Sylvester Stallone
I Mercenari

Take a handful of 80s and 90s action film actors, buff them up to the extreme, place them in a plot that you’ve seen a thousand times, where gratuitous violence alternates with questionable witticisms, add a dash of misogynistic masculinity in true southern style, and you'll get this 100% "Made in U.S.A." entertainment marvel. Stallone leads a group of mercenary soldiers hired to kill "the usual" general on a small island in the Gulf of Mexico, guilty of establishing ties with a former CIA agent and building an empire of drugs and evil. Through countless adventures and explosions, following death-defying duels, our heroes will complete the mission by blowing everything up and clearing out everyone. The film concludes in the best possible way: a party with beer and a knife-throwing contest among mercenary friends. Unfortunately, it fails to narrate the aftermath of the island, which, thanks to them, is left without a government or police (since they're all dead) and is presumably abandoned in a state of anarchic violence and looting that will reign forever (but who cares, the movie ends before that!).

The plot is all here, and I've already gone on too long, but the strong point of the film is, obviously, the actors. In a Hollywood starved for ideas, where only sequels and remakes are made, Stallone organizes a reunion of "old-timers" that, I must say, is quite charming. Besides Sly, we find Dolf Lundgren (very good at playing a psychotic maniac, a sort of Ivan Drago disfigured by Botox and drugs), Jet Li (a bit in the shadows, he was originally supposed to be replaced by Van Damme), Mickey Rourke, Steve Austin, and Jason Statham (a co-star, originally Kurt Russell was considered). The icing on the cake, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who, along with Sylvester, create one of the funniest scenes in the last 10 years of cinema.

The film has rhythm, the actors exude absolute charisma, the southern rock sounds heavy, and the sweaty and grimy atmosphere does justice to a bunch of misfits with now rubber-like faces, violent, pumped up, with Harleys and American flags in their blood. Blades, rifles, pistols, bombs, tattoos, muscles, planes, patriotism, clichés (in my opinion intentionally emphasized), and punches do the rest. To be honest, I am glad I watched it because too often nowadays we see action films that get lost in absurd love stories and superficial existential debates that reduce the space for pure "action" style, just like the 80s (Spider-Man 3, a slogfest, or Hulk come to mind, but I could mention dozens).

"The Expendables" doesn't disappoint expectations, it is truly an "exaggerated" film in every sense. For this reason, I appreciate the recovery operation, as if an old veteran takes the field because the lesson hasn't been learned by the newcomers, a bit like our Rocky did. A fun and entertaining homage to that truly Action cinema that perhaps no longer exists, but which all teenagers (of all ages) strongly feel the need for.