The Expendables
Choose your weapon.
The Expendables (2010)
Production
Budget
$82 000 000
Revenue
$274 470 394
Director
Scenario
Dave Callaham
Author
Composer
Producer
Kevin King Templeton
Actors
Sylvester Stallone
Barney Ross
Jason Statham
Lee Christmas
Jet Li
Yin Yang
Dolph Lundgren
Gunner Jensen
Eric Roberts
James Monroe
Randy Couture
Toll Road
Steve Austin
Paine
David Zayas
General Garza
Short description
The Expendables follows a close-knit team of mercenaries led by Barney Ross, who take on dangerous jobs that no government will touch. Their latest contract, arranged through a shadowy intermediary, sends them to a small South American country to remove its ruling dictator. What looks like a straightforward operation turns into something far more complicated once the team arrives. Ross and his men find themselves caught between their employer's real intentions, outside interests backing the regime, and a mission that may have been designed to fail. Alongside Ross are his longtime second-in-command Lee Christmas, the martial artist Yin Yang, heavy weapons man Hale Caesar, demolitions expert Toll Road, and the unpredictable sniper Gunner Jensen, whose conduct has already strained his place in the group.
The film is the eighth directed by Sylvester Stallone, arriving after Rocky Balboa and Rambo and marking a return to large-scale action ensemble work. Stallone also co-wrote the screenplay with Dave Callaham, and stars alongside Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts and Randy Couture. It was shot with a substantial budget of 80 million US dollars and went on to earn about 274 million US dollars worldwide, a strong commercial result for an R-rated action film.
Ratings place it as a modestly received but widely seen title. On IMDb it holds 6.4 out of 10 from roughly 379,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.3 out of 10 from around 8,500 votes. Critics were less impressed, giving it 5.3 out of 10 across 206 reviews, noticeably below the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- West Coast Customs built three 1955 Ford F100s for the film. One for the crash scene, one for green screen work, and one for Stallone.
- Sylvester Stallone revealed that during the final battle, Steve Austin nearly lost his leg due to an explosion that occurred nearby. He was saved by a bag he was holding, which absorbed the brunt of the blast. This can be seen at 1:24:05 in the film.
- After The Expendables decide to return to Vilena, trucks driving towards the general are shown. As they pass, the shadow of the camera operator is visible.
- Sylvester Stallone claims that Church's line, "Guys, you're not gonna suck each other off, are ya?", was improvised by Bruce Willis on the spot. He initially had doubts about the line, but ultimately decided to leave it in the film.
- In a scene in the church, Arnold Schwarzenegger's character says that Mr. Church should give Ross (Stallone) a job because he “likes to run in the jungle.” An obvious reference to the Rambo franchise.
- Julie Benz, who starred with Charisma Carpenter in the series "Angel" (1999-2004), suggested she try out for the role of Lacey. Stallone searched for a suitable actress for this role for a long time before trying Carpenter. Her final scene in "Angel" (episode "You're Welcome") convinced Stallone to cast Carpenter in the role.
- At the end, before Lee begins to recite his poetry to Tula, he holds the knife by the blade. Then he turns to Tula, and now he is holding the knife by the handle.
- After Barney tells Gunner he can no longer trust him, Gunner leaves. As he does so, he raises his right hand, pointing at Barney, and when the camera changes angle, he points at Barney with his left hand.
- As Ross and Lee leave the island after their first visit, they shoot at the pier soaked in gasoline. In one frame, we see the explosion spreading horizontally a few feet from the pier. In subsequent overhead shots, the boat next to the pier is clearly unharmed by either the explosion or the fire.
- On the international promotional poster, a charger for an airsoft shop is clearly visible in the lower part of the Yin Yang weapon.
- Toll Road tells Gunner at the very end of the film: "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, brother!" – this is a reference to the title of Bruce Willis' 1989 CD.
- When Barney fires a pistol with incredible speed during the final shootout scene, the shots appear to sound more frequently than he pulls the trigger. Furthermore, he fires far more rounds than a Colt can fire between reloads.
- When Hale (Terry Crews) pulls out his dangerous razor, his name is misspelled on the blade (Ceasar instead of Caesar).
- It was very difficult to choose an actor for the role of Mr. Church, who hired The Expendables. Initially, the role was offered to Arnold Schwarzenegger, but he refused due to his political activities and agreed only to a cameo role. The role was offered to Kurt Russell, who declined because he wasn’t interested in an “ensemble performance.” Ultimately, the role was given to Stallone’s friend and one of the founders of Planet Hollywood, Bruce Willis, who was busy filming "Cop Out" (2010) at the time.
- This is the first film directed by Sylvester Stallone since "Staying Alive" (1983) that does not feature the characters John Rambo or Rocky Balboa.
- While Sandra and Barney are talking in her truck, a large piece of plywood is seen bouncing on the truck bed through the rear window. In the shot showing the departing truck from behind, the plywood is gone.
- Mickey Rourke said he took on the role as a favor to Stallone, who years earlier, when Rourke was in a career slump, had offered him the lead role in "Get Carter" (2000) and personally paid part of Rourke's salary.
- Ben Kingsley, Robert De Niro, and Al Pacino were considered for the role of Monroe.
- This could have been Brittany Murphy's last film. However, Sylvester Stallone removed her character from the script before anything was filmed.
- During the final battle, after the tower nearly falls on Hale, and before Ross destroys the helicopter, Monroe runs with Sandra. While they are running, a person wearing knee-length trousers and holding something resembling a video camera can be briefly glimpsed in the frame.
- When Ross and Lee first arrive on the island to scout, Lee’s camera has a small lens attached. But when they are in town, he already has a different lens with a larger zoom. The film does not show any bag where he could have stored the second lens, so there is no logical explanation for how he changed it.
- When Barney runs after the plane trying to escape the island, the gun in his hand disappears and reappears during the run.
- When The Expendables return to Vilena Island to rescue Sandra, they miraculously sneak unnoticed to Gars' camp. Since Barney's plane is later seen docked at the pier, they must have left it there upon arrival. But they couldn't have done that, as nothing remained of the pier after their first visit. They blew it up when they flew away the first time.
- Jason Statham starred in "Death Race" (2008), which is a remake of "Death Race 2000" (1975), featuring a young Sylvester Stallone in one of his first leading roles.
- When Lee is filming video on the island, the camera is not turned on, and the autofocus mode is not enabled on his lens, meaning no clear video could have been obtained.
- This is the third film in which Jason Statham and Jet Li have starred together. The previous ones were "The Transporter" (2001) and "War" (2007).
- This film marks Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first film in six years. He last appeared in "Around the World in 80 Days" (2004), where he played a cameo role for free.
- Although Spanish is the main language on the island of Vilena, Portuguese speech can be heard in many scenes. Since this is a fictional location, it can be assumed that both languages are used there.
- In Germany, the same actor (Thomas Danneberg) voiced both Stallone and Schwarzenegger. Stallone's voice is dubbed low and raspy, while Schwarzenegger's is lighter, but it's the same voice actor.
- The film features a fight scene between Jet Li and Dolph Lundgren in an abandoned warehouse. Li previously had a similar fight scene in "Born American" (1986) with Kurt Roland Petersson (a teammate on the Swedish karate team and a close friend of Lundgren).
- Scott Adkins was offered the role of Dan Payne.
- After the battle in the tunnels under the palace, the leg of a supposedly dead soldier moves.
- The initial budget for the film was $60 million, but it increased to $70-80 million.
- The silver badge on the right side of General Gars' chest is actually a US Army combat service badge. This badge is not for infantry troops and is worn on the left side of the chest.
- According to Sylvester Stallone, the film's plot is based on the story of Manuel Noriega, the former military dictator of Panama, who had corrupt ties with the CIA and was involved in drug trafficking.
- The film reunited two pairs of former colleagues from previous films: Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren from "Rocky IV" (1985), and Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts from "Papa's Delicate Condition" (1984).
- In the comedy series "Everybody Hates Chris" (2005-2009), Terry Crews played Chris's father, Julius, who is a fan of the Rocky films.
- When Payne hits Sandra, bruises are visible on her face. But when he later leads her to the torture room, the bruises are gone.
- Jet Li's character was initially named Kong Kao.
- Steve Austin and Terry Crews previously starred together in "The Condemned" (2005).
- When Barney is hanging onto the plane door, then climbs inside and rolls across the floor, the door is visible open behind him as he reaches the cockpit. The next scene showing the plane flying over the water shows the door is now closed.
- Stallone's first film after "Rocky IV" (1985) (also with Dolph Lundgren), and which grossed $100 million in the US.
- Ross decapitates bad guy #1. Then he delivers a strike to the throat of bad guy #2. In the left half of the frame, the first guy is lying on the ground, with his head reattached, and movements are visible on his face.
- When Munro is stabbed from behind, his tie hangs normally. Then he looks down at the protruding blade, and at that moment his tie is draped over his left shoulder.
- In a scene with Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the latter two never appeared in the same shot.
- Wesley Snipes was considered for the role of Hale Caesar, but was unable to accept the offer due to tax problems. He was prohibited from leaving the United States without court permission. Forest Whitaker then took on the role and it was rewritten for him, but he was forced to leave the project due to scheduling conflicts. The role was then offered to rapper 50 Cent, who declined to focus on his music career. Several days later, Sylvester Stallone decided to cast former NFL player Terry Crews in the role.
- On October 24, 2009, Sylvester Stallone filmed a scene with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis for the first time. The scene, which took six hours to film, became the basis of the storyline.
- The seaplane used in the film is a Grumman HU-16 Albatross.
- When Lee (Statham) introduces himself and Ross to Sandra, he says his name is "Buddha" and Ross's is "Pest." Together, these names make "Budapest," the capital of Hungary, which is divided into two parts (Buda on the west, Pest on the east) by the Danube. This is a tribute to the city where Stallone worked in 1980 filming "Victory" (1981).
- A sequel was planned 7 months before the film's theatrical release.
- Munro holds Sandra at gunpoint as a hostage, and Barney Ross approaches them, supporting the pistol in his left hand by the handle. In the next frame, he is holding his hand with the pistol by the wrist, and then again by the handle.
- Ross jokes that Trench (Arnold Schwarzenegger) wants to become president – an obvious reference to the real political ambitions of Governor Schwarzenegger of California.
- When the seaplane turns right immediately after takeoff from the island port, there is no movement of the ailerons. This scene is clearly entirely computer-generated.
- Jeffry L. Kimball was the cinematographer for Sylvester Stallone's "The Specialist" (1994), but this film marked his first time working with Stallone as a director.
- Terry Crews' first major film was "The Sixth Day" (2000), where he also starred alongside Schwarzenegger.
- The film's director and actor, Sylvester Stallone, sustained 14 injuries during the film's production. These included a broken tooth, an ankle sprain, and a hairline fracture in his neck that required a metal plate to be inserted. He also had bronchitis and shingles during filming.
- While Ross and Lee are exploring the island, Ross's goatee changes color from black to gray. It is clearly gray when he is hiding from the troops in the street, and then black again when he is in the car. Later, on the same island, it becomes gray again.
- When Barney sits down for Tool to finish the tattoo, only the letters “EXPEND” are visible on his back. It takes Tool 15 seconds to complete the tattoo, resulting in the word “EXPENDABLE,” while being distracted by conversations with Barney and Lee, who arrived after they had begun.
- When Ross and Lee arrive on the island, they hand over their passports to the officer. Both passports list the actual birthdates of Stallone and Statham.
- In the first firefight, The Expendables shoot out all the lighting fixtures and put on thermal vision goggles. When the lights are turned back on, a white flash is visible through their goggles. This couldn't happen; whether the light is on or off doesn't affect thermal imaging.
- Producer Avi Lerner decided to make two versions of the film – PG-13 and R – to view both and choose the version that would be officially released. Lerner decided to cut down on scenes of violence because action films with a PG-13 rating are more successful, such as "Live Free or Die Hard" (2007) and "The Dark Knight" (2008). Lerner also stated that Sylvester Stallone’s "Rambo" (2008) would have been much more successful if it had fewer scenes of violence and blood.
- The last time Ross sits in the plane's cockpit, he is wearing a bulletproof vest. When he is shown from the front, he is already without the vest, wearing a t-shirt instead.
- Jean-Claude Van Damme was offered the role but declined, stating that his character was utterly pointless.
- At least four characters from the original script were cut. Richard – Robert Knepper and Alan Tudyk were considered for the role. The timing didn't work for Knepper, while Tudyk was between projects and didn't want to exhaust himself. The role was completely cut after the film was already shot. Agent Lickson – the role was given to Sandra (Giselle Itié), who, as it turned out, worked for Interpol during the beginning of her relationship with Ross and also helped the revolutionaries against Gars (David Zayas) obtain weapons and medical supplies. Agent Will Sands – the role was supposed to be very large in the initial version of the project, but it was reduced after Eric Roberts was cast. Stallone wanted to include Dennis Leary, with whom he had previously starred in "Demolition Man" (1993), but Leary’s contract with "Rescue Me" (2004-2011) stood in the way. Stallone also tried to get John Lurie, but he also refused. Emmanuel – the role was supposed to go to Danny Trejo, but problems arose due to time and budget constraints. Trejo's fee, as well as the cost of the stunts in the scene with him, did not fit within the budget, so his role was combined with Tool (Mickey Rourke) and Wickham (Gary Daniels).
- Steven Seagal was offered a cameo role in the film, but he declined due to a poor relationship with producer Avé Lerner.
- Bruce Willis' character, a CIA agent, is named Mr. Church, ostensibly in connection with his choice of meeting place with Barney Ross and his rival. In fact, this is a joke about Senator Frank Church, who led the records of the Church Committee hearings on illegal CIA operations in the 1970s.
- The motorcycle used by Statham's character was made in Italy, modeled after the Ducati Desmosedici RR. This sport bike costs $75,000 and has a top speed of 190 miles per hour (305 km/h). Its 4-cylinder engine produces 200 horsepower, while the motorcycle weighs 171 kg. Out of the 1500 motorcycles produced, 500 were made for the US and all were sold out in five hours. Tom Cruise became the proud owner of the first one imported into the US.
- During the knife-throwing competition between Tool and Lee, a close-up of the target reveals that the embedded knife is different from the one shown in the previous shot.
- In the scene where soldiers are being filmed with a Canon camera, and then the camera is shown from behind, the on/off switch is in the off position (the camera is off).
- The insignia the soldiers wore on their left shoulders were those of the 1st Signal Brigade of the US Army, a unit that served in the Republic of Vietnam and remains an active unit today.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
