The Expendables (2010)
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A team of elite mercenaries must navigate a complex conspiracy to take down a corrupt official and his puppet leader.
The story
The Expendables, an elite group of mercenaries based in New Orleans, are hired for a high-stakes mission. They are deployed to the Gulf of Aden to rescue hostages from pirates before moving on to a primary objective: overthrowing a Latin American dictator. However, the team soon discovers that the dictator is merely a puppet for a corrupt ex-CIA agent who is manipulating the region for his own gain. The mercenaries must navigate a web of betrayal and hidden agendas to complete their mission and stop the rogue agent's operations.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The Expendables, a mercenary team based in New Orleans, first engage pirates in the Gulf of Aden. Following a skirmish where Gunner is briefly dismissed for his aggression, the team is hired by 'Mr. Church' to overthrow General Garza in Vilena. Upon arrival, they discover Garza is a puppet for ex-CIA agent James Munroe. The mission becomes complicated when they realize Munroe is the true target, as he has gone rogue to keep drug money for himself. After a series of confrontations, including a standoff between Barney and Gunner, the team infiltrates Garza's compound. During the chaos, Munroe kills Garza and attempts to escape with his henchmen. The team fights through the compound, detonates explosives, and ultimately corners Munroe. They successfully rescue Sandra, the dictator's daughter, and eliminate Munroe. The film ends with the team celebrating at a tattoo parlor while the mission rewards are used to restore Vilena.
- First release year
- 2010
- Runtime (minutes)
- 103
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Sylvester Stallone
- Writers
- David Callaham · screenplay; Sylvester Stallone · screenplay; David Callaham · story
- Cast and characters
- Sylvester Stallone · Barney Ross; Jason Statham · Lee Christmas; Jet Li · Yin Yang; Dolph Lundgren · Gunner Jensen; Randy Couture · Toll Road; David Zayas · General Garza; Giselle Itié · Sandra; Charisma Carpenter · Lacy; Gary Daniels · The Brit; Terry Crews · Hale Caesar; Mickey Rourke · Tool; Bruce Willis · Mr. Church
- Genres
- action; thriller
- Themes
- Mercenary life; Loyalty; Action heroism
- Tone and mood
- Action-packed; Over-the-top
- Setting
- New Orleans, Gulf of Aden, and Vilena (an island in the Gulf of Mexico).
- Premise and plot tags
- Ensemble cast; Mercenaries; Action-packed
- Source material / true-story basis
- Barrow
- Franchise connections
- The Expendables
- Content notes
- Violence
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some praise for the action sequences, and was described as a 'crowd-pleaser' and 'a lot of unholy fun'.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 41% · scale: percentage · review count: 206; Metacritic · score: 45 · scale: 100 · review count: 35; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film pays tribute to the blockbuster action films of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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