Barney Ross leads The Expendables, a tight-knit team of elite mercenaries who take on the missions that governments can’t — or won’t — touch. The team includes blade specialist Lee Christmas, martial artist Yin Yang, weapons expert Hale Caesar, demolitions expert Toll Road, and sniper Gunner Jensen. They’re the best at what they do, and what they do isn’t pretty.
When the mysterious Mr. Church hires the team to overthrow General Garza, the dictator of the small South American island nation of Vilena, Ross and Christmas fly in on reconnaissance. There they meet Sandra, a courageous local woman fighting against the regime, and discover that Garza is merely a puppet — the real power behind the throne is James Munroe, a rogue former CIA agent running a massive drug operation under the cover of political instability.
Ross is shaken by Sandra’s bravery and his own failure to help her, leading to a crisis of conscience that transforms what should be a purely mercenary operation into something personal. With his team behind him, Ross launches a full-scale assault on Garza’s palace in an explosive finale that delivers old-school action on a massive scale. The Expendables is a love letter to 1980s action cinema, assembling the greatest action stars of multiple generations in a single film.
Director & Cast
Director: Sylvester Stallone — the creator of Rocky and Rambo stepped behind the camera to unite his action-star peers in the ultimate ensemble throwback.
Cast: Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross, Jason Statham as Lee Christmas, Jet Li as Yin Yang, Dolph Lundgren as Gunner Jensen, Randy Couture as Toll Road, Terry Crews as Hale Caesar, Mickey Rourke as Tool, Eric Roberts as James Munroe, with cameos by Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Behind the Scenes
The film’s most talked-about scene features Stallone, Willis, and Schwarzenegger sharing the screen for the first time ever. Stallone suffered a hairline fracture in his neck during a fight scene with Steve Austin. The practical explosions were so large that they reportedly set off car alarms in nearby neighborhoods. The film launched a franchise with three installments.
