Movie · 2010 · Thriller, Adventure, Action · 1h 43m · R · English
Curator score: 1.1/10 (580.4K ratings)
Choose your weapon.
Overview
Barney Ross leads a band of highly skilled mercenaries including knife enthusiast Lee Christmas, a martial arts expert Yin Yang, heavy weapons specialist Hale Caesar, demolitionist Toll Road, and a loose-cannon sniper Gunner Jensen. When the group is commissioned by the mysterious Mr. Church to assassinate the dictator of a small South American island, Barney and Lee visit the remote locale to scout out their opposition and discover the true nature of the conflict engulfing the city.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.1/10
IMDb: 6.4/10
Letterboxd: 2.75/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 41%
Metacritic: 45
TMDB: 6.3/10
Director
Sylvester Stallone
Production
Nimar Studios, Rogue Marble, Millennium Media, Lionsgate, Nu Image Entertainment
Cast
Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, David Zayas, Giselle Itié, Charisma Carpenter, Gary Daniels, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke, Hank Amos, Amin Joseph, Grifon Aldren, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Antônio Rogério Nogueira, Sassa Nacimento, R.A. Rondell
Where to watch
Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A loud, shameless throwback to bruising ensemble action, built more on star charisma and macho nostalgia than on polished filmmaking. If you want a parade of aging action icons, blunt-force shootouts, and a knowingly dumb hangout vibe, it delivers; if you need sharp direction, clean editing, or real emotional depth, it’s likely to disappoint.
Best for
fans of 80s-style action movies
viewers who enjoy star-packed ensemble casts
people in the mood for dumb, muscular, high-volume entertainment
audiences who like self-aware macho nostalgia
Skip if
you want sleek modern action choreography
you’re sensitive to thin plotting and clunky dialogue
you dislike underlit, choppy action scenes
you want action with strong character development or emotional realism
Overview
The Expendables is less a movie than a reunion tour for hard-bodied action mythology. Stallone corrals a crowd of familiar faces into a mercenary mission that exists mainly to justify explosions, one-liners, and the pleasure of watching old-school icons share the frame. The appeal is obvious and, for the right viewer, genuinely potent: this is a fantasy of analog toughness, swagger, and bruised camaraderie.
Worth noting
At the same time, the film is very much a product of its limitations. The plotting is thin, the dialogue is often blunt to the point of parody, and the action can feel murky and cut to pieces rather than elegantly staged. Some of the cast members get more memorable moments than others, but the movie’s real hook is the collective presence of its ensemble rather than any single performance.
Bottom line
What keeps it watchable is the sense that everyone involved understands the assignment. It’s corny, overstuffed, and proudly juvenile, but it also has a weirdly sincere affection for the action movies it’s imitating. If that premise sounds fun, it probably is. If not, there’s not much else here to convert you.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Auteur (0.5★) · 955 likes
Testosterone porn made for people living in the past by people living in the past.
George Carmi (3★) · 506 likes
There’s one scene where Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone are talking for about five minutes and Bruce tells Sylvester exactly what he needs from him and then Sylvester ends the conversation by saying “let’s talk” and I think that’s brilliant writing.
Mickey Rourke had absolutely no business going so hard with that emotional monologue.
Arnon🪐 (1★) · 431 likes
I just know it smelled so bad on set
The Greek Geek (2.5★) · 361 likes
The dadest dad movie to ever dad movie
Josh Lewis (2★) · 341 likes
Insane how much of this is underlit, cut to shit and digital looking. The only possible explanation is that somewhere between Rambo 4 (which is still one of the stickiest, most effectively sadistic films of his career) and this Stallone hit himself on the head very hard and forgot the basic building blocks of action directing. I do like briefly hanging out with my boys Dolph and Mickey though.
1997 · Action, Crime, Science Fiction · 2h 19m · R · Curator 6.2/10 (728.5K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, MGM Plus
Not a team movie, but it matches the operatic, over-the-top action-movie excess and larger-than-life energy.