# The Expendables - Greatest action movie ever made? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 31, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506 "2010-03-31T22:50:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/41 "2010-08-14T03:07:59Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > > [@msmith537](#): > > > > Apparently enough that they couldn’t afford to bring Rachel Weiz back. > > Rachel Weisz actually refused to be in The Mummy 3 because she was insulted the producers wanted to age up her kid to be 20 in the third movie. > > She had a point, making Brandan Fraser retired and aging up their son made what would have been an OK movie really stupid. Except that their son was already like 8 years old in The Mummy Returns back in 2001. It’s not exactly a stretch to age their son another ten or so years for a movie made in 2008. Sounds to me that Rachel Weisz felt she was too good to be making mummy movies since winning that Constant Gardner Oscar. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/42 "2010-08-14T10:47:34Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > > [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > > > Rachel Weisz actually refused to be in The Mummy 3 because she was insulted the producers wanted to age up her kid to be 20 in the third movie. > > > > She had a point, making Brandan Fraser retired and aging up their son made what would have been an OK movie really stupid. > > Except that their son was already like 8 years old in The Mummy Returns back in 2001. That was a mistake too. Making Brendan Fraser “old” (and thus, taking him out of the action) was the biggest strike against The Mummy 3, so I think she had a point. Back to The Expendables: I saw it last night and it was pretty entertaining. The action scenes were a bit too hyperactive, but it was pretty decent. Arnold’s cameo was pure gold. “What’s his problem?” “He wants to be President.” ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/43 "2010-08-14T13:55:27Z")
Extremely mediocre. That last big action sequence built to a nice big crescendo of stupid that could have redeemed the movie but the entire thing was shot in the dark. I’d blame the projection but the daytime scenes were appropriately bright so I think it was the movie. I understand overediting Stallone, he is after all a 75 year old arthritic ball of steroids, but doing it to Li is unacceptable. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/44 "2010-08-14T17:13:54Z")
I enjoyed it for what it was. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/45 "2010-08-14T18:24:23Z")
One reviewer I like echoed what was said above-they should have gotten the likes of Jeremy Irons or Alan Rickman to play the supervillian. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/46 "2010-08-14T18:35:29Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Back to The Expendables: I saw it last night and it was pretty entertaining. The action scenes were a bit too hyperactive, but it was pretty decent. Arnold’s cameo was pure gold. > > “What’s his problem?” > “He wants to be President.” Best comment I’ve heard about that: “Yeah, because the world did so well in the past with Austrians obsessed with the idea of physical perfection.” ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/47 "2010-08-14T18:39:28Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Stallone should be forced to watch the Bourne films to see how action should be shot. > > Funny, the Bourne films are my example for how action movies should NOT be shot. The first one was really good. After that, though… ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/48 "2010-08-14T19:08:40Z")
I think the height of action movies is Commando will I like The Expendables? ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/49 "2010-08-14T21:07:26Z")
No, it was made after 1996. You probably will though. I liked it. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/50 "2010-08-15T01:01:27Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > He and Steven Seagal would have made it perfect. Steven Seagal won’t appear in anything but his own movies, where he can play the invincible badass who can’t even be touched by his opponents. A film like this would require him to be shown on-screen having the shit kicked out of him, and there’s no way he’d allow that. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/51 "2010-08-15T01:19:01Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > [Trailer here](http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808411960/video) [Much BETTER trailer here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fncp0sQvBM0&hd=1) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/52 "2010-08-15T01:29:04Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Steven Seagal won’t appear in anything but his own movies, where he can play the invincible badass who can’t even be touched by his opponents. A film like this would require him to be shown on-screen having the shit kicked out of him, and there’s no way he’d allow that. [Executive Decision](http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi4003791129/) would disagree with you. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/53 "2010-08-15T05:12:48Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > where he can play the invincible badass who can’t even be touched by his opponents. Didn’t Jason Statham essentially get that role? Was he every in any serious jeopardy or even difficulty in hand-to-hand combat? ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/54 "2010-08-15T07:22:03Z")
Just got back from seeing it. It’s a pretty standard “Everything Gits Blowed Up Real Good” action movie with a lot of names in it. They should have spent a lot more money on a good script. The villain(s) were mediocre. Dolph Lundgren is incapable of the moves required in a fight scene with Jet Li. Everything is shot in the dark with tons of fast cuts, a sure giveaway. Actually that’s a problem with many action scenes throughout the movie. Mickey Rourke does a good job, as do Stallone and Statham. Jet Li should have been given better lighting to show what he can do. Jason Statham comes off looking much, much better in the fight scene department. Terry Crews’ big psycho scary dude act gets very old very fast. I love Randy Couture as an MMA fighter but he needs to get his butt into acting classes, stat. It’d be really nice for the next action movie showcasing an elite paramilitary unit to allow them to display a better sense of tactics than “Run around spraying full automatic fire in all directions”. Hell, Bruce Willis did a good job showing controlled action this way in “Tears Of The Sun”. As long as you know what you’re going to see I think it’s worth a bargain matinee. If you’re expecting some kind of incredible action flick, it ain’t that. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/55 "2010-08-15T15:15:41Z")
I agree, half the time it was hard to see what was going on. I would also have preferred to see Randy Couture getting more fighting time as opposed to Stallone. Hell, that’s how he go famous. Danny Trejo is not in this film, but Machete looks awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/56 "2010-08-15T17:18:10Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > > [@Mahaloth](#): > > > > He and Steven Seagal would have made it perfect. > > Steven Seagal won’t appear in anything but his own movies, where he can play the invincible badass who can’t even be touched by his opponents. A film like this would require him to be shown on-screen having the shit kicked out of him, and there’s no way he’d allow that. Or his belly. …and there’s no way he, or his belly, would allow that. 🙂 How that man is taken seriously as an action star is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/57 "2010-08-15T18:17:15Z")
I think watching a movie is about the gayest way of expressing manliness there is, other than flower arranging. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/58 "2010-08-15T18:26:56Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > I think watching a movie is about the gayest way of expressing manliness there is, other than flower arranging. …Good for you? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/59 "2010-08-15T19:14:17Z")
Um, in Seagal’s first movie, “Above the Law”, he has the shit kicked out of him several times. In ‘Hard to Kill’ he gets shot half a dozen times and spends years in a coma. In “Air Force One”, he dies in one of the opening scenes. There’s lots of things to knock Seagal over, but you missed the mark on that one. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506/60 "2010-08-15T20:45:52Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Except that their son was already like 8 years old in The Mummy Returns back in 2001. It’s not exactly a stretch to age their son another ten or so years for a movie made in 2008. > > Sounds to me that Rachel Weisz felt she was too good to be making mummy movies since winning that Constant Gardner Oscar. DO NOT make fun in any way about Rachel Weisz or I’ll be forced to send bad vibes in your general direction.:mad::mad::mad: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expendables-greatest-action-movie-ever-made/534506.md?page=4)