On the whole, Sylvester Stallone gets a bad rap.  He may not be the most talented actor in the world, but he’s had his moments.  As as a businessman who’s manipulated a lucrative career in the film industry for forty years despite many bad reviews of his films, he’s doing something right.  His creation of Rocky Balboa, and bull-headed determination to star in the film himself, set him up for a long career which he’s managed brilliantly.  His latest effort is another step in that direction.  While The Expendables is awful on so many fronts, once again audiences ignore their better judgement and pay for seats.

With The Expendables, Stallone is a businessman preying on the undeniable trend of American male audiences who like quippy one-liners, and to see shit blown up.  Stallone delivers, and knowing he’s not the most talented actor or director or screenwriter, uses a star-studded cast of action stars to create the draw.  There’s method to the madness.

The script sucks; there’s no clever one-liners.  The acting is bad; no surprise there.  The premise is ridiculous.  The narrative is, at times, indecipherable.  But shit blows up.  And Stallone’s laughing all the way to the bank...