Homefront

ACTION/ADVENTURE, SUSPENSE/THRILLER

Protecting Family

7.25 out of 10 | Rental

---

Rated: R   Strong violence, pervasive language, drug content and brief sexuality
Release Date: November 27, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes

---

Director: Gary Fielder
Writers: Sylvester Stallone, based on the novel by Chuck Logan
Cast: Jason Statham, James Franco, Izabela Vidovic, Kate Bosworth, Marcus Hester, Clancy Brown, Winona Ryder, Frank Grillo

---

Watch Trailer

SYNOPSIS: A former DEA agent moves his daughter to a quiet town, where he soon tangles with a local meth druglord.

REVIEW: Runaway Jury director Gary Fielder is no stranger to suspense or action, spending a lot of time directing action-oriented episodes for The Shield and Life on Mars. Now, with a script from none other than Sly Stallone (The Expendables 2) Fielder combines suspense and action together for a Thanksgiving weekend release.

Phil broker (Jason Statham, Parker) leaves the DEA after an undercover assignment goes sideways. Retiring to Rayville, Louisiana with his 10-year-old daughter Maddy (Izabela Vidovic), he tries to lead a normal life. When Maddy defends herself from a bully at school, it sets off a chain reaction of violence and revenge that starts with the boy's mother Cassie (Kate Bosworth, Superman Returns) and father Jimmy (Marcus Hester, Looper) before escalating to the mother's meth drug lord brother Morgan 'Gator' Bodice (James Franco, This is the End). When Gator learns of Phil's past life involving the leader of the biker gang The Outcasts, he tries to secure expansion opportunities by serving up Phil's location using his girlfriend Sheryl (Winona Ryder, Star Trek) as the go between.

From a story by Chuck Logan and adapted to the screen by the one and only Sylvester Stallone, Homefront is prototypical action flick. The protagonist is a capable ex-military, ex-agent who is just trying to leave his past behind and lead a normal life with his family. He tries to be a good man and devoted father, but his training and sense of right and wrong put him in the middle of circumstances that force him to take action to protect those he loves.

While not original in the action genre, the movie does bring some fresh life to it. Jason Statham is always fun to watch as an action hero, up there with Bruce Willis and Stallone. He has an easy way about him that makes him a good character for the forced upon vigilante while knowing how to kick some serious ass when he needs to. The choreography and action sequences illicit oohs and ahhs. Statham has great chemistry with his on-screen daughter played by newcomer Izabela Vidovic, making the duo very likable as a family unit. But as good as Jason Statham's presence and physicality are, it still would be nothing without a serious threat and villain.

James Franco, as the meth lord nicknamed Gator, puts a good performance as a ruthless meth cooker and brother trying to do right by his strung out sister. When Gator finds an opportunity to expand his business and change his own life at Phil Broker's expense, he jumps at the chance. Gator is only one of the villains that make this movie so good. Winona Ryder's Cheryl, ex-biker groupie and current Gator drug partner, seems only concerned about her own preservation. Trained killer and biker Cyrus, played by Frank Grillo (Zero Dark Thirty), is sent to deal with the Phil Broker loose end. As a collective this group of deviants could, at any moment, prove more than a match for Statham's character.

Homefront is a good blend of family bonding and villain pounding. Most of it may be a little cliché but Franco, Statham, Ryder and Grillo makes for a action and popcorn lovers spectacle, especially after stuffing oneself with turkey and stuffing.

---

Parker

ACTION / ADVENTURE. SUSPENSE / THRILLER

Hard Man To Kill

★ ★ ★ out of 5 | Movie - DVD - Rental

---

Rated: R Language throughout, brief sexual content, brief nudity, and strong violence.
Release Date: January 25, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 58 minutes

---

Director: Taylor Hackford
Writers: John J. McLaughlin, from the novel "Flashfire" by Donald E. Westlake written as Richard Stark
Cast: Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Chiklis, Wendell Pierce, Clifton Collins Jr., Bobby Cannavale, Patti LuPone, Carlos Carrasco, Micah A. Hauptman, Emma Booth, Nick Nolte, Daniel Bernhardt

---

Watch Trailer

SYNOPSIS: A thief with a unique code of professional ethics is double-crossed by his crew and left for dead. Assuming a new disguise and forming an unlikely alliance with a woman on the inside, he looks to hijack the score of the crew's latest heist.

REVIEW: Ray and Proof of Life short director Taylor Hackford takes on the honorable thief Parker with the help from Black Swan and Hitchcock screenwriter John J. McLaughlin from the novel "Flashfire" by Donald E. Westlake writing under his pseudonym Richard Stark.

Parker (Jason Statham, Safe) and four others set a plan in motion to rob the ticket sales for the Ohio state fair. Although the plan is carried out and the team gets away with the loot, Parker is forced to choose whether to invest his fifth of the take to a larger scheme with the others or face execution. When he tries to just take his cut, Melander (Michael Chiklis,>High School) and the others draw down on Parker, shooting him and leaving him for dead. But Parker doesn't die... And vows to hunt down the men who did not live up to their end of the contract. Hunting the men across the region from Ohio to Louisiana to Florida, Parker poses as a Texas oilman and enlists the help of realtor Leslie Rodgers (Jennifer Lopez,What to Expect When You're Expecting) to ferret out where Melander and the others are hiding out in order to carry out their next score. All Parker wants is to balance the books concerning the agreement of the contract, and will stop at nothing to rights those wrongs.

Jason Statham is, in my opinion, an underrated action star. He has strung together a number of low cost franchise hits like Crank and The Transporter, as well as ensemble hits like The Italian Job and The Bank Job. Statham's rugged good looks and chiseled body are made better by his ability to carry out some great action sequences. And true to his history Statham does deliver on that point. A certain scene with a botched up "room service" to Parker's hotel room is probably the best action moment of the film. Parker and Melander's stand off is probably the second.

Parker is based on the novel "Flashfire" by Richard Stark. Jason Statham has the opportunity to turn this single film into another franchise. Unfortunately Jason Statham's presence in this film doesn't have the bite that it could have. Tom Cruise took Jack Reacher and made it into something different than the book and intriguing enough to spawn possible sequels. Whether it was the adaptation of the novel or the direction, Parker just doesn't seem to fully come together.

All the pieces were there. From independent contractor Melander, to his established team of crooks including driver Carlson (Wendell Pierce, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2), demo expert Ross (Clifton Collins, The Event), and Chicago mob boss relative August Hardwich (Micah A. Hauptman, A Bag of Hammers), Parker has to contend with some legitimate baddies. Throw when a hired assassin Kroll (Daniel Bernhardt, Creature) contracted out of Chicago to off Parker after-the-fact and you got some good elements. Add in a beautiful damsel in the form of Jennifer Lopez, whose character Leslie is desperate on all fronts, and you have even more intrigue. The problem is Jennifer Lopez' Leslie is too desperate to quick and Michael Chiklis' Melander and his gang seem to be a little over their heads in their ability to plan and execute all but the simplest of heists. Add in some weird voice over work for both Hurley (Nick Nolte, Gangster Squad) and general crowd conversation and you get just as many distractions as you get anticipation.

Some of the film blazes by pretty quick, especially the opening scene with the original heist that Parker is a part of. But as more pieces fall onto the board, and Jennifer Lopez is introduced, things slow down just a little too much and the pace falls off. Jennifer Lopez's characters back story is interesting but not to the point of being all that critical to the film. When she opens up to her client Parker during one of their house tours it just seems a little to forced and static. When Parker finally hunts down his quarry, the pace of the story speeds up to a reasonable speed again.

Parker has its strengths, and its weaknesses. Jason Statham carries himself with his usual charm and action presence, and Chiklis and the other baddies are antagonizing enough. The story, though, does not live up to expectations. Parker takes a lot of abuse, but the audience suffers a little bit, too.

---

The Expendables 2

Expendable Viewing

---

Rated: R  Strong bloody violence
Release Date: August 17, 2012
Runtime:  1 hour 43 minutes

---

Director: Simon West
Writers: Richard Wenk, Sylvester Stallone, Ken Kaufman, David Agosto, Dave Callaham
Cast:  Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Scott Adkins, Nan Yu

---

---

SYNOPSIS: Barney Ross and the Expendables are recruited again by Mr. Church for a job as payback for the previous mission they did not come through on. When one of their own is murdered, the Expendables seek revenge.

REVIEW: Simon West, director of Jason Statham's The Mechanic and Angelina Jolie's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, takes over directing duties from the first film's Barney Ross, Sylvester Stallone. Based on the original characters created by Stallone and Dave Callaham, writing duties are shared by Stallone, Richard Wenk (The Mechanic), Ken Kaufman (Space Cowboys), and David Agosto (Big Canyon). Just when you thought every blockbuster action star from the 80s and 90s received screen time in the original high-octane action adventure film, more well-loved but forgotten come out in force.

Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone, Rocky Balboa), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham, The Mechanic) and the rest of the Expendables carry out a mission in Nepal to recover a rich Chinese business. Upon their return to the States, Mr. Church (Bruce Willis, REDS) confronts Barry about the five million dollars that he lost during Barney's previous mission for Church. Forced to carry out a retrieval mission for Church, Barney is also saddled with a new recruit named Maggie (Nan Yu, Speed Racer), who Church threatens bodily harm to Barney and the Expendables if she is hurt. Heading to Albania by plane, Barny, Lee, Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren, Rocky IV), Hale Caesar (Terry Crews, Bridesmaids), Toll Road (Randy Couture, Setup), Maggie, and young ex-Army sniper Billy (Liam Hemsworth, The Hunger Games) scour the countryside for the wreckage of a plane with a special cargo that Church does not want to fall into the wrong hands. When Barney and his team do retrieve the special device, they are ambushed by a group of mercenaries named the Sant, led by Vilain (Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kung-Fu Panda 2). Forced to hand over the device to the Sant, Barry is given one more emotional blow when one of his Expendables is killed by Vilain. Vowing revenge against Vilain, Ross, Christmas, Maggie, and the rest of the team look to hunt down the Sant regardless of the consequences from Church or anyone else.

I remember when Stallone's The Expendables came out in 2010. What a nostalgic rush! A action flick with many of the greatest names of action from the 80s, 90s, and today on the same screen in the same darkened theater. It was an action geek's dream come true to see Stallone and Lundgren back together again (and on the same side this time). And even though Willis and Schwarzenegger were shown in the trailers, and we knew for certain they were playing characters in cameo appearances, we geeked out even more. Add in Jet Li, Terry Crews, and Randy Couture, and you had a hell of a top-billed mindless bullet- and blood-filled slug fest. Now, two years later, we get to add in Jean-Claude Van Damme as the villain Vilain and Chuck Norris as the lone wolf merc Booker to the character credits, with expanded screen time for both Willis' Mr. Church and Schwarzenegger's Trench. The expectation is that everything will be just that much bigger and better.

Heightened expectations may be one of The Expendables 2 main problems. With so many A-List action stars, there doesn't seem to be enough story for anyone. Willis and Schwarzenegger do get more screen time, but the time they do spend in front of the camera is primarily gun-toting money shots and cheesy one-liners. Hey, I am all for the cheesy one-liners, but they seemed expected and forced - only working half the time. And some (not all) of the action sequences are so silly that I was reminded of the Police Squad television series, or even the 80s Hasbro G.I. Joe cartoon. Mercenaries can't be that bad of shots with so much lead flying around. Hell! Even I can hit the heart of a paper target at fifty feet with a 9mm Glock 17! But while I complain about the gunfights, some of the more 'up close and personal' bloody and bone-crushing fight sequences are great. Jason Statham's knife play is excellent, especially when he dons the cleric's robes. Lundgren, Crews, and Couture make every shot count with their brawling prowess. And Van Damme shows that he still has it when the final showdown takes place between him and the pursuing Expendables.

Stallone remains the stoic reluctant mercenary who realizes too late that the life he chose is not the life he wants. At least he is good at it! Gunner and Yin Yang have made up so we do not get any team betrayals, and now that Lee Christmas has made up with his girlfriend, we do not get to see any Stateside ass-kicking. This time around all focus is on the mission and the villainy of the Van Damme's profiteering mercenary Sant leader Vilain and his lieutenant Hector (Scott Adkins, El Gringo), and what the Expendables are willing to do to stop them. There is plenty of bloody action and gun play to go around. The addition of Norris, Nan Yu, Hemsworth, and the expanded roles for Willis and Schwarzenegger fill the screen with plenty of action talent and multiple possibilities.

The addition of young blood sniper Billy the Kid by Liam Hemsworth and Nan Yu's Maggie does do something obviously different to the sequel. It makes the others look old! When Billy is told to take point by Ross he sprints up the hill with his ruck and weapon, leaving the others to wonder if they even had it in them to do the same. The writers, director, and actors are good sports about admitting that they are aging dinosaurs in a world of a younger breed. Their crankiness offers a few genuine laughs, especially when 'old married couple' Ross and Christmas nag at each other through most of the story.

The Expendables 2 is what you should expect from such a film. Lots of gun play, explosions, spraying blood, testosterone-filled quips and one-liners surround a lightly plotted story tying it all together. It is not necessarily better than the original, but it does continue in the same vein. Van Damme and Adkins are better villains than The Expendables David Zayas' General Garza in terms of physicality, but the quasi-political intrigue brought in by Eric Roberts' James Munroe and Willis' Mr. Church seemed bigger in scope in the original, if not bad-ass-ier.

The Expendables 2 will make some money from those who blood lust for bullets, blood, and all things action. Action movie junkies are a finicky bunch, but they have never let a cheesy story get in the way of a popcorn bucket and a mindless good time!

---

WORTH:  Rental

Safe

Anything But Safe

---

Rated: R Language and strong violence throughout
Release Date: April 27, 2012
Runtime:  1 hr 35 mins

---

Director: Boaz Yakin
Writers: Boaz Yakin
Cast: Jason Statham, Catherine Chan, Robert John Burke, James Hong, Anson Mount, Chris Sarandon, Sandor Tecsy, Reggie Lee

---

---

SYNOPSIS: A former New York Police Department task force specialist turned cage fighter disappears off the grid after he puts his opponent in the hospital and his wife is murdered by the Russian Mob. Reappearing a year later, he is confronted by a situation involving the Russians, the Chinese, corrupt NYC cops, and a little Chinese girl with a gift for memory and math.

REVIEW: Screenwriter of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and director of Remember the Titans, Boaz Yakin writes and directs a new violent action film starring Jason Statham. No stranger to stitching together tales of fantasy, action, and drama, Boaz Yakin creates a gritty actioner with a dramatic twist.

Starting in China, a young girl named Mei (Catherine Chan) exhibits a great talent for math and memorization. Snatched from the streets, she is forced into service for Triad mobster Han Jiao (James Hong, Kung Fu Panda 2) to run his books for his syndicate in New York's Chinatown under the supervision. During the same year, former NYPD special task force specialist Luke Wright (Jason Statham, Killer Elite) turned underground cage fighter is forced off the grid after his fails to 'take a dive' during one of his fight and agents of the Russian mob murder his wife. A year later, Luke notices Mei on a subway platform trying to evade a group of dangerous looking men. Luke comes to Mei's aid as her protector, quickly igniting a brutal and deadly gang war between the Russian mob, the Triads, and corrupt NYC cops with an ax to grind with Luke - all trying to recover Mei and the vital information her brain contains.

Trying to channel both real drama and a John Woo sense of violence, Yakin creates a story that tries to emulate Luc Besson's Leon: The Professional. The first act of the film spends its time fleshing out the plot line for Mei and her burgeoning life of business in crime and Luke's solitary and near-suicidal life on the streets. Once Luke notices Mei on the subway platform and he realizes the men trying to find her may mean her harm, though, the gloves come off and Jason Statham does what he does best. The beat down he hands out to Emile Docheski (Sandor Tecsy, Burn After Reading) men is nothing short of sweet. As the interested parties increase in manpower and firepower, Luke Wright must battle the greater odds with a mix of savvy and savagery. The drama and deeper storyline is fine, but the best parts of the film are the adrenaline and intrigue that comes as a pulsing byproduct of the trail of bodies that Luke Wright leaves in his wake in an attempt to keep a little girl with a big secret safe.

Like Leon: The Professional, Safe is a story about a professional killer who befriends a little girl in need. That is where the similarities end. Statham's Luke is not a simple man raised by the mob to be an expert assassin. Statham's character is a professionally trained killer who has had so much government investment and money spent on his behalf and has spent years in the field honing his brutal craft. At one point mayor of New York Tremello (Chris Sarandon, Fright Night) mentions to his police precinct captain Wolf (Robert John Burke, Limitless) how Wright's training is so deep and extensive he is essentially a ghost at this point. Statham's chiseled jawline, snarky cool demeanor, and practiced physicality make the film as good as it could be.

Yakin's script is decent as a whole, setting up various characters and conflicts that Wright and the little girl Mei must contend with. Like Bruce Willis' Mercury Rising, Mei and her mental abilities hold the key to everyones' plan. What she has in her head makes the Russians, the Triad, corrupt cops with a history with Wright, and even officials in the mayor's office want her alive at all costs, or at least dead to keep the competition from extracting any information from her. Catherine Chan plays her role both with innocence and with the sense of a girl who has seen too much violence at such an early age. 


Some of my issues come not from Statham or Chan, but from some of the secondary characters. Some of the dialogue is stilted and cheesy, even for the genre. In other spots, scenes are forced or spoon-fed to the audience for decimation of plot worthy information. As the story is established in the first half of the film, many of these elements are more distracting than useful. But once Statham gets to work, the audience is treated to a roller coaster ride of ass-kickery, rampant gunfire, car chases, and intelligent and cool choreography. I just wish there was more for Anson Mount's (Straw Dogs) Alex Rosen to do in the film. Come for the drama, stay for the action!

Some may consider this one of Statham's best works. I would agree in the sense that the action is superior and slick. We are treated to right crosses, double-crosses, and heavy crosses to bare. The story is sophisticated for the genre, but fails to deliver in some of the early execution. Otherwise, you will laugh and cheer for Statham and Chan as they take on the mob, the cops, the city, and anyone else who gets in their way.

---

WORTH: Matinee or DVD

Killer Elite

Leaves Barely A Scratch

Director: Gary McKendry

Writers: Gary McKendry, Matt Sherring, Ranilph Fiennes (novel "The Feather Men")
Cast: Jason Statham, Clive Owen. Robert De Niro, Dominic Purcell, Aden Young, Rodney Roberts, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Yvonne Strahovski

SYNOPSIS: After an assignment that nearly costs the life of a child, assassin for hire Danny retires to the Australian countryside. When his friend and fellow mercenary is held as ransom, Danny is forced to take one last job - one that captures the attention of a shadowy group of ex-British covert agents covering up a bigger agenda.

REVIEW: Relative newcomer Gary McKendry writes (with help from Matt Sherring) and directs Killer Elite, a story based on the non-fiction book, "The Feather Men", written by Ranulph Fiennes. McKendry, with only the short film Everything In This Country Must, leads an ambitious charge to deliver a compelling action/intrigue based on the Fiennes' work.


Revolving around the exploits of a group of mercenaries, Killer Elite focuses on Danny (Jason Statham), a best-of-the-best killer, who decides to retire after a contract nearly costs the life of a child at his hands. Leaving his friends and fellow mercenaries behind, Danny looks to live in quiet respite in Australia away from the turmoil of the real world. But when his friend and mentor Hunter Robert De Niro) is captured and held against his will by Sheikh Amr (Rodney Afif), Danny is forced to return to the lifestyle he left behind to secure Hunter's freedom. The job consists of killing three British ex-military soldiers who killed three of four of the Sheikh's sons in the Oman war. As Jason begrudgedly carried out the contract, he attracts the attention of 'The Feather Men', a shadowy group of ex-military who still look to pull the strings while they wear their three-piece suits instead of uniforms. Spike (Clive Owen), 'The Feather Men's' liaison for all local wetworks around the globe becomes more persistent and obsessed as he fails to stop Danny from carrying out his contract.


A fan of Jason Statham from the Transportor series, Crank and The Italian Job, and Clive Owen from The Children of Men and Shoot 'em Up, both actors have proven they can carry out big action with fast fists and smoking guns. Add veteran actor Robert De Niro to the mix and you should have the elements of a great action flick. Unfortunately, even with Statham and Owen's permanent scowls and physical prowess, their gifts of ass-kicking is dragged low by poor execution of the 'intrigue' part of the story. De Niro, as Hunter, brings sarcasm as a form of levity - and it does get a few chuckles - but ends up being more of a distraction than anything else. His proper place in the story comes when he helps Danny by following Danny's girlfriend Anne (Yvonne Strahowski from NBC's Chuck), showing some true grit. Dominic Purcell (FOX's Prison Break) as Davies and Aden Young as Meier are standouts as the remaining members of Danny's crew, as well as Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (ABC's Lost) as the crew's agent for more work and information.


 A solid concept on paper, McKendry's pace of the story crawls by like a soldier shot in the gut and left to die in a hot desert landscape. Without the power and action appeal of Statham, Owens, De Niro and the others - and the decent action sequences sprinkled throughout the film - Killer Elite ends up being little more than a soggy Tom Clancy wannabe.


WORTH: Rental

The Mechanic

Mr. Fix-It

[Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Donald Sutherland, Tony Goldwyn]

image from ize-stuff.com

RANT: Even though I could rant about something non-movie related, I still find new things to rant about during my movie going experience. The first is that I bought a new water bottle, so that I can stop ingesting all of the carcinogens from the reused Poland String bottles. That's a good thing. The second is that, although I am all for saving concession money by bringing your own foods, you should remove your food from the store or home from their crinkling plastic store bags so that the rest of us do not have listen to you rummage around with whatever you are hunting for at the bottom of the bag through the entire third act of the film. Come on, people!

SYNOPSIS: An elite contract hitman teaches his trade to his assassinated mentor's son.

Simon West, a better known director for television action series like The Human Target and The Cape, brings Jason Statham to the screen with a role that plays to all of the actor's strong points. Rebooting the Charles Bronson 1972 film of the same name, Statham portrays Arthur Bishop, a stone-cold assassination machine. Tasked with eliminating his longtime mentor, Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland) by the shadowy government-affiliated corporation run by Mr. Dean (Tony Goldwyn), Bishop finds himself at a moral crossroad. Once he completes his contract, Bishop runs across Harry's son, Steve (Ben Foster), who is looking for vengeance for his father's assassination and for training in the trade by Bishop.

The opening sequence of the film lets us in on Bishop's methods and exactitude when he attempts to kill a Colombian drug lord within his heavily fortified estate while said drug lord takes an afternoon swim in his indoor pool - all the while with armed security watching from the mezzanine above. The contracts that Bishop undertakes all run to completion like clockwork, all intricate and exact.

But once Foster's Steve McKenna comes looking for training and payback for his father, it seems that Bishop smooth running world may be encountering a few speed bumps. Two of the contracts that Bishop assigns the younger McKenna end up as such skin-of-you-teeth events, that you really do feel bad for what Bishop has to deal with - even though the resulting action is fun to watch.

From the beginning with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Statham exudes that steely, confident and calculating demeanor that has landed him a couple action franchises (Crank and The Transporter series) and has put him into many other films that require the same skill set. Strangely enough, I think even now that many may still not consider Statham a full-blown action star to the caliber of Stallone or Schwarzenegger. In The Mechanic, he still delivers - and with style!

Ben Foster, one of my personal favorite actors to watch, brings a subtle crazy to his role of Steve McKenna. His intentions seem straightforward as he hones his skills to face his father's killer but every directive from the expert Bishop seems to be more of a suggestion to McKenna, as he finds his own more personal and visceral way of dealing with the issues of the day.

Tony Goldwyn and Donald Sutherland round out the main cast, one as the man who pulls the strings on every contract, the other as Bishop's now wheelchair-bound mentor and friend. All of the other cast, from Bishop's prostitute female companion to the whiskey loving old man who watches Bishop's New Orleans skiff, are simply colorful background to the main players.

If you are a Jason Statham fan, this film comes in ahead of Death Race, but behind The Transporter and The Italian Job. But as with any of his films, The Mechanic is definitely fun to watch.

Worth: Matinee or DVD

Butter Popcorn Meter

The Expendables

High Octane Cliche

[Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Steve Austin, Eric Roberts]

image from bp.blogspot.com

RANT: Even more turmoil has kept me from my reviews, constant reader. I have fallen under the weather a little bit and, although I managed to trudge into work last week, I could not bring myself to the movie review keyboard in order to bring you my take of "The Expendables" and "The Other Guys". Now is the time to get you those reviews!

SYNOPSIS: Barney Ross leads a group of mercenaries tasked to overthrow a dictator general of a remote South American island by the mysterious Mr. Church. As Barney and his knife-wielding second-in-command Lee scout out the mission, they realize that they are in for more than they bargained for. Barely escaping the island, Barney must choose between walking away from the assignment or return to the island in full force on a seemingly suicide mission.

"The Expendables" is probably to us post-millennium action movie goers what "The Magnificent Seven" and "The Dirty Dozen" were to our fathers. To think of all of the action stars that were appearing in the film! Stallone, Rourke, Roberts, Crews, Li, Auston, Couture, Lundgren, with Willis and "The Arnold" in cameo roles. It's an actioner geek's dream come true! The only two 80s and 90s action stars to pass on the film were Jean Claude Van Damme (rumored to needing a script before agreeing to be in the film) and Steven Seagal (who was already working on "Machete"). The movie marquee would need plenty of letters to get this cast in lights.

Stallone directed and co-wrote the screenplay with David Callaham, just as he directed and co-wrote the latest in the "Rambo" franchise. Now in his 60s, Sly proves that he can still deliver on adrenaline and abs, blood and bullets, both in front and behind the camera lens.

So while the action star power would get most of us to the theater, we still have to rely on the plot and story to keep us coming back for more. Stallone plays Barney Ross, the leader of an elite mercenary squad, with hand-picked warriors like Lee Christmas (Jason Statham) who is brilliant with the blades, but unlucky in love, Ying Yang (Jet Li) who wants a bigger monetary cut because he has to work so much harder than the others because of his physical stature, with Toll Road (Randy Couture), Hale Caeser (Terry Crews) and Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren). The character names alone can attest to the caliber of story writing on the table. Sure, the mercs all sound and look cool. And Stallone made sure to highlight each actors fighting style against the baddies. Jet Li squares off against the turncoat Lundgren in an abandoned warehouse. Austin's wrestling goes a round or two against Couture's ultimate fighting. But as much as I love some arse kicking, this outing of Stallone's falls short of the success of his surprise 2008 hit "Rambo".

So while all of the actors are in place, pumped up and ready to get some, in the end "The Expendables" lives up to its title. As a cliched flick, this movie was expendabl.

Worth: Matinee or Netflix

I am also trying out a new rating system shown below based on reader reaction to my somewhat complex monetary rating scale. I will give both ratings and see what kind of reaction I muster. A movie can receive up to 5 popcorn buckets. Why popcorn buckets? Because I am a slave to the thousand + calorie delight! Enjoy!