The Expendables is a 2010 American action film directed by Sylvester Stallone, who co-wrote it with David Callaham and also starred in the lead role. The film co-stars an ensemble cast of mostly action film actors consisting of Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, and Bruce Willis. The film was released in the United States on August 13, 2010. It is the first installment in The Expendables film series. This was Dolph Lundgren's first theatrically released film since 1995's cyberpunk film Johnny Mnemonic.
The film is about a team of elite mercenaries tasked with a mission to overthrow a Latin American dictator whom they soon discover to be a mere puppet controlled by a corrupt ex-CIA agent. It pays tribute to the blockbuster action films of the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was distributed by Lionsgate.
The Expendables received mixed reviews with praise towards the action sequences and cast performances. It was commercially successful, opening at number one at the box office in the United States, the United Kingdom, China and India, and grossed a total of $274 million worldwide. The film spawned the sequels The Expendables 2 (2012), The Expendables 3 (2014), and Expend4bles (2023).
Plot
An elite group of mercenaries named The Expendables, who are based in New Orleans deploys to the Gulf of Aden to save hostages on a vessel from Somali pirates. The team consists of leader Barney Ross, blade specialist Lee Christmas, martial artist Yin Yang, military veteran Gunner Jensen, weapons specialist Hale Caesar, and demolitions expert Toll Road. Gunner instigates a firefight, causing casualties for the pirates. He then tries to hang a pirate, but Yang stops him when Barney and the team discourage the idea. Barney reluctantly discharges him from the team. Later, Christmas is upset to discover his girlfriend Lacy has left him for another man. Barney and rival Trench Mauser visit "Mr. Church" for a mission. Trench passes the contract to Barney, which is to overthrow dictator General Garza in Vilena, an island in the Gulf of Mexico.
Barney and Christmas fly to Vilena for undercover reconnaissance and meet their contact, Sandra, but are discovered. It is revealed that ex-CIA officer James Munroe is keeping Garza in power as a figurehead for his own profiteering operations, while Sandra is revealed to be Garza's daughter. Barney aborts, but Sandra refuses to leave Vilena. Meanwhile, Gunner approaches Munroe to help and Garza is angered further when Sandra is waterboarded for information by Munroe. Meanwhile, Lacy has been physically abused by her new man, so Christmas beats him and his friends, revealing what he does for a living. Barney and the group discover that Church is a CIA operative and the real target is Munroe, who has gone rogue and joined forces with Garza to keep the drug money that funds the CIA to himself, but the CIA cannot afford a mission to kill one of their own directly because of bad publicity.
Barney meets tattoo expert and friend Tool to express his feelings. Tool makes a confession about letting a woman commit suicide instead of saving her. Barney is then motivated to go back for Sandra alone, but Yang accompanies him. Gunner and hired men pursue them on the road, ending in an abandoned warehouse, where Yang and Gunner fight a second time. Barney shoots Gunner when he attempts to impale Yang on a pipe. Gunner makes amends and gives the layout of Garza's palace. Barney boards the plane with Yang and finds the rest of the team waiting, and they infiltrate Garza's compound. Thinking Munroe hired the team to kill him, Garza has his soldiers' faces painted, preparing them for a fight. The team plants explosives throughout the site but Barney, while saving Sandra, is captured by Munroe's henchmen. The team saves him and kills the Brit, but is pinned down by Garza's men as Paine wrestles Barney.