The Expendables

The first one was good fun action with a nice amount of nostalgia bait. Kept it not too over the top before the sequels got too ridiculous

Lots of action!!! So many high profiled actors in one movie. Wondering who got paid the most 🤔😂

All action heroes together should be a win right? Wrong! Poorly staged action sequences, horrific cinematography, poor nostalgia bait. This is not an homage to bad movies it simply is a bad movie. Do not be fooled. Sad thing is I'm the audience for this but they dropped the ball.

ok

Not for me

Rating: 6.4/10 ⭐️

I expected a mindless nostalgia trip, but heavy themes of brotherhood and redemption grounded the crazy action.

What Worked:
Gritty cinematography and practical explosions give the set pieces massive, tactile weight. Stallone’s blocking perfectly balances the screen time for the legends. Seeing these hardened mercenaries risk their lives for someone else beautifully echoed Methodist beliefs about grace and our deep need to seek redemption for past mistakes.

The Cuts:
Keeping it spoiler-free, the shaky-cam during close-quarter fights gave me a massive headache. The middle part really dragged for me, bouncing between romantic subplots instead of letting the team banter breathe. The fake CGI blood also totally took me out of the gritty, old-school vibe.

Verdict:
A loud throwback coasting on cast charisma. Fun to see action legends team up, but skip if you hate shaky-cam and thin plots.

Favorite Line: “If I’d saved that woman...I might have saved what was left of my soul.”