the expendables

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1320253/

on the one hand, i want to make disparaging comments about the plot, dialog, and acting, but on the other hand, i have to acknowledge that none of those things should be considered relevant in an action movie.

the expendables set out to be the most epic action movie ever, and it more or less succeeded. you should feel free to argue about the specifics with your movie-nerd friends, though. the sheer number of headliners was staggering, but the resultant effect was pretty neat. usually in an action movie, the protagonist displays his particular brand of bad-assedness, and it gives the movie a certain feel. in *this* action movie, the protagonists all brought their own particular brands of bad-assedness, and it was like some kind of bad-ass potpourri.

on the negative side: it should not have been necessary to have a gun that explodulates the upper body of the person it shoots. thanks to the exploding body content in the expendables, i had to sit through previews for "similar" movies featuring torture-porn and exorcisms. not cool.