Formulaic Expendables a Tired Retread

Sylvester Stallone directed and co-stars, alongside a Magnificent Seven-style roster of action-film legends—Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, and Jason Statham—but critics have some issues with The Expendables.

• James Verniere (and a friend), Boston Herald: "Hulk like Expendables. It SMASH. Guns go BANG-BANG. Things go BOOM. Fire EVERYWHERE. Cars crash and make even MORE FIRE. HA-HA-HA. Hulk no like Rourke, though. Rourke NUTS."

• Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times: "Too bad Stallone the director and co-writer couldn't have come up with a better vehicle for Stallone the aging action hero."
• Gary Thompson, Philadelphia Daily News: "Action fans should beware the bait and switch—Willis, Rourke and Schwarzenegger do drive-bys here, and show up only long enough to wink and disappear."
• Kenneth Turan, LA Times: "If you want to see old-fashioned nonstop mayhem with stars so venerable that "The Leathernecks" (and I don't mean Marines) might be an alternative title, reviews are going to be superfluous. If you don't want to go, no review can change your mind."

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