The Expendables | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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Directed by | Sylvester Stallone |
Produced by |
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Screenplay by |
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Story by | David Callaham |
Starring | |
Music by | Brian Tyler |
Cinematography | Jeffrey Kimball |
Editing by |
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Studio | |
Distributed by | Lionsgate |
Release date(s) | August 13, 2010 |
Running time | 103 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $80 million[1] |
Box office | $274,470,394[2] |
The Expendables is a 2010 American ensemble action film written by David Callaham and Sylvester Stallone, and directed by Stallone. Filming began on March 28, 2009, in Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, and Los Angeles, and the film was released in theaters on August 13, 2010 in North America.
The film is about a group of elite mercenaries, tasked with a mission to overthrow a Latin American dictator. It pays tribute to the blockbuster action films of the 1980s and early 1990s, and stars an array of action veterans from those decades, including Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke, Jet Li, Gary Daniels, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger (the latter two in cameo roles, though Willis was credited on posters and commercials), as well as more recent stars such as Randy Couture, Jason Statham, Terry Crews, and Steve Austin.
The film received mixed reviews from critics but was very successful commercially, opening at number one at the box office in the United States,[2] the United Kingdom,[3] China[4] and India.[5]
A sequel is currently filming for a release date of August 17, 2012.
Contents |
A team of elite, highly-trained mercenaries, the Expendables, are deployed to the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia to halt local pirates from executing the hostages on a merchant vessel. The team consists of leader Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), former SAS soldier and blades specialist Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), martial artist Yin Yang (Jet Li), sniper Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), weapons specialist Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) and demolitions expert Toll Road (Randy Couture). Jensen instigates a firefight, causing casualties for the pirates. Yang and Jensen have a moral disagreement about hanging a pirate, with Ross finally intervening. As a result of his psychological problems and drug use, Ross reluctantly releases Jensen from the Expendables. The team then travels to New Orleans where they are based.
Ross and rival mercenary leader Trent Mauser (Arnold Schwarzenegger) visit a church to meet a man, who takes the name "Mr. Church" (Bruce Willis). Church offers them a mission in Vilena, an island in between the Gulf of Mexico and South America, to overthrow a brutal dictator, General Garza (David Zayas). Busy with other things, Trent gives the contract to Ross. Meanwhile, Christmas visits his girlfriend, Lacy (Charisma Carpenter), who he discovers has left him for another man. He leaves in a fit of rage, while Lacy insists her actions occurred because she does not see Christmas often and does not even know what he does for a living.
Ross and Christmas fly to Vilena to do initial reconnaissance after meeting their contact, Sandra (Gisele Itié), only for the mission to go awry. Ross learns that Garza is backed by ruthless ex-CIA officer James Munroe (Eric Roberts) and his henchmen Paine (Steve Austin) and The Brit (Gary Daniels), who manipulate and keep Garza in power by making his people fear him. Sandra is revealed to be Garza's daughter. Ross decides to abort and causes multiple casualties among the army as they escape, but Sandra refuses to leave. Meanwhile, a vengeful Jensen approaches Garza and Munroe to help their side.
Christmas visits Lacy again to find that her new boyfriend has beaten her up. Christmas beats him and his friends, avenging her honor, and taking her home. However, their relationship status is left ambivalent. Later, Ross, Christmas, and Yang deduce that Mr. Church is a member of the CIA and that the real target is Munroe, as the CIA could not kill one of their own by sending in the Army Special Forces or the Navy SEALs. Ross meets mission coordinator and former teammate Tool (Mickey Rourke) to vent his feelings of guilt. Tool makes an emotional confession to Ross about letting a woman commit suicide during the Bosnian War, and how he felt that if he had saved her, he could've saved what was left of his soul. Hearing this, Ross decides to go back for Sandra, telling Christmas and Yang he will do it alone. Yang however tags along; while driving they are chased on the road by Jensen in a shootout. The pursuit ends in an abandoned warehouse, where Yang and Jensen fight a second time. Jensen attempts to impale Yang on a pipe, only to be shot by Ross. A wounded Jensen, believing he is about to die, makes amends and gives the layout of Garza's palace. Ross boards the plane with Yang and finds the rest of team, ready to aid their friend.
The Expendables infiltrate Garza's compound. Christmas, Yang, Caesar, and Toll plant explosive charges throughout the site. Ross is captured by the Brit and Paine, but is saved by Yang, Christmas, and Toll, who are able to kill the Brit. Paine escapes while they are pinned by Garza's elite soldiers. Caesar saves them with an automatic shotgun. Garza has a change of heart about Munroe after realizing he has changed for the worst after seeing his daughter tortured, but before he can act the team is again cornered by Garza's men. Munroe and Paine kill him and his guards for his treachery, causing Garza's loyal men to think it was the Expendables who killed him and open fire in rage.
The entire team fights and shoots their way through Garza's soldiers. Ross and Caesar manage to destroy the helicopter Munroe was to escape on by throwing a bomb at the helicopter and shooting it. Toll kills Paine by burning him alive. Ross and Christmas catch up to Munroe and kill him with Ross shooting him several times in the body and Christmas throwing a knife through his chest from behind, saving Sandra. Instead of taking the payment for the mission, Ross gives it to Sandra to restore Vilena. The team travels back to New Orleans and celebrate their victory at Tool's tattoo parlor, with the reformed and recovering Jensen. Christmas and Tool challenge each other to a game of knife throwing and Christmas recites a limerick about his respect for Tool, walking through the door into the street, turning, then throwing a bullseye.
Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger appear in uncredited cameos as Mr. Church and Trent Mauser, respectively. The film features Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and Antônio Rogério Nogueira as Garza's bodyguards and Lateef Crowder Dos Santos in stunts.
Screenwriter David Callaham pitched The Expendables to a producer at Warner Bros. His draft of the screenplay eventually drew the attention of Sylvester Stallone, who took control of the project and re-wrote the script.[6]
Film production began on March 3, 2009, with a budget of $82 million.[7] Filming commenced 25 days later in Rio de Janeiro and other locations in Brazil, including Mangaratiba, Niteroi, Guanabara Bay, Colônia Juliano Moreira and Parque Lage. Filming originally ended on April 25 but was continued on May 11, in Elmwood and New Orleans, Louisiana, including the French Quarter, St. Peter Street, Fort Macomb, Claiborne Avenue and the Interstate 10 overpass. Filming officially ended on July 1, but on October 27 there was a pick-up scene at a church in Los Angeles, California featuring Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Willis (the latter two doing the scene without compensation, according to Stallone in the Blu-ray Disc director commentary). On June 2, West Coast Customs Street Customs built three customized 1955 Ford F100s for Sylvester Stallone for the film. One was built for a crash scene, the second for green screen and the third for Stallone to keep. "The Expendables has a seventy million-dollar budget," says Stallone's co-star Dolph Lundgren, adding, "It's an old-school, kick-ass action movie where people are fighting with knives and shooting at each other."[8] The flying boat used for filming is a Grumman HU-16 Albatross.
In summer 2010, Brazilian company O2 Filmes released a statement saying it was still owed more than US$2 million for its work on the film.[9]
Jean-Claude Van Damme was personally offered a role by Stallone, but turned it down because he felt there was no substance or development to the character.[10] Stallone said that Van Damme told him that he should "be trying to save people in South Central."[11] At the premiere of the film, Stallone claimed to have been speaking to Van Damme over the phone and had said, "I told you!", to which Van Damme concurred and expressed his regret over not participating.[12]
The role of Hale Caesar was initially conceived as a role for Stallone's Demolition Man co-star Wesley Snipes, but later rewritten for Forest Whitaker.[13] Due to a scheduling conflict prior to filming, Whitaker was then replaced by 50 Cent[14] before the part of Hale Caesar finally went to former NFL player Terry Crews.[15]
Steven Seagal was asked to make a cameo appearance, but turned down the offer due to negative experiences with producer Avi Lerner.[16]
Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Ben Kingsley, and Ray Liotta were all considered for the role of James Munroe before Stallone's The Specialist co-star Eric Roberts was eventually cast in the role.
By May 2009, the script had undergone a number of rewrites. Stallone's Demolition Man co-star Sandra Bullock was rumored to have a role in the film, but revealed that she did not even know about the project. Despite the news, she did express interest in working in another action film and would have liked to appear in the film, depending on the storyline.[17]
The role of the man who hires the Expendables, Mr. Church, was difficult to cast. Schwarzenegger was offered that role, but instead appeared as fellow mercenary leader Trent Mauser.
The role was then offered to Kurt Russell, whose agent replied that he was not interested in "ensemble acting at the moment".[18] Stallone spent several months after principal photography determined to find a big action name for the part. Rumors suggested that the role had been offered to friend and fellow former Planet Hollywood co-owner Bruce Willis, who was busy filming Cop Out. Willis' casting as Mr. Church was confirmed by August 2009, as was the fact that he would appear in a scene with both Stallone and Schwarzenegger.[19]
The Expendables : Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||||
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Film score by Brian Tyler | ||||
Released | August 10, 2010 | |||
Length | 71:41 | |||
Label | Lionsgate Records | |||
Brian Tyler chronology | ||||
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Composer Brian Tyler announced on his official website that he had been hired to write original music for the film.[20] Tyler previously worked with Stallone on Rambo in 2008.
Godsmack vocalist Sully Erna was approached by Stallone himself to write a song for the film. Erna showed him a potential unfinished piece of Sinners Prayer and Stallone liked it and wanted to use it in the film. However, during the films post-production, the scene that Sinner's Prayer was originally meant to be used in was reworked and the song was taken off the film and its soundtrack. The American hard rock band Shinedown contributed a brand new track, "Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom)", recorded specifically for the movie but the song does not appear in the film nor its official soundtrack. The song was used in the theatrical trailer and the finished piece was released on June 15, 2010.[21] One of the alternate trailers uses the song "Paradise City" by Guns N' Roses.[22] The song "The Boys Are Back in Town" by Thin Lizzy played in TV spots and is played over the credits.[23]
The score for the film was released on August 10. The tracklists have been revealed.[24]
All songs written and composed by Brian Tyler.
The Expendables: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |||||||||
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No. | Title | Length | |||||||
1. | "The Expendables" | 3:22 | |||||||
2. | "Aerial" | 2:58 | |||||||
3. | "Ravens And Skulls" | 4:49 | |||||||
4. | "Lee And Lacy" | 2:15 | |||||||
5. | "Massive" | 3:24 | |||||||
6. | "The Gulf Of Aden" | 6:56 | |||||||
7. | "Lifeline" | 4:29 | |||||||
8. | "Confession" | 2:56 | |||||||
9. | "Royal Rumble" | 3:41 | |||||||
10. | "Scanning The Enemy" | 3:47 | |||||||
11. | "The Contact" | 1:31 | |||||||
12. | "Surveillance" | 3:27 | |||||||
13. | "Warriors" | 3:49 | |||||||
14. | "Trinity" | 4:19 | |||||||
15. | "Waterboard" | 3:01 | |||||||
16. | "Losing His Mind" | 2:37 | |||||||
17. | "Take Your Money" | 2:41 | |||||||
18. | "Giant With A Shotgun" | 3:57 | |||||||
19. | "Time To Leave" | 1:55 | |||||||
20. | "Mayhem And Finale" | 5:47 |
The film had an original scheduled release date set at April 23, 2010, but was later pushed back four months until August 13, to extend production time.[25] On March 17, 2010, the official international poster for the film was released.[26]
A promo trailer (aimed at industry professionals) was leaked online in August 2009.[27][28] Sometime in October, nearly two months after the promo trailer was leaked, it was officially released online. The promo trailer was edited by Stallone and it was shown at the Venice Film Festival. On April 1, 2010, the official theatrical trailer for the film was released. The film had its red carpet Hollywood premiere on August 3, 2010. The grand premiere of the film was held at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on August 10, 2010.
The critical reaction to The Expendables has been mixed. The film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes shows that 40% of critics gave the film a positive review based upon reviews by 187 critics.[29] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the film has received a mean score of 45, based on 35 reviews.[30] CinemaScore polls, however, reflect solid audience approval with a B+ average grade.[31]
Some reviews praised the film highly. The Hollywood Reporter said that "the body count is high and the personalities click in this old-school testosterone fest,"[32] and Boxoffice Magazine stated that "it's filled with literally explosive excitement" and that "a who's who of classic action stars light up the screen for pure combustible entertainment in Sly Stallone's The Expendables, a sort of Dirty Dozen meets Inglourious Basterds—and then some…"[33] Richard Corliss of Time added that "what you will find is both familiar in its contours and unique in its casting."[34] Peter Paras of E! Online said that the movie is "peppered with funny dialogue, epic brawls and supersize explosions," and that "The Expendables is the adrenaline shot the summer of 2010 needs,"[35] and the Boston Globe stated that the film is "a lot of unholy fun".[36]
Some highly negative reviews appeared. In The New York Post, Lou Lumenick labeled it "the brain-dead male equivalent of Sex and the City 2",[37] and in The New Yorker, Anthony Lane called it "breathtakingly sleazy in its lack of imagination".[38] Peter Travers, writing for Rolling Stone, said, "Stallone forgets to include non-spazzy direction, a coherent plot, dialogue that actors can speak without cringing, stunts that don't fizzle, blood that isn't digital and an animating spirit that might convince us to give a damn."[39] Claudia Puig, writing the review for USA Today, summed the film up as a "sadistic mess of a movie".[40]
Mickey Rourke's performance was given special recognition by some critics. In the Chicago Tribune, Michael Phillips said, "Rourke delivers a monologue about his time in Bosnia, and the conviction the actor brings to the occasion throws the movie completely out of whack. What's actual acting doing in a movie like this?"[41] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle praised Rourke for the same scene, stating, "He's amazing…a great actor."[42]
The film was nominated for Best Action/Adventure Film at the Saturn Awards, losing to Salt. However, Sylvester Stallone was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Director, but lost to M. Night Shyamalan of The Last Airbender.
The film made its US debut at 3,270 theaters with approximately 4,300 screens, which earned it the #10 spot on the list of the 'Biggest Independent Releases of All Time' at Box Office Mojo [43] and the #16 spot on their list of top opening weekends for August.[44] It earned $34.8 million in its opening weekend and took the #1 position in the U.S. box office.[45] On the day of its release, the film earned $13.3 million in sales, exceeding the $9.7 million sum from the debut of the last previous summer action film The A-Team.[46]
Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo has stated that the film "took a commanding lead in its debut", compared to competing films Eat Pray Love and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.[46] Ben Fritz of The Los Angeles Times stated that the "over-the-top shoot-'em-up'" opened to a "very strong" reception. As well, he described it as "a crowd-pleaser even if critics didn't take to it."[1] Research by Lionsgate found that between 38% and 40% of the film's viewers were female. The results were unexpected, for a film thought to have limited appeal to female filmgoers.[1][47]
The Expendables remained at the top position in the U.S. box office during its second weekend, earning a weekend total of nearly $17 million.[48]
As of December 17, the film has made $103,068,524 in the U.S. and $171,401,870 in the international box office, bringing its worldwide gross to $274,470,394.[49][2] This film is the most successful movie with that Lionsgate have released, aside from the Saw movies.
The Theatrical Cut of The Expendables was released on DVD/Blu-ray Disc on November 23, 2010. The Blu-ray Disc is a 3-disc combo pack.
An Extended Director's Cut of the film was meant to be out for an early 2011 DVD/Blu-ray Disc release, but was first released on cable television instead. The Extended Director's Cut was released on Blu-ray Disc December 13th[50] A 90 minutes documentary called Inferno: The Making of The Expendables was released exclusively to the theatrical cuts Blu-ray release.
The Extended Director's Cut premiered on Epix on May 30, 2011 for the Memorial Day weekend.[51] The Extended Cut contains roughly 11 minutes of additional, never-before-seen footage and reintroduces the Shinedown song "Diamond Eyes" to the soundtrack, both during the climactic shootout and again over the end credits and the song Sinners Prayer by Sully Erna in the new opening credits.
The Expendables 2 is currently shooting in Bulgaria with a scheduled release date of August 17, 2012.
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