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The Expendables has a larger cast than Yao Ming

The Expendables – Opens August 13th

David Mumpower: This is either going to rule or suck; in fact, it may do both.

Josh Spiegel: Maybe it's because I never got into the kind of '80s action that this movie is hearkening to, I'm leaning toward suck, but I'm mostly indifferent. The cast is...interesting (though I like Jason Statham and Jet Li, I don't need to see their movies), and the trailer appears cheerfully happy to ruin one of the potential surprises - that Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Willis share a scene - but I may end up checking this out. Probably on Netflix, though.

Michael Lynderey: The Expendables seems to be positioned to follow in the footsteps of movies like District 9, Inglourious Basterds, and Kick-Ass - titles that may not have had built-in fan appeal off the bat, but developed massive followings on fanboy message boards leading up to their release. The problem is that those three titles ended up being beloved by critics, but I'm not so sure The Expendables will be. And as a big fan of '80s and early '90s action, I don't know if this is really going to be along those lines - it seems a lot more ironic and self-aware. Anyway, Li, Statham, and Stallone have all recently headlined Lionsgate action films, and while this one will obviously outgross most of their solo efforts, I don't think that it will be by that much.

David Mumpower: Bear with me on this. I have a strange theory on why this is going to be a blockbuster. I am of the opinion that one of the underlying keys to the success of the Rush Hour franchise is that it manages to engage divergent target audiences that would otherwise have little in common. I am certain there are some Jackie Chan stunt suicide fans who also love Friday and vice versa, but they are the exception rather than the rule. The genius of The Expendables is that it will appeal to almost every kind of action fan. People who love the 1980s retro movement will join Steve Austin's pro wrestling loyalists, Randy Couture's MMA fans, Jason Statham's Transporter groupies, Jet Li's martial arts hero worshippers, and the Mickey Rourke crowd whose ranks will grow with the release of Iron Man 2. That is a potent cocktail of merging demographics.





In terms of this trailer, it does exactly what is needed by showing the primary appeal of the film. It's a ton of faces you know in a story whose title explicitly indicates that a lot of them will *not* be making it back for the sequel. An entire franchise can be built around this strategy wherein various new characters can be introduced depending on who is a rising action star of the moment (let's say Sharlto Copley after The A-Team) or someone whose star has faded a bit (let's say Wesley Snipes). This can be a new take on the Ocean's 11 idea of throwing a bunch of famous people together with the key difference being that some of them *will* die (please, no Bernie Mac jokes). I see a tremendous amount of upside in this movie.

PS: That Shinedown song, Diamond Eyes, rocks and I'm annoyed that I cannot download it yet.

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