The Expendables

DVDfever.co.uk – The Expendables Blu-ray reviewDom Robinson reviews

The ExpendablesChoose your weapon.Distributed by
Lions Gate Home Entertainment

• Cert:
• Running time: 103 minutes
• Year: 2010
• Cat no: LGB94293
• Released: Dec 2010
• Region(s): 2, PAL
• Chapters: 16
• Picture: 1080p High Definition
• Sound: 7.1 DTS HD Master Audio
• Languages: English
• Subtitles: English
• Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Super 35)
• 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
• Macrovision: Yes
• Disc Format: BD50
• Price: £24.99 (Blu-ray); £29.99 (Blu-ray Boxset); £19.99 (DVD)
• Extras: BonusView: The Expendables – Ultimate Recon Mode, From the ashes: Post Production documentary,Gag reel, Deleted Scene, Promo Gallery, Audio commentary, D-Box, BD Touch, Meta Menu, LG Live

• Director:

  Sylvester Stallone

  (The Expendables, Rambo, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Rocky Balboa, Staying Alive)

Producers:

Avi Lerner, Kevin King Templeton and John Thompson

Screenplay:

David Callaham and Sylvester Stallone

Music:

Brian Tyler

Cast :

Barney Ross: Sylvester Stallone
Lee Christmas: Jason Statham
Yin Yang: Jet Li
Gunner Jensen: Dolph Lundgren
James Munroe: Eric Roberts
Toll Road: Randy Couture
Paine: Steve Austin
General Garza: David Zayas
Sandra: Giselle Itié
Lacy: Charisma Carpenter
The Brit: Gary Daniels
Hale Caesar: Terry Crews
Tool: Mickey Rourke
Cheyenne: Lauren Jones
Trench: Arnold Schwarzenegger (uncredited)
Mr Church: Bruce Willis (uncredited)

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The Expendables are an elite group of mercenaries,running around to save hostages like a beefed-up A-Team, with wisecracks to match, led byBarney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham) and Yin Yang (Jet Li).

This is shown in the opening scene when they’re up against a group of Somali pirates holding people hostage. Itdoesn’t take a genius to figure out that the pirates will lose and in bloody style. However, at the end of it,Gunner (Dolph Lundgren) gets a little too overzealous and wants to hang a pirate so they give him his P45and send him away.

A new assignment comes from Mr a Church (Bruce Willis), but after the film’s lead attends, one more man needs to cometo the meeting. The other attendee is Trench (Arnold Schwarzenegger), someone Barney used to work with but hassince fallen out. Church tells them there are resources on the island of Vilena, in the Gulf, that his associates are veryinterested in. However, General Garza (David Zayas, aka Angel from Dexter, or ‘Onng-hell’ as Mariakeeps calling him) has stormed in and otherthrown the government who used to run it. At this point, Trenchbacks out of the job and Ross makes a wisecrack about him which I’ll leave to you enjoy as it really tickledme, and that’s Arnie’s cameo done for this movie.

James Munroe (Eric Roberts) is the evil businessman baddie who bankrolls Garza’s operation in order toget the money from the lucrative drugs market, with Paine (Steve Austin) as his henchman. A subtle blend of Inception andMemento this is not.

Completing the cast of people I’ve heard of, Mickey Rourke plays a tattooist called Tool, who looks set to takeGunner’s place in the team, but actually ends up doing very little and turns up in only 2 or 3 brief scenes.Also making a brief appearance is Charisma Carpenter as Statham’s love-interest, Lacy. However, her scenescould easily have been cut out and you really wouldn’t have missed a thing.

Medal for the stupidest scene Award: There’s an incredibly bizarre beat-em-up sequence with Stallone and Statham defeating about 10 men, with only a gunand a knife, despite the fact the baddies have all got automatic rifles and plenty of time to fire of a shot – whichnone of them do.

Overall, this is rather a disappointment compared to what I expected. All the big names are here, but rather than groupthem up to go kicking up a stink every minute of the movie, there’s so many missed opportunities to throw inwisecracks or simply make use of the cast. I saw the opening scene, with the Somali pirates, before I watchedthis and was hoping for 2 hours of that, but no. There’s so much plodding, or some sub-standard ‘action’ alongthe way.

Only watch this if you really MUST see everyone who’s ever been in an action film cobbled together for agroup outing.

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Presented in the original 2.35:1 theatrical ratio and in 1080p high definition, the picture is sharp anddetailed with no problems whatsoever, allowing you to see every last, gross sinewy twist in Stallone’s forehead,arms and everything else (shudder). Stallone makes fairly good use of the widescreen frame a lot of the timeso it makes for pleasing viewing.For the record, I’m watching on a Panasonic 37″ Plasma screen via a Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray player.

As for the sound, this is in 7.1 DTS HD Master Audio, or DTS 5.1 for those, like me, without the fulltechnical dohickey. Dialogue (except for Stallone’s mumblings) and ambience/score are fine, while gunfire andexplosions are fantastic and constant when things kick off big time, generally in the final act.

The extras are as follows:

• BonusView: The Expendables – Ultimate Recon Mode:Stallone talks about the film with picture-in-picture mode, rather like an audio commentary but with someextra content from time to time. Perhaps worth it if you really want to see more about it. There’s around 25segments to this.
• From the ashes: Post Production documentary (26:36):Behind-the-scenes comments and chat, amongst the clips, from cast and crew including Stallone. There’s also alook at a test screening, the music score, the sound editing and a press screening for the movie.
• Gag reel (5:03):Does what it says on the tin.
• Deleted Scene (0:45):Well, an alternate take on a piece in the opening scene. I’d stick with the original.
• Promo Gallery (13:51):The theatrical trailer in 2.35:1 and DD5.1 sound (1:06), two TV spots (around 15 and 30 seconds, respectively)and three posters.
• Audio commentary:with director Sylvester Stallone.
• D-Box:Yes, until a couple of years ago, I hadn’t heard of it either, but according tothis D-Box corporate video,the idea is that as well as experiencing top-notch audio and visual effects, you’ll also get motion effects -rather like a souped-up La-z-boy chair. In short – I. WANT. ONE. NOW! However, it appears the only one you canphysically buy at the moment is a computer game racing chair that costs a penny under £13,000.
• BD Touch:It seems if you have a mobile phone on which you can install the BD Touch app, you can control the disc in questionfrom your phone. How pointless.
• Meta Menu:Some other nonsense way to control the disc from your phone. What gives with all this nonsense that no-one asked for?
• LG Live:It states this will automatically update your Twitter and Facebook statuses when you’re watching an LG Live Blu-raymovie. Hmm… is it really worth giving them your personal details for *that*? No.

The menu mixes clips of film with a short piece of the theme.There are subtitles in English only and the chaptering really isn’t enough with a mere 16 over the 103-minute running time.

FILM CONTENT
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS


OVERALLReview copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2011.