For anyone who hasn’t heard, The Expendables is the latest film written and directed by Sylvester Stallone, and looks to be not only the biggest action film of the year, but the biggest action film ever made.
It’s basically a tribute to all of the great 80’s and 90’s action films, and stars many of the headliners from those films, and more modern action movies; the line-up includes Stallone himself (Rambo), Dolph Lundgren (Universal Soldier), Arnold Schwarzenegger (Commando), Bruce Willis (Die Hard), and Mickey Rourke (Johnny Handsome), as well as Jet Li (Unleashed), Jason Statham (The Transporter), and Stone Cold Steve Austin (The Condemned), as well as many others.
Being this type of action movie it goes without saying that there won’t be too much of an in-depth plot (the story basically involves a bunch of mercenaries being sent into a South American country to overthrow the ruthless dictator who is in charge there, and fighting an entire army to do so), but the film’s humour, and the copious amounts of bullets, explosions, and just about everything else action related, should more than make up for that. Not to mention seeing Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis, all together in not only the same movie, but the same scene, for the first time ever.
The film isn’t due to be released until August, but due to the overwhelmingly positive responses it has received in reaction to early test footage and trailers, there is already talk of producing two more sequels, or some sort of longer franchise (a TV series perhaps?) focussing on the surviving members of the team; however when Stallone was asked if he would go through the shoot again (a shoot he claims was much tougher than all of the Rambo movies put together, and caused him several major injuries) he replied with a resounding “NO.”
Despite all the premature sequel rumours and gossip, it still looks like August should see the ultimate action movie; The Expendables; open to a roaring success, and for those who want a sneak preview, here’s the official trailer…
