its a 5 star film, for overall quality of film making, its a 4.5 star film. Either way, if you haven't seen this film, go watch it now!!! If you have seen it, go watch it again!!!