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* MythologyGag: "Give the job to my friend here. [[{{Rambo}} He loves playing in the jungle.]]" said by [[{{Predator}} Arnold]] to BruceWillis, who made his own jungle action flick in ''TearsOfTheSun.''
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* MythologyGag: "Give the job to my friend here. [[{{Rambo}} [[Franchise/{{Rambo}} He loves playing in the jungle.]]" said by [[{{Predator}} [[Film/{{Predator}} Arnold]] to BruceWillis, who made his own jungle action flick in ''TearsOfTheSun.''
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** "Give this job to my friend here, [[{{Rambo}} he]] [[{{Predator}} loves playing in the jungle]], right?" Said to Bruce Willis, who also had a [[TearsOfTheSun battle-in-the-jungle film of his own.]]
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** "Give this job to my friend here, [[{{Rambo}} [[Franchise/{{Rambo}} he]] [[{{Predator}} [[Film/{{Predator}} loves playing in the jungle]], right?" Said to Bruce Willis, who also had a [[TearsOfTheSun battle-in-the-jungle film of his own.]]
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** Mickey Rouke still has [[Film/IronMan Vanko's haircut.]]
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** Mickey Rouke still has [[Film/IronMan [[Film/IronMan2 Vanko's haircut.]]
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** Arnie may have unpleasant memories of his [[{{Predator}} last time in jungle]].
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** Arnie may have unpleasant memories of his [[{{Predator}} [[Film/{{Predator}} last time in jungle]].
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After the success of ''RockyBalboa'' and ''{{Rambo}}'' (2008), SylvesterStallone has been enjoying a new-found success: making films entirely for the entertainment of his fans and for himself. And thus began this project, an action film aficionado's wet dream.
to:
After the success of ''RockyBalboa'' and ''{{Rambo}}'' ''Film/{{Rambo}}'' (2008), SylvesterStallone has been enjoying a new-found success: making films entirely for the entertainment of his fans and for himself. And thus began this project, an action film aficionado's wet dream.
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** Is Mauser as a last name merely a cliched stock reference... [[ActorAllusion or a portmanteau of]] [[TotalRecall 'Mars' and 'Hauser'?]]
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** Is Mauser as a last name merely a cliched stock reference... [[ActorAllusion or a portmanteau of]] [[TotalRecall [[Film/TotalRecall 'Mars' and 'Hauser'?]]
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videogame only trope
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* DavidVersusGoliath: [[spoiler: Yang (Li) vs. Gunnar (Lundgren), who is about 1.5 times taller and at least twice as heavy. Subverting the norm, Gunnar would have killed Yang if Ross hadn't intervened.]]
to:
* DavidVersusGoliath: DavidVersusGoliath:
** [[spoiler: Yang (Li) vs. Gunnar (Lundgren), who is about 1.5 times taller and at least twice as heavy. Subverting the norm, Gunnar would have killed Yang if Ross hadn't intervened.]]
** [[spoiler: Yang (Li) vs. Gunnar (Lundgren), who is about 1.5 times taller and at least twice as heavy. Subverting the norm, Gunnar would have killed Yang if Ross hadn't intervened.]]
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* ExcusePlot
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* SequelEscalation: how do they top the previous movie's cast? Add ''JeanClaudeVanDamme'' and '''ChuckNorris'''
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incorrect usage. the first was misuse as awesome and the second \"No Real Life Examples Please\"
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* BeyondTheImpossible: More than once, but perhaps most awesomely when Ross's ImprobableAimingSkills detonate the primer on a ''thrown'' artillery round, in such a way that it actually destroys the intended target.
** "Beyond the Impossible" could also describe the casting for the movie. When the first film was announced everybody was surprised that they were able to cast so many famous action film stars, and with the sequel they've managed to include ''even more''.
** "Beyond the Impossible" could also describe the casting for the movie. When the first film was announced everybody was surprised that they were able to cast so many famous action film stars, and with the sequel they've managed to include ''even more''.
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* ImprobableAimingSkills: Ross's skills detonate the primer on a ''thrown'' artillery round, in such a way that it actually destroys the intended target.
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* MrFanservice: From TheOtherWiki: "Research by Lionsgate found that between 38% and 40% of the film's viewers were female".
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* EvilCounterpart: Towards the end of the first movie Monroe berates Ross for doing the CIA's dirty business and says they are basically the same, mercenaries who are dead inside and have no allegiances. Unfortunately for him Ross' character arc in the movie was doing something good not simply for money.
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* MrFanservice: From TheOtherWiki: "Research by Lionsgate found that between 38% and 40% of the film's viewers were female".
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/w056i9.jpg]]
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[[caption-width-right:290:No, this is not a Fan Made Poster]]
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** Also subverted. Munroe is sure that [[spoiler: mercs were sent by the Agency after him. Ross responds by saying that he just came for the girl]].
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*** Fanning is something a trainer shooter could do. Taking down several targets in the process? [[ImprobableAimingSkills Not so much]].
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* LighterAndSofter: The sequel will be PG-13.
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* LighterAndSofter: The sequel will be PG-13. Now averted. Stallone, despite originally saying the movie would be PG-13, has since said the movie will be rated R. Dolph Lundgren has also stated that last he heard the movie was being rated R.
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The movie opened to somewhat mixed reviews, but the moviegoing public liked it plenty well and Stallone has gone on to make a sequel, coming out August 17th, 2012. The teaser trailer is [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCUjFRC4Tvw&feature=g-all-u&context=G29db2a3FAAAAAAAABAA here]]. The people added to the franchise? JeanClaudeVanDamme and ChuckNorris, with both Willis and Schwarzenegger taking on bigger roles and an up and coming actor Liam Hemsworth featured prominently. [[TestosteronePoisoning You couldn't put more masculinity on one piece of celluloid if you tried.]] The Plot? It seems Bruce's character has another job for Ross, so the team goes back into action, that's about it.
to:
The movie opened to somewhat mixed reviews, but the moviegoing public liked it plenty well and Stallone has gone on to make a sequel, coming out August 17th, 2012.
The teaser trailer for Expendables 2 is [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCUjFRC4Tvw&feature=g-all-u&context=G29db2a3FAAAAAAAABAA here]] and the full trailers is [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip_CYHdyUBs here]]. The people added to the franchise? JeanClaudeVanDamme and ChuckNorris, with both Willis and Schwarzenegger taking on bigger roles and an up and coming actor Liam Hemsworth featured prominently. [[TestosteronePoisoning You couldn't put more masculinity on one piece of celluloid if you tried.]] The Plot?It seems Bruce's Willis' character has another job for Ross, so dealing with a dangerous weapons shipment being overseen by Van Damme. As they deal with the team goes back into action, that's about it.
new challenge, things get personal and the stakes get higher.
The teaser trailer for Expendables 2 is [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCUjFRC4Tvw&feature=g-all-u&context=G29db2a3FAAAAAAAABAA here]] and the full trailers is [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip_CYHdyUBs here]]. The people added to the franchise? JeanClaudeVanDamme and ChuckNorris, with both Willis and Schwarzenegger taking on bigger roles and an up and coming actor Liam Hemsworth featured prominently. [[TestosteronePoisoning You couldn't put more masculinity on one piece of celluloid if you tried.]] The Plot?
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* ChekhovsLecture: Caesar describing the psychological effect of the sound of guns. He mentions that shotguns in particular scare the shit out of people. Later, when a couple of the team are pinned down...
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* BlingBlingBang: Gunnar wields a Bowie knife with golden hand guards. [[HighlyVisibleNinja Despite fighting in night camo.]] On a similar note, Hale uses a shaving razor with a ''fluorescent green plastic handle'' as a melee weapon.
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* BottomlessMagazines: How many rounds does an AA-12 drum magazine hold? A couple of hundred right?
* BlingBlingBang: Gunnar wields a Bowie knife with golden hand guards. [[HighlyVisibleNinja Despite fighting in night camo.]] On a similar note, Hale uses a shaving razor with a ''fluorescent green plastic handle'' as a melee weapon.
* BlingBlingBang: Gunnar wields a Bowie knife with golden hand guards. [[HighlyVisibleNinja Despite fighting in night camo.]] On a similar note, Hale uses a shaving razor with a ''fluorescent green plastic handle'' as a melee weapon.
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* BottomlessMagazines: Subverted - everyone has run out of ammo for their main weapons, and even Barney's full-auto M1911s need reloading after a few shots, for obvious reasons.
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* BottomlessMagazines: Subverted - Subverted; everyone has run out of ammo for their main weapons, and even Barney's full-auto M1911s need reloading after a few shots, for obvious reasons.reasons. Still... how many rounds does an AA-12 drum magazine hold? A couple of hundred, right?
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* EliteMooks: General Garze's special forces, identified by their red berets, jungle camouflage, and green-and-yellow facepaint. Notably, they're actually able to force the Expendables to seriously ''work'' to kill them, unlike the regular soldiers who they mow down with regularity.
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* EliteMooks: General Garze's Garza's special forces, identified by their red berets, jungle camouflage, and green-and-yellow facepaint. Notably, they're actually able to force the Expendables to seriously ''work'' to kill them, unlike the regular soldiers who they mow down with regularity.
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** 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin has his climactic fight showing nothing but wrestling moves, fighting another wrestler, Randy Couture.
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** 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin has his climactic fight showing nothing but wrestling moves, fighting another wrestler, UFC legend, Randy Couture.
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** The sequel promises more action scenes for them, so... [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome yeah.]]
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After the success of ''{{Rocky}} Balboa'' and ''{{Rambo}}'' (2008), SylvesterStallone has been enjoying a new-found success: making films entirely for the entertainment of his fans and for himself. And thus began this project, an action film aficionado's wet dream.
to:
After the success of ''{{Rocky}} Balboa'' ''RockyBalboa'' and ''{{Rambo}}'' (2008), SylvesterStallone has been enjoying a new-found success: making films entirely for the entertainment of his fans and for himself. And thus began this project, an action film aficionado's wet dream.
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** Barney Ross was the name of an American boxer from the 1930s. His name could be a reference to the fact that one of Sylvester Stallone's best known characters is [[{{Rocky}} a boxer.]]
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** Barney Ross was the name of an American boxer from the 1930s. His name could be a reference to the fact that one of Sylvester Stallone's best known characters is [[{{Rocky}} [[Film/{{Rocky}} a boxer.]]
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* AntiHero: The Expendables
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* AntiHero: The ExpendablesExpendables, of Type V level.
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IGB cleanup, some other tweaking
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* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: Gunnar. [[IGotBetter He gets better]].]]
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* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: Gunnar. [[IGotBetter He gets better]].]]
* TheDulcineaEffect: Part of Ross' motivation. He seems to realize that it doesn't make much sense.
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* IGotBetter:
** [[spoiler: Gunnar.]] Lampshaded by Barney.
** [[spoiler:Paine]]'s actor is supposedly returning in the sequel, so this just might apply for him, too.
** [[spoiler: Gunnar.]] Lampshaded by Barney.
** [[spoiler:Paine]]'s actor is supposedly returning in the sequel, so this just might apply for him, too.
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* TheDulcineaEffect: Part of Ross' motivation. He seems to realize that it doesn't make much sense.
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* UnexplainedRecovery:
** [[spoiler: Gunnar.]] Lampshaded by Barney.
** [[spoiler:Paine]]'s actor is supposedly returning in the sequel, so this just might apply for him, too.
** [[spoiler: Gunnar.]] Lampshaded by Barney.
** [[spoiler:Paine]]'s actor is supposedly returning in the sequel, so this just might apply for him, too.
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* SpiritualSuccessor: This could easily be seen as a modern reimagining of ''{{Commando}}'', especially the grand finale.
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* SpiritualSuccessor: This could easily be seen as a modern reimagining of ''{{Commando}}'', ''Film/{{Commando}}'', especially the grand finale.
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** [[WebOriginal/BumReviews My testicles ran out and killed a wild boar! And ate it!]] - Chester A. Bum on TheExpendables.
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** [[WebOriginal/BumReviews [[WebVideo/BumReviews My testicles ran out and killed a wild boar! And ate it!]] - Chester A. Bum on TheExpendables.
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*BottomlessMagazines: How many rounds does an AA-12 drum magazine hold? A couple of hundred right?
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* DavidVersusGoliath: [[spoiler: Yang (Li) vs. Gunnar (Lundgren), who is about 1.5 times taller and heavier. Subverting the norm, Gunnar would have killed Yang if Ross hadn't intervened.]]
** Used tactically by Lee during the fight. [[spoiler: By moving the fight under a walkway where Gunnar can barely stand up straight.]]
** Used tactically by Lee during the fight. [[spoiler: By moving the fight under a walkway where Gunnar can barely stand up straight.]]
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* DavidVersusGoliath: [[spoiler: Yang (Li) vs. Gunnar (Lundgren), who is about 1.5 times taller and heavier.at least twice as heavy. Subverting the norm, Gunnar would have killed Yang if Ross hadn't intervened.]]
** Used tactically byLee Yang during the fight. [[spoiler: By moving the fight under a walkway where Gunnar can barely stand up straight.]]
** Used tactically by
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* IronicNickname - Church, who curses up a storm and is generally un-church-like.
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* IronicNickname - IronicNickname: Church, who curses up a storm and is generally un-church-like.
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* ThrowAwayGuns - sometimes to ditch extra weight, sometimes out of necessity.
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks - [[spoiler: If several .45 bullets doesn't end Munroe's life, a huge honking Bowie knife clear through the heart will.]]
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks - [[spoiler: If several .45 bullets doesn't end Munroe's life, a huge honking Bowie knife clear through the heart will.]]
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* ThrowAwayGuns - sometimes ThrowAwayGuns: Sometimes to ditch extra weight, sometimes out of necessity.
*ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks - ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: [[spoiler: If several .45 bullets doesn't end Munroe's life, a huge honking Bowie knife clear through the heart will.]]
*
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* TokenRomance: averted. Nothing between Stallone and Sandra, which is nice considering how tempting it must have been. And while Statham also has a LoveInterest, most of their interactions concern the fact that she dislikes his lifestyle.
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* TokenRomance: averted.Averted. Nothing between Stallone and Sandra, which is nice considering how tempting it must have been. And while Statham also has a LoveInterest, most of their interactions concern the fact that she dislikes his lifestyle.
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* {{Troperiffic}} - It even provides the page image.
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* {{Troperiffic}} - {{Troperiffic}}: It even provides the page image.
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* UnorthodoxReload - Subverted, Barney reloads his M1911 ''extremely'' fast, but with sufficient practice, it ''is'' possible to reload a gun that quickly.
* VitriolicBestBuds - Inverted: Barney and Trench hate each other's guts, but talk as if they were old buddies.
* VitriolicBestBuds - Inverted: Barney and Trench hate each other's guts, but talk as if they were old buddies.
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* UnorthodoxReload - UnorthodoxReload: Subverted, Barney reloads his M1911 ''extremely'' fast, but with sufficient practice, it ''is'' possible to reload a gun that quickly.
*VitriolicBestBuds - VitriolicBestBuds: Inverted: Barney and Trench hate each other's guts, but talk as if they were old buddies.
*
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** Ross: [[TheGunslinger Guns]], most notably a [[GunsAkimbo pair of M1911s]] and a [[RevolversAreJustBetter Colt Single Action Army]].
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** Ross: [[TheGunslinger Guns]], Handguns or pistols]], most notably a [[GunsAkimbo pair of M1911s]] and a [[RevolversAreJustBetter Colt Single Action Army]].
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* HoYay: Quite a lot.
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* {{BFG}}: Caesar wields a [[MoreDakka fully automatic]] drum-fed shotgun that fires 250 rounds a minute. They later get loaded with FRAG-12 rounds - ''grenades.''
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* {{BFG}}: Caesar wields a [[MoreDakka fully automatic]] drum-fed shotgun that fires 250 rounds a minute. They later get loaded with FRAG-12 rounds - ''grenades.''grenade rounds.''
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/w056i9.jpg]]
->''If [[RatedMForManly testosterone]] [[XMeetsY could mate with]] [[StuffBlowingUp an explosion]], this movie would be its offspring.''
-->-- '''IGN.com preview'''
A 2010 action movie that intentionally contains [[GeorgeLucasThrowback pretty much every trope associated with 1980s action movies]].
After the success of ''{{Rocky}} Balboa'' and ''{{Rambo}}'' (2008), SylvesterStallone has been enjoying a new-found success: making films entirely for the entertainment of his fans and for himself. And thus began this project, an action film aficionado's wet dream.
The story is simple enough, Stallone is Barney Ross, the leader of an elite group of mercenaries who are hired to go into a BananaRepublic and [[OneManArmy single-handedly]] take down a dictator's (David Zayas) regime.
What makes this film so unique is not the story, but the people involved. Alongside Stallone, JasonStatham and JetLi play his closest friends [[KnifeNut Lee Christmas]] and [[BareFistedMonk Yin Yang]]. Beyond that Mickey Rourke ([[RetiredBadass Tool]]), DolphLundgren ([[AxCrazy Gunnar]] [[BloodKnight Jensen]]), RandyCouture ([[RealMenWearPink Toll Road]]), StoneColdSteveAustin ([[TheDragon Paine]]), Eric Roberts (as, unsurprisingly, [[SmugSnake a slimy bad guy]]) and Terry Crews ([[BoisterousBruiser Hale Caesar]]) all have major supporting roles. Even BruceWillis ([[LineOfSightName Mr. Church]]) and ArnoldSchwarzenegger (Trench) have minor supporting roles. There were rumors and official reports of even more action heroes being offered roles, cause that was just what this movie was about.
The movie opened to somewhat mixed reviews, but the moviegoing public liked it plenty well and Stallone has gone on to make a sequel, coming out August 17th, 2012. The teaser trailer is [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCUjFRC4Tvw&feature=g-all-u&context=G29db2a3FAAAAAAAABAA here]]. The people added to the franchise? JeanClaudeVanDamme and ChuckNorris, with both Willis and Schwarzenegger taking on bigger roles and an up and coming actor Liam Hemsworth featured prominently. [[TestosteronePoisoning You couldn't put more masculinity on one piece of celluloid if you tried.]] The Plot? It seems Bruce's character has another job for Ross, so the team goes back into action, that's about it.
This is the closest we'll probably get to [[http://i.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/photoshop/2/5/8/33258.jpg?v=1 TV Tropes, the Movie]]
An extended Director's Cut of the first film was temporarily available via On Demand and is now out on Blu-Ray (only. Sorry, DVD fans). In addition to containing a bit of extra character development and tightened CG effects, this cut also uses [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome Shinedown's "Diamond Eyes,"]] which was commissioned by Stallone specifically for use in the film, during the climax and again in the credits.
----
!!This film provides examples of:
* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Ross chops off a guard's hand and ''beheads another'' with his knife.
* ActionFilmQuietDramaScene: Tool (Mickey Rourke) has a scene regarding a woman he could have saved in Bosnia, and the the personal cost of not doing so. He laments that if he saved her, he could have saved what remained of his soul. His story inspires Barney Ross (Stallone) to go back to Vilena. It's probably the most powerful moment of the film.
* ActorAllusion: Lots:
** Ross notes that ArnoldSchwarzenegger's character wants to be president, referencing Schwarzenegger's political career and the old buzz about him running for president.
** Christmas' girlfriend not knowing what he does - and him [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge promptly showing her]] - is a reference to ''Film/{{Crank}}''.
** "Give this job to my friend here, [[{{Rambo}} he]] [[{{Predator}} loves playing in the jungle]], right?" Said to Bruce Willis, who also had a [[TearsOfTheSun battle-in-the-jungle film of his own.]]
*** Then followed by this quip: "What's his problem?" "He wants to be president".
** Mickey Rouke still has [[Film/IronMan Vanko's haircut.]]
** Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone are regarded as the best in their field; two musclebound action heroes and leading men who seem to be stuck in a friendly rivalry with each other; it's a mystery to everyone why they don't just work together. That's just their characters in the movie of course. In the real world that was only true in the eighties.
** 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin has his climactic fight showing nothing but wrestling moves, fighting another wrestler, Randy Couture.
* AdvertisedExtra: Commercials paid special attention to the scene between Stallone, Willis and Schwarzenegger, as it was the first time the trio had appeared on-screen together. Of course, that's the only scene that Willis and Schwarzenegger appear in.
* AllStarCast: The whole point of the film, though most of the "stars" are past their glory days.
* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: The Japanese version uses the song [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xj9bjp_tsuyoshi-nagabuchi-kizuna_music "Kizuna"]] by Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi.
* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: "I didn't come here for you, dipshit! I came back for ''her!''"
* AntiHero: The Expendables
* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Lee (loves his knife-throwing a bit too much) and Yang ("I would have win!"). "The Brit" is also a bit of a dick, if "a bit" could be considered that for working under a CompleteMonster.
* AttemptedRape: Averted, and then played straight. It looks like the bad guys are going to do this to Sandra when he put her on the table. But then she gets waterboarded instead. Later on, [[{{Mooks}} two random soldiers]] burst in and attempt to rape her, but Ross [[CurbStompBattle objects]]. And his objection [[{{Gorn}} is very, very sharp.]]
* AudibleSharpness: All. The. Time.
* AwesomeMcCoolname: [[PunnyName Hale Caesar]].
* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler: Gunnar at the end]].
* BackToBackBadasses: Ross and Lee.
* BadAss: Just about every character played by a "name" actor.
* BadassBoast:
** Barney's "We are the shadow, the smoke in your eyes, the ghosts that hide in the night", which only appears in the trailers, and is the first line in the song "Diamond Eyes" by Shinedown, which was commissioned by Stallone himself. Too bad the song doesn't appear in the film, either (The extended cut fixes both issues, however).
** "We will ''kill'' this American disease!"
** "If you fuck with us in any way... ''my'' people will come and get ''your'' people."
* BadassCrew: The Expendables.
* BadassGrandpa:
** One of the first images of the movie was a shot of Stallone's character, [[ShirtlessScene barechested]] and covered in tattoos. Nearly everyone was slack-jawed, saying, "''That'' guy is over 60?!"
** The film also stars 47-year-old RandyCouture, actively competing [[UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts mixed martial artist]] and MMA's original BadassGrandpa.
* BaldOfAwesome: Lee, Mr. Church, Paine, Toll Road and Hale Caesar. Apparently hair is for sissies.
* BananaRepublic: Played straight as an arrow, with all the stereotypes in place. To the movie's credit, it goes back to the trope's real-world historical roots (not exactly a {{Deconstruction}}, but still...): the island's regime is actually controlled by an [[{{Eagleland}} American profiteer]], which was very often TruthInTelevision when the Banana Republic trope originated [[OlderThanTheyThink in the late 19th century]]. See also the MeaningfulName section.
* BandOfBrothers: [[spoiler:Why Gunnar is still with the crew at movie's end.]]
--> Lee: ''(to Barney)'' "It's not easy being your friend."
--> Yin: ''(nods)'' "It's not."
* BangBangBANG: Happens with all the gunfire, but particularly Caesar's automatic shotgun. He lays out why he loves his automatic shotgun, and it includes that hearing a shotgun spitting out 250 rounds a minute will scare the ''shit'' out of the enemy. Sure enough, after he uses it, he comments that the gun is frigging ''loud''.
* BashBrothers: All of the Expendables.
* BetterThanABareBulb: What were you expecting from an action film homage?
* BeyondTheImpossible: More than once, but perhaps most awesomely when Ross's ImprobableAimingSkills detonate the primer on a ''thrown'' artillery round, in such a way that it actually destroys the intended target.
** "Beyond the Impossible" could also describe the casting for the movie. When the first film was announced everybody was surprised that they were able to cast so many famous action film stars, and with the sequel they've managed to include ''even more''.
* {{BFG}}: Caesar wields a [[MoreDakka fully automatic]] drum-fed shotgun that fires 250 rounds a minute. They later get loaded with FRAG-12 rounds - ''grenades.''
* BigBad: At first presumed to be General Garza, but later revealed to be ex-CIA agent James Munroe (EricRoberts).
* BigDamnHeroes: A truly, ''truly'' epic one when half the squad is pinned down in the tunnels under the palace. Enter Hale Caesar and suddenly all you hear is "[[BangBangBANG BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM]]" and [[{{Gorn}} chunks of guards go flying]] across the screen.
* BoisterousBruiser: Half the movie's cast. The other half are {{Lightning Bruiser}}s.
* BondOneLiner: "Now I can see inside you. And I see lies."
* BlingBlingBang: Gunnar wields a Bowie knife with golden hand guards. [[HighlyVisibleNinja Despite fighting in night camo.]] On a similar note, Hale uses a shaving razor with a ''fluorescent green plastic handle'' as a melee weapon.
* BondVillainStupidity: Munroe seems to be a CombatPragmatist, but falls into stupidity anyway. [[spoiler: After getting Barney to disarm himself via HostageSituation, Munroe wisely shoots him. After noting that he is still alive Munroe abstains from shooting him again and instead [[EvilGloating yells at him for ruining his plans]] [[GetOnWithItAlready long enough for Barney to get back up and for Lee to flank his position]] [[WhatAnIdiot and is promptly killed as a result]]]].
* BookEnds: The Expendables entering, and later, leaving [[FanNickname the Toolshed]] on {{Cool Bike}}s.
* BoringInvincibleHero: Subverted. Barney's crew is undoubtedly badass and it's played straight when they absolutely [[CurbStompBattle decimate]] common mooks. But it's inverted when they end up fighting the other big stars of the movie, as they often have quite a bit of trouble taking them down.
** Austin nearly kills Stallone, but is scared off by the sound of the aforementioned automatic shotgun.
* BottomlessMagazines: Subverted - everyone has run out of ammo for their main weapons, and even Barney's full-auto M1911s need reloading after a few shots, for obvious reasons.
* BulletDodge: Done by Yang. PlayedWith, he jerks just in time as the bullet is fired, but still.
* CallBack: In ''DemolitionMan'', Stallone's character was shocked to learn that ArnoldSchwarzenegger eventually became president in the future.
* CasualDangerDialog: The guys standing around arguing as to who should kill who in the middle of a MexicanStandoff.
** During the climax, while General Garza barks orders to his men, Caesar remarks, "He's saying we're dead with an accent."
* ChaseScene: Twice.
* ChekhovsGun:
** Caesar's FRAG-12 rounds.
** How do you make an armored guard tower explode? Fire a few miniature warheads at it.
** His shaving knife is also used to save Ross from being shot in the back near the end of the finale.
** Gunnar giving Christmas his bowie knife. [[spoiler: Christmas later gives it to Munroe]].
** Ross and Lee's {{Quickdraw}} contest at the beginning.
** Played straight ''and'' averted with Sandra's drawings - they look almost intended to be tattoos, but nobody let Tool have a look at 'em. At the same time, the General is shown to share his daughter's appreciation for art, and designs his soldiers' warpaint at the end.
* ChekhovsLecture: Caesar describing the psychological effect of the sound of guns. He mentions that shotguns in particular scare the shit out of people. Later, when a couple of the team are pinned down...
* ChewingTheScenery: Monroe's final speech.
* ClassicallyTrainedExtra: Not in the usual sense. General Garza's two bodyguards, who look mind-boggingly similar to one another? Twin [[UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts MMA]] fighters Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, who currently compete in the UFC alongside RandyCouture. Sadly, they're not seen in any hand-to-hand combat.
* ClusterFBomb - Church really likes swearing. Even when he's in a church.
* ColdBloodedTorture: [[spoiler: Munroe has Sandra mercilessly water-boarded in an attempt to make her confess "What the Americans want." Whether the use of water-boarding was intended to be a topical statement on the unsavory intelligence gathering methods of the US Government or [[RippedFromTheHeadlines an attempt at invoking recent news events that the audience might recognize]] [[YourMileageMayVary isn't clear.]]]]
* CoolBike - Every Expendables member has one.
* CoolCar - Barney's pickup truck.
* CoolShades: Appear here and there.
* CoolSword: The General brandishes one when he finally stands up to Monroe. In the spirit of authority figures who demand respect at the point of a naked blade. [[spoiler:Don't bring a knife to a swordfight, boyo.]]
* CombatPragmatist: All of the Expendables display a realistic disregard for the Marquis of Queensbury rules, making liberal use of GroinAttack, drawing pistols during protracted CQC bouts and teaming up on outnumbered foes.
* ConspicuousCG: Garza's palace collapsing. The explosions before that, however...
** Paine on fire. The compositing is [[IncrediblyLamePun painfully]] obvious.
** The blood as well. And potentially even the blade on Gunnar's knife looks to have been at least touched up, if not wholly fabricated.
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%%% The film's awesome moments were too manly for one page to handle, so we made several dedicated to just those - check the links on the top of the page.
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* CoversAlwaysLie: Tool? Suited up and ready to roll out with the team? [[NonActionGuy Riiiiight.]] The bad photoshopping should have tipped you off there. Some posters even add Steve Austin and Bruce Willis to the lineup, but that's a lesser case. One should note that Tool and Church (Mickey Rourke and Bruce Willis, respectively) aren't in combat-appropriate uniforms.
* CurbStompBattle: Christmas against Lacy's abusive boyfriend and his basketball team. Guess who walks out without a scratch?
* DamselInDistress:
** Sandra.
** Lacy becomes this to Lee when her latest boyfriend [[DomesticAbuse proves to be a jerk.]]
* DavidVersusGoliath: [[spoiler: Yang (Li) vs. Gunnar (Lundgren), who is about 1.5 times taller and heavier. Subverting the norm, Gunnar would have killed Yang if Ross hadn't intervened.]]
** Used tactically by Lee during the fight. [[spoiler: By moving the fight under a walkway where Gunnar can barely stand up straight.]]
* DeadpanSnarker:
--->'''Lee''': What's he saying?
--->'''Caesar''': He's saying we're dead with an accent.
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: Gunnar. [[IGotBetter He gets better]].]]
* DomesticAbuse: Lacy's new boyfriend got a little carried away with his jealousy.
* TheDragon: Paine.
* DramaticNecklaceRemoval: Done by Munroe to Sandra.
* DuelingStarsMovie May just displace ''FaceOff'' and ''OceansEleven''.
** Not so much Dueling as BattleRoyaleWithCheese. And [[LargeHam ham]].
* {{Eagleland}}: Type 2 for the ex-CIA guys (Munroe and his baddies) who represent the nastier aspects of American activity in Central America.
* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler: Gunnar]]
* EliteMooks: General Garze's special forces, identified by their red berets, jungle camouflage, and green-and-yellow facepaint. Notably, they're actually able to force the Expendables to seriously ''work'' to kill them, unlike the regular soldiers who they mow down with regularity.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Most everyone gets one, but Gunnar's in the opening scene really sets the tone for the entire movie.
** "Warning shot!"
** [[spoiler:"It's good to hang pirates!"]]
** The opening scene is basically the ''film'''s EstablishingCharacterMoment. It lets you know this is a movie where the heroes kick ass and take names, and isn't going to muddy the waters with things like [[RealityEnsues realism]].
* MrFanservice: From TheOtherWiki: "Research by Lionsgate found that between 38% and 40% of the film's viewers were female".
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** [[spoiler:Garza turns on Munroe]] because of this, and the fact Munroe isn't keeping his promises.
** Munroe alludes to it, saying that he was raised not to hit a woman...but he employs people who don't have "that moral dilemma."
* EvilBrit: Err... the Brit.
* EvilIsHammy: Eric Roberts as Munroe is a pretty triumphant example.
* ExcusePlot
* FakeNationality - the "Somali" pirates that don't even look remotely Somali.
* FragileSpeedster - If this was a WorldOfWarcraft party, Yang would be the striker. In his fight with Gunnar he was faster and more agile but Gunnar was a MightyGlacier who kept on taking his hits.
* FiveManBand: -
** TheHero: Ross
** TheLancer: Lee and, to a slightly lesser extent, Yang
** TheBigGuy: Caesar, though most of them are pretty big.
** TheChick: Sandra
** TheSmartGuy: Toll Road.
** SixthRangerTraitor: Gunnar
* FriendlyEnemy: Ross and Trench to each other.
* FruitCart: They hit one during the ChaseScene at Vilena.
* TheGeneralissimo: The Expendables' mission is to eliminate one such general. He is ''slightly'' more sympathetic than the usual examples.
* GeorgeLucasThrowback - If Stallone, Willis, and Schwarzenegger's involvement doesn't tell you anything. Stallone is trying to wrangle in even more 80s action stars for the sequel.
* GroinAttack: Yang's fighting scenes ''will'' include several kicks to the balls. Used multiple times when Ross and Christmas take on a truckload of [[{{Mooks}} bad guys]] in the field.
* GrossUpCloseUp: The long focus on Tool's face during gives the audience a lovely view of his spit-moistened lips.
* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Munroe calls Garza's men out on this, for letting Ross and Lee into the country. Special mentions go to the idiot tasked with guarding Munroe and the General. He lets Gunnar walk in with a shotgun (!) because "He wouldn't let me take it from him."
* GunsAkimbo: Ross
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Gunnar's "warning shot" to the pirate leader. It's worth noting that the victim of this single shot has his legs fall off and his upper body [[BlownAcrossTheRoom launched fifteen feet backwards into a wall]] rather than being horizontally bisected at the waist, which ''might'' have made sense by comparison. It does however set the [[RefugeInAudacity tone for the rest of the film]] rather nicely.
* HannibalLecture: Monroe gives one, before [[spoiler: [[ShutUpHannibal being silenced by six bullets to the chest and a giant knife to the back]]]].
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: [[spoiler:Gunnar is particularly indecisive version of this. First, he's kicked off the team for being psychotic, is promptly hired by Munroe to kill Barney, nearly impales Yang. During the chase scene, he also seems to be trying to run down his allied mooks. Then he gets shot, and... is back on the team, having been forgiven.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: General Garza starts having second thoughts when it's his own daughter being tortured by Munroe and Paine. Pity Garza [[InTheBack turns his back on Munroe]] to speak to his soldiers...]]
** SubvertedTrope: One of the rarest characters in film: [[spoiler:The sympathetic South American Generalissimo.]]
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Ross and Lee.
* HoistHeroOverHead: Gunnar does this to Yang.
* {{Homage}}: The movie is intended to be an homage to seventies and eighties action films, invoked with a thin story, ludicrous action and exploitative violence.
* HonourBeforeReason: Why Ross decides to finish the mission, despite the odds they're up against.
* HoYay: Quite a lot.
* HeroOfAnotherStory. Trench, who is implied to have his own team in the same manner as the protanogists.
* HyperspaceArsenal: The good guys seem to have an awful lot of satchel charges, considering they didn't carry bags or backpacks with them. It helps that they're pocket sized.
* IAmNotLeonardNimoy: The names of the people in the movie might as well be Stallone, Statham and Li. The names they were given are almost inconsequential.
* ICallItVera: Caesar has names for his weapons.
* IGotBetter:
** [[spoiler: Gunnar.]] Lampshaded by Barney.
** [[spoiler:Paine]]'s actor is supposedly returning in the sequel, so this just might apply for him, too.
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: The bad guys. Not a single one of the protagonists is successfully hit by any ranged weapon for the entire duration of the film, and there are even multiple scenes when the mooks fail to open fire at all despite having the protagonists flatfooted and at their mercy. The closest we get is Toll getting hit in the flak jacket.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: The good guys.
** Munroe displays impressive ability with his pistol. [[spoiler: While restraining Sandra with one arm he manages to shoot Garze twice in the back and kill three of his guards before any of them got a chance to retaliate. These were elite soldiers wielding automatics under orders to fire on him immediately if he attempts betrayal. He was lucky of course; none of them started aiming at him until the camera pointed at them.]]
** Stallone's character shoots a mook almost directly behind Statham's character. Statham's character isn't quite as confident in his ally's aiming skills.
** Occasionally averted, the most notable being near the end when Ross clearly fires many, many pistol shots before taking down just one soldier in a group of many.
* InvincibleHero: The Expendables are infallible, indestructible ubermensch. They are not, however, [[TropesAreNotBad Boring]].
* IronicEcho: "You look nervous."
* IronicNickname - Church, who curses up a storm and is generally un-church-like.
* ItsWhatIDo: Lee demonstrates to Lacy what he does for a living.
* JumpCut: Every fight scene is saturated with these. A shot will rarely be held for over three seconds, and tracking shots use JitterCam.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Gunnar.]]
* KickTheSonOfABitch: What Lee does to Lacy's boyfriend.
* KillItWithFire: How [[spoiler:Paine]] is killed.
* KnifeNut:
** Lee Christmas always has a knife on hand. Lampshaded by Gunnar, who carries a huge bowie knife himself, and later hands it to Christmas. Ironically, Statham's breakout role in ''LockStockAndTwoSmokingBarrels'' had his character get very creeped out by a KnifeNut.
** Tool as well, with whom Christmas has throwing knife competitions.
** Implied with Hale Caesar, if his application of the shaving razor is any indication.
* LeeroyJenkins: Gunnar. It gets him kicked off the team.
* LetMeGetThisStraight: Lee to Ross.
* LighterAndSofter: The sequel will be PG-13.
* LoudOfWar: Hale Caesar mentions how the sound of the AA-12 automatic shotgun is just as effective as any weapon on the battlefield. Never mind that it ''[[MoreDakka fires shotgun shells at something like]] [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill 110 per minute.]]''
* LudicrousGibs: Averted. Mooks are mutilated, blown apart and cut through like wet tissue paper, yet there is little blood in the wake of any firefight and their viscera seems to be composed of boneless Kool-aid.
* MadeOfIron: None of the protagonists suffer meaningful injuries for the duration of the films. [[spoiler: Gunnar gets shot just below the heart and is hale and hearty by his next scene.]].
* TheManBehindTheMan: Munroe.
* ManlyTears: Tool lets out a few near the end of the story he tells to Ross, who can't see his face but the audience can.
* ManOnFire: [[spoiler:A CMOA results when Toll knocks down Paine with a flying punch while Paine is on fire.]]
* MeaningfulName:
** A pretty obscure one. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Christmas Lee Christmas]] was a mercenary during the real-life Banana Wars. GeniusBonus for history buffs, and a huge hint that the name is really an alias.
** The team's name "Expendables", given the plot of the movie, although it also borders on NonIndicativeName. [[spoiler: The CIA considered them expendable, but they showed themselves to be a {{badass}} crew of [[InvincibleHero invincible supermen]].]]
** Is Mauser as a last name merely a cliched stock reference... [[ActorAllusion or a portmanteau of]] [[TotalRecall 'Mars' and 'Hauser'?]]
** James Munroe could well be a reference to James Monroe, the U.S. president most known for formulating the "Monroe Doctrine", which served as a justification for U.S. meddling in Latin American affairs.
** Barney Ross was the name of an American boxer from the 1930s. His name could be a reference to the fact that one of Sylvester Stallone's best known characters is [[{{Rocky}} a boxer.]]
* MightMakesRight
* MoreDakka: About 60% of the film is pure dakka. Hale's AA-12 makes up 59.9% percent of that dakka.
* MotiveRant: Munroe gives one.
* MyGreatestFailure: Not saving a woman attempting suicide in Bosnia is one to Tool. His [[HeroicBSOD telling the tale]] to Ross motivates him to go back to Vilena and save Sandra.
* MythologyGag: "Give the job to my friend here. [[{{Rambo}} He loves playing in the jungle.]]" said by [[{{Predator}} Arnold]] to BruceWillis, who made his own jungle action flick in ''TearsOfTheSun.''
** Arnie may have unpleasant memories of his [[{{Predator}} last time in jungle]].
* NeverBringAKnifeToAFistfight: The team kick much ass using real weapons in CQC. Mooks? Not so much.
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Tool clearly gets a kick out of taunting Lee by mentioning "Christmas time".
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Sandra stops Garza from killing Munroe. And [[spoiler: two seconds later, Munroe proceeds to kill Garza.]]
* NobleDemon: General Garze, though he's a dictator, he would rather be ruling peacefully than having to grow drugs for his CIA dealer. He even admits that his daughter is who he ''should'' have been.
* NonIndicativeName: [[spoiler:[[EverybodyLives All of the "Expendables" survive]], even ''Gunnar''.]]
* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: DoubleSubverted. Sandra is left at Vilena [[spoiler:because she insists on staying]], but then Ross goes back for her.
* NoodleIncident: The Expendables talk between themselves about previous adventures in well-known hot spots of the Eighties and Nineties. Subverted in the case of Mickey Rouke's character - he describes a woman he could have saved in Bosnia.
* TheNotLoveInterest: Sandra to Ross. There seems to be some chemistry, but nothing ever comes of it - his primary reason for saving her is that she's a resistance leader.
* NotSoDifferent: Munroe attempts to make Ross believe that they are both mercenaries who are "dead inside."
* NowItsMyTurn: [[spoiler: Gunnar to Yang]]
* OffscreenTeleportation: Played to the hilt from the very first scene. When Gunnar attempts to lynch the pirate [[ItAmusedMe for the lulz]], Yang suddenly appears next to him after silently traversing his way between the cargo hold fifty feet below to the deck of the ship in under three seconds and engages him in a short CQC fight. Seconds later when Yang is at Gunnar's mercy, Barney follows suit, making the same trip just as silently and almost as quickly.
** The use of JumpCuts in every fight scene means that the protagonists appear to fight like [[XMen Nightcrawler]].
* OhCrap:
** After the alarm is raised at the Garza's palace, the guys run into the ''entire'' army, and are forced to take cover and detonate the charges.
** The look on the [[BigBad Big Bad]]'s face when his escape helicopter explodes is ''priceless''.
* OneSceneWonder: Trench and Church, played by ArnoldSchwarzenegger and BruceWillis. Also, Mickey Rourke, who has about 5 minutes of screen time yet gives arguably the best performance of the film.
* OneManArmy: "Four and a half men" but close enough.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname:
** Mr. Church devised his own nickname on the spot and suggests that Barney Ross (and possibly his entire team) is just an alias.
** Toll Road? Hale Caesar? Yin Yang? If those aren't aliases this might as well be called "[[JohnnyCash A Boy Named Sue]]: TheMovie"
* OutrunTheFireball: Several times. Usually by the bad guys, and it ''sometimes'' works for them.
* PrisonRape: Sandra [[AttemptedRape almost]] falls victim to this, but is saved by Ross.
* PsychoPartyMember: Gunnar.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Never quite invoked, but heavily implied, as the two [[{{Mooks}} guards]] who go into Sandra's prison cell talk as if they'd better do it without any of their superiors knowing.
* RatedMForManly: Look at the cast! It's like a singularity of manliness!
** Just see this [[http://www.youtube.com/v/X9N5dNkZ4Zk fan-made trailer]].
** A review shown in the trailer outright calls it the manliest movie ever made.
** ''TheDirtyDozen'' + ''TheMagnificentSeven'' X Every [[TheEighties 80s Action Movie]] ever made = The Expendables.
** [[WebOriginal/BumReviews My testicles ran out and killed a wild boar! And ate it!]] - Chester A. Bum on TheExpendables.
* RealMenWearPink: Tool's obsession with "decorating" pretty much anything, whether it's Lee's head with a tattoo or a guitar he plans to smash once it's completed.
* RebelliousPrincess: Sandra, General Garza's daughter.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: General Garza]]
* RefugeInAudacity: After a bit, this starts to look like a non-satirical version of ''TropicThunder''.
* RefugeInCool
* RetiredBadass: Apparently, Tool (Rourke) has retired from mercenary stuff, but can still easily hit a bull's eye with a knife.
* RuleOfCool: The entire film. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Special mentions go to]]:
** Stallone's character uses a single-action revolver which he fires in bursts by fanning the hammer. Badass? Yes. Homage to classic Westerns? Probably. Utterly illogical? Who gives a fuck?!
** Ross and Caesar blow up a chopper by throwing a shell and then setting it off in midair. By ''shooting at it.'' Wait, aren't those things, like, built to make sure stuff like that doesn't happen? Fuck that! Who needs physics when you've got HSQ?
** Yang riding in the back of the pickup to shoot at the cars chasing them. In reality, this would make him a sitting duck. But the idiots shooting at them graduated from the ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy, so who cares?
* RuthlessModernPirates: The African pirates at the beginning.
* SameStoryDifferentNames: The story has invited comparisons to ''TheDogsOfWar'' and DolphLundgren's earlier film ''Men of War.''
* ShellShockedSenior: Tool, when he reveals his guilt to Barney.
* ShirtlessScene: [[BadassGrandpa Sylvester Stallone]]'s character and his ''insane'' abs.
* ShootTheDog: [[spoiler: Barney to Gunnar]]
* ShortRangeShotgun: Awesomely averted with the AA-12. Helps it's loaded with frag rounds meant to go farther than usual.
* ShowyInvincibleHero - It wouldn't be an old school movie throwback without one.
* ShutUpHannibal: "I didn't come for you, fucknuts; I came for her!"
* SmugSnake: Eric Roberts is, shall we say, not straying far from his comfort zone here.
* SnowyScreenOfDeath: The footage of the custom office's CCTV when Barney shoots the camera.
* SpiritualSuccessor: This could easily be seen as a modern reimagining of ''{{Commando}}'', especially the grand finale.
* StealthExpert: All the Expendables, as seen in the first and final fight, despite Barney running around with ''a high beam torch'' waving all over the place. Averted by Toll in the final fight, who just beats the shit out of all the guys he runs into.
* StrictlyFormula: If you have seen ''any action movie ever'', you already know how the plot goes. Then again, you're proabably not watching it for the story anyway.
* StuffBlowingUp: TheMovie. Somewhere, MichaelBay is watching this movie, dabbing a tissue at the single [[ManlyTears Manly Tear]] at the corner of his eye, and whispering, "it's ''beautiful''". Then he throws away the tissue. And it explodes.
* SummerBlockbuster
* TakeThat: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fncp0sQvBM0 This trailer]].
--> "If we don't? If ''this'' loses to ''EatPrayLove''? '''[[ThisIsSPARTA YOU DON'T... DESERVE... TO BE... A... MAN.]]'''"
** One could see the Austin/Couture fight as a Take That from MMA to pro wrestling.
* TheDulcineaEffect: Part of Ross' motivation. He seems to realize that it doesn't make much sense.
* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: The guys' motto, it seems.
* ThrowAwayGuns - sometimes to ditch extra weight, sometimes out of necessity.
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks - [[spoiler: If several .45 bullets doesn't end Munroe's life, a huge honking Bowie knife clear through the heart will.]]
* TitleDrop: Averted. While the name "Expendables" appears on weapons and motorcycle decals, the name of the group is never actually spoken. Some countries call the film ''[[CompletelyDifferentTitle The Mercenaries]],'' and that term shows up a lot.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Gunnar.
* TokenRomance: averted. Nothing between Stallone and Sandra, which is nice considering how tempting it must have been. And while Statham also has a LoveInterest, most of their interactions concern the fact that she dislikes his lifestyle.
* TooStupidToLive: The leader of the pirates. Seriously? You have a group of elite badasses who have all of their {{LaserSight}}s directly on you, they have just tossed down a bag of money to peacefully let the hostages go. And you have the audacity and stupidity to ask for more money?
* TortureAlwaysWorks: Subverted. Sandra is waterboarded for information on the Expendables but does not give in. Instead, Monroe needs to get his information from [[spoiler: Gunnar]].
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: [[spoiler: Gunnar is clearly seen lifting Ying over his head and over a sharp spike, which makes it obvious from the beginning he betrays the team. They try cheating by making his face blurrier and speeding up the action, but it doesn't work.]]
* {{Troperiffic}} - It even provides the page image.
* UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny: [[invoked]] Basically the reason these films are made. In the first film there was specifically DolphLundgren vs. JetLi and SylvesterStallone vs. StoneColdSteveAustin. [[spoiler: Surprisingly enough, Stallone and Li are playing the heroes and are clearly outmatched by Austin and Lundgren]]. The sequel added JeanClaudeVanDamme and ChuckNorris to the list and we'll see who gets paired against who.
* UndersideRide
* TheUnfairSex: Nicely averted. Lacey's cheating isn't portrayed sympathetically at all, and [[spoiler: while Lee saves her from her abusive boyfriend, it doesn't look like he takes her back]].
* TheUnintelligible: Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren and Schwarzenegger are all known for sometimes being rather hard to understand either due to their accent or just kind of growling out their words. Put them together in the same movie and it's even more noticeable.
* UnorthodoxReload - Subverted, Barney reloads his M1911 ''extremely'' fast, but with sufficient practice, it ''is'' possible to reload a gun that quickly.
* VitriolicBestBuds - Inverted: Barney and Trench hate each other's guts, but talk as if they were old buddies.
* WarForFunAndProfit:
** Ultimately averted by the end of the movie, finally going in to kick ass because an innocent woman's going to get murdered if Barney doesn't save her.
** Initally played straight for the rest of the team, since a $5 million paycheck made goo-goo eyes at them.
** And Barney was highly considering not rescuing the girl until he talks to Tool and realizes he'll get to deal with the guilt of not rescuing her for the rest of his life.
* WarriorPoet: [[spoiler:Lee Christmas, at the end.]]
* [[WeaponizedCar Weaponized Seaplane]]: with four machine guns hidden in the nosecone, and a fuel dump to ignite and use as a Fuel/Air Explosion. Very very good at spreading out a cushion of air that turns people's innards to jelly.
* WeaponOfChoice - An interesting case in that each character has their preferred weapon, but all characters switch between guns and fists/knives to fit the situation - or are forced to [[ThrowawayGuns drop them due to situation change.]]
** Ross: [[TheGunslinger Guns]], most notably a [[GunsAkimbo pair of M1911s]] and a [[RevolversAreJustBetter Colt Single Action Army]].
** Lee: [[KnifeNut Throwing knives]].
** Gunnar: [[KnifeNut Huge Bowie knife]], [[SniperRifle sniper]] [[ColdSniper rifle]].
** Yang: [[BareFistedMonk His fists]].
** Caesar: [[{{BFG}} Automatic shotgun with explosive rounds]], [[ImprobableWeaponUser straight razor]].
** Road: [[StuffBlowingUp Explosives]].
* WifeBasherBasher: Yes, Lee's girlfriend left him for a violent drunk, but that dosen't mean he isn't going defend her honor by beating the ''absolute tar'' out of him and his fellow wife-bashing basketball-buddies in broad daylight for beating her.
* WorldOfBadass: Everyone but the girl fits.
* WorldOfHam: Considering it's a movie with SylvesterStallone, DolphLundgren, Stone Cold SteveAustin and ArnoldSchwarzenegger, this trope was pretty much unavoidable.
* WouldHitAGirl: Paine.
* WrestlerInAllOfUs: A lot of wrestling moves are used, even though only one actor is a (professional) wrestler.
* WrittenInInfirmity: Randy Couture's ear deformity is now ''Expendables'' [[RedRightHand canon.]]
* YouALLLookFamiliar: The soldiers' black war paint allowed the director to keep re-using the same stuntmen and actors in close-up fights. Knowing bad 80s movies, this was intentional.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Gunnar gets upset with the Mook he's stuck with during his [[ChaseScene high-speed ambush]] of Ross and Yang, up to the point he crushes the [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Mook's head against the dashboard with his boot]].
-->'''Gunnar''': Insect.
** Munroe, to General Garza [[spoiler:after the dictator decides to kick his ex-CIA partners as well as the Expendables out of his country.]]
* YourMom: Let it not be said that Stallone [[TotallyRadical is not down with what the kids are into]].
** That's not what your momma said.
----
->''If [[RatedMForManly testosterone]] [[XMeetsY could mate with]] [[StuffBlowingUp an explosion]], this movie would be its offspring.''
-->-- '''IGN.com preview'''
A 2010 action movie that intentionally contains [[GeorgeLucasThrowback pretty much every trope associated with 1980s action movies]].
After the success of ''{{Rocky}} Balboa'' and ''{{Rambo}}'' (2008), SylvesterStallone has been enjoying a new-found success: making films entirely for the entertainment of his fans and for himself. And thus began this project, an action film aficionado's wet dream.
The story is simple enough, Stallone is Barney Ross, the leader of an elite group of mercenaries who are hired to go into a BananaRepublic and [[OneManArmy single-handedly]] take down a dictator's (David Zayas) regime.
What makes this film so unique is not the story, but the people involved. Alongside Stallone, JasonStatham and JetLi play his closest friends [[KnifeNut Lee Christmas]] and [[BareFistedMonk Yin Yang]]. Beyond that Mickey Rourke ([[RetiredBadass Tool]]), DolphLundgren ([[AxCrazy Gunnar]] [[BloodKnight Jensen]]), RandyCouture ([[RealMenWearPink Toll Road]]), StoneColdSteveAustin ([[TheDragon Paine]]), Eric Roberts (as, unsurprisingly, [[SmugSnake a slimy bad guy]]) and Terry Crews ([[BoisterousBruiser Hale Caesar]]) all have major supporting roles. Even BruceWillis ([[LineOfSightName Mr. Church]]) and ArnoldSchwarzenegger (Trench) have minor supporting roles. There were rumors and official reports of even more action heroes being offered roles, cause that was just what this movie was about.
The movie opened to somewhat mixed reviews, but the moviegoing public liked it plenty well and Stallone has gone on to make a sequel, coming out August 17th, 2012. The teaser trailer is [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCUjFRC4Tvw&feature=g-all-u&context=G29db2a3FAAAAAAAABAA here]]. The people added to the franchise? JeanClaudeVanDamme and ChuckNorris, with both Willis and Schwarzenegger taking on bigger roles and an up and coming actor Liam Hemsworth featured prominently. [[TestosteronePoisoning You couldn't put more masculinity on one piece of celluloid if you tried.]] The Plot? It seems Bruce's character has another job for Ross, so the team goes back into action, that's about it.
This is the closest we'll probably get to [[http://i.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/photoshop/2/5/8/33258.jpg?v=1 TV Tropes, the Movie]]
An extended Director's Cut of the first film was temporarily available via On Demand and is now out on Blu-Ray (only. Sorry, DVD fans). In addition to containing a bit of extra character development and tightened CG effects, this cut also uses [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome Shinedown's "Diamond Eyes,"]] which was commissioned by Stallone specifically for use in the film, during the climax and again in the credits.
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!!This film provides examples of:
* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Ross chops off a guard's hand and ''beheads another'' with his knife.
* ActionFilmQuietDramaScene: Tool (Mickey Rourke) has a scene regarding a woman he could have saved in Bosnia, and the the personal cost of not doing so. He laments that if he saved her, he could have saved what remained of his soul. His story inspires Barney Ross (Stallone) to go back to Vilena. It's probably the most powerful moment of the film.
* ActorAllusion: Lots:
** Ross notes that ArnoldSchwarzenegger's character wants to be president, referencing Schwarzenegger's political career and the old buzz about him running for president.
** Christmas' girlfriend not knowing what he does - and him [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge promptly showing her]] - is a reference to ''Film/{{Crank}}''.
** "Give this job to my friend here, [[{{Rambo}} he]] [[{{Predator}} loves playing in the jungle]], right?" Said to Bruce Willis, who also had a [[TearsOfTheSun battle-in-the-jungle film of his own.]]
*** Then followed by this quip: "What's his problem?" "He wants to be president".
** Mickey Rouke still has [[Film/IronMan Vanko's haircut.]]
** Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone are regarded as the best in their field; two musclebound action heroes and leading men who seem to be stuck in a friendly rivalry with each other; it's a mystery to everyone why they don't just work together. That's just their characters in the movie of course. In the real world that was only true in the eighties.
** 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin has his climactic fight showing nothing but wrestling moves, fighting another wrestler, Randy Couture.
* AdvertisedExtra: Commercials paid special attention to the scene between Stallone, Willis and Schwarzenegger, as it was the first time the trio had appeared on-screen together. Of course, that's the only scene that Willis and Schwarzenegger appear in.
* AllStarCast: The whole point of the film, though most of the "stars" are past their glory days.
* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: The Japanese version uses the song [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xj9bjp_tsuyoshi-nagabuchi-kizuna_music "Kizuna"]] by Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi.
* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: "I didn't come here for you, dipshit! I came back for ''her!''"
* AntiHero: The Expendables
* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Lee (loves his knife-throwing a bit too much) and Yang ("I would have win!"). "The Brit" is also a bit of a dick, if "a bit" could be considered that for working under a CompleteMonster.
* AttemptedRape: Averted, and then played straight. It looks like the bad guys are going to do this to Sandra when he put her on the table. But then she gets waterboarded instead. Later on, [[{{Mooks}} two random soldiers]] burst in and attempt to rape her, but Ross [[CurbStompBattle objects]]. And his objection [[{{Gorn}} is very, very sharp.]]
* AudibleSharpness: All. The. Time.
* AwesomeMcCoolname: [[PunnyName Hale Caesar]].
* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler: Gunnar at the end]].
* BackToBackBadasses: Ross and Lee.
* BadAss: Just about every character played by a "name" actor.
* BadassBoast:
** Barney's "We are the shadow, the smoke in your eyes, the ghosts that hide in the night", which only appears in the trailers, and is the first line in the song "Diamond Eyes" by Shinedown, which was commissioned by Stallone himself. Too bad the song doesn't appear in the film, either (The extended cut fixes both issues, however).
** "We will ''kill'' this American disease!"
** "If you fuck with us in any way... ''my'' people will come and get ''your'' people."
* BadassCrew: The Expendables.
* BadassGrandpa:
** One of the first images of the movie was a shot of Stallone's character, [[ShirtlessScene barechested]] and covered in tattoos. Nearly everyone was slack-jawed, saying, "''That'' guy is over 60?!"
** The film also stars 47-year-old RandyCouture, actively competing [[UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts mixed martial artist]] and MMA's original BadassGrandpa.
* BaldOfAwesome: Lee, Mr. Church, Paine, Toll Road and Hale Caesar. Apparently hair is for sissies.
* BananaRepublic: Played straight as an arrow, with all the stereotypes in place. To the movie's credit, it goes back to the trope's real-world historical roots (not exactly a {{Deconstruction}}, but still...): the island's regime is actually controlled by an [[{{Eagleland}} American profiteer]], which was very often TruthInTelevision when the Banana Republic trope originated [[OlderThanTheyThink in the late 19th century]]. See also the MeaningfulName section.
* BandOfBrothers: [[spoiler:Why Gunnar is still with the crew at movie's end.]]
--> Lee: ''(to Barney)'' "It's not easy being your friend."
--> Yin: ''(nods)'' "It's not."
* BangBangBANG: Happens with all the gunfire, but particularly Caesar's automatic shotgun. He lays out why he loves his automatic shotgun, and it includes that hearing a shotgun spitting out 250 rounds a minute will scare the ''shit'' out of the enemy. Sure enough, after he uses it, he comments that the gun is frigging ''loud''.
* BashBrothers: All of the Expendables.
* BetterThanABareBulb: What were you expecting from an action film homage?
* BeyondTheImpossible: More than once, but perhaps most awesomely when Ross's ImprobableAimingSkills detonate the primer on a ''thrown'' artillery round, in such a way that it actually destroys the intended target.
** "Beyond the Impossible" could also describe the casting for the movie. When the first film was announced everybody was surprised that they were able to cast so many famous action film stars, and with the sequel they've managed to include ''even more''.
* {{BFG}}: Caesar wields a [[MoreDakka fully automatic]] drum-fed shotgun that fires 250 rounds a minute. They later get loaded with FRAG-12 rounds - ''grenades.''
* BigBad: At first presumed to be General Garza, but later revealed to be ex-CIA agent James Munroe (EricRoberts).
* BigDamnHeroes: A truly, ''truly'' epic one when half the squad is pinned down in the tunnels under the palace. Enter Hale Caesar and suddenly all you hear is "[[BangBangBANG BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM]]" and [[{{Gorn}} chunks of guards go flying]] across the screen.
* BoisterousBruiser: Half the movie's cast. The other half are {{Lightning Bruiser}}s.
* BondOneLiner: "Now I can see inside you. And I see lies."
* BlingBlingBang: Gunnar wields a Bowie knife with golden hand guards. [[HighlyVisibleNinja Despite fighting in night camo.]] On a similar note, Hale uses a shaving razor with a ''fluorescent green plastic handle'' as a melee weapon.
* BondVillainStupidity: Munroe seems to be a CombatPragmatist, but falls into stupidity anyway. [[spoiler: After getting Barney to disarm himself via HostageSituation, Munroe wisely shoots him. After noting that he is still alive Munroe abstains from shooting him again and instead [[EvilGloating yells at him for ruining his plans]] [[GetOnWithItAlready long enough for Barney to get back up and for Lee to flank his position]] [[WhatAnIdiot and is promptly killed as a result]]]].
* BookEnds: The Expendables entering, and later, leaving [[FanNickname the Toolshed]] on {{Cool Bike}}s.
* BoringInvincibleHero: Subverted. Barney's crew is undoubtedly badass and it's played straight when they absolutely [[CurbStompBattle decimate]] common mooks. But it's inverted when they end up fighting the other big stars of the movie, as they often have quite a bit of trouble taking them down.
** Austin nearly kills Stallone, but is scared off by the sound of the aforementioned automatic shotgun.
* BottomlessMagazines: Subverted - everyone has run out of ammo for their main weapons, and even Barney's full-auto M1911s need reloading after a few shots, for obvious reasons.
* BulletDodge: Done by Yang. PlayedWith, he jerks just in time as the bullet is fired, but still.
* CallBack: In ''DemolitionMan'', Stallone's character was shocked to learn that ArnoldSchwarzenegger eventually became president in the future.
* CasualDangerDialog: The guys standing around arguing as to who should kill who in the middle of a MexicanStandoff.
** During the climax, while General Garza barks orders to his men, Caesar remarks, "He's saying we're dead with an accent."
* ChaseScene: Twice.
* ChekhovsGun:
** Caesar's FRAG-12 rounds.
** How do you make an armored guard tower explode? Fire a few miniature warheads at it.
** His shaving knife is also used to save Ross from being shot in the back near the end of the finale.
** Gunnar giving Christmas his bowie knife. [[spoiler: Christmas later gives it to Munroe]].
** Ross and Lee's {{Quickdraw}} contest at the beginning.
** Played straight ''and'' averted with Sandra's drawings - they look almost intended to be tattoos, but nobody let Tool have a look at 'em. At the same time, the General is shown to share his daughter's appreciation for art, and designs his soldiers' warpaint at the end.
* ChekhovsLecture: Caesar describing the psychological effect of the sound of guns. He mentions that shotguns in particular scare the shit out of people. Later, when a couple of the team are pinned down...
* ChewingTheScenery: Monroe's final speech.
* ClassicallyTrainedExtra: Not in the usual sense. General Garza's two bodyguards, who look mind-boggingly similar to one another? Twin [[UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts MMA]] fighters Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, who currently compete in the UFC alongside RandyCouture. Sadly, they're not seen in any hand-to-hand combat.
* ClusterFBomb - Church really likes swearing. Even when he's in a church.
* ColdBloodedTorture: [[spoiler: Munroe has Sandra mercilessly water-boarded in an attempt to make her confess "What the Americans want." Whether the use of water-boarding was intended to be a topical statement on the unsavory intelligence gathering methods of the US Government or [[RippedFromTheHeadlines an attempt at invoking recent news events that the audience might recognize]] [[YourMileageMayVary isn't clear.]]]]
* CoolBike - Every Expendables member has one.
* CoolCar - Barney's pickup truck.
* CoolShades: Appear here and there.
* CoolSword: The General brandishes one when he finally stands up to Monroe. In the spirit of authority figures who demand respect at the point of a naked blade. [[spoiler:Don't bring a knife to a swordfight, boyo.]]
* CombatPragmatist: All of the Expendables display a realistic disregard for the Marquis of Queensbury rules, making liberal use of GroinAttack, drawing pistols during protracted CQC bouts and teaming up on outnumbered foes.
* ConspicuousCG: Garza's palace collapsing. The explosions before that, however...
** Paine on fire. The compositing is [[IncrediblyLamePun painfully]] obvious.
** The blood as well. And potentially even the blade on Gunnar's knife looks to have been at least touched up, if not wholly fabricated.
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%%% The film's awesome moments were too manly for one page to handle, so we made several dedicated to just those - check the links on the top of the page.
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* CoversAlwaysLie: Tool? Suited up and ready to roll out with the team? [[NonActionGuy Riiiiight.]] The bad photoshopping should have tipped you off there. Some posters even add Steve Austin and Bruce Willis to the lineup, but that's a lesser case. One should note that Tool and Church (Mickey Rourke and Bruce Willis, respectively) aren't in combat-appropriate uniforms.
* CurbStompBattle: Christmas against Lacy's abusive boyfriend and his basketball team. Guess who walks out without a scratch?
* DamselInDistress:
** Sandra.
** Lacy becomes this to Lee when her latest boyfriend [[DomesticAbuse proves to be a jerk.]]
* DavidVersusGoliath: [[spoiler: Yang (Li) vs. Gunnar (Lundgren), who is about 1.5 times taller and heavier. Subverting the norm, Gunnar would have killed Yang if Ross hadn't intervened.]]
** Used tactically by Lee during the fight. [[spoiler: By moving the fight under a walkway where Gunnar can barely stand up straight.]]
* DeadpanSnarker:
--->'''Lee''': What's he saying?
--->'''Caesar''': He's saying we're dead with an accent.
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: Gunnar. [[IGotBetter He gets better]].]]
* DomesticAbuse: Lacy's new boyfriend got a little carried away with his jealousy.
* TheDragon: Paine.
* DramaticNecklaceRemoval: Done by Munroe to Sandra.
* DuelingStarsMovie May just displace ''FaceOff'' and ''OceansEleven''.
** Not so much Dueling as BattleRoyaleWithCheese. And [[LargeHam ham]].
* {{Eagleland}}: Type 2 for the ex-CIA guys (Munroe and his baddies) who represent the nastier aspects of American activity in Central America.
* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler: Gunnar]]
* EliteMooks: General Garze's special forces, identified by their red berets, jungle camouflage, and green-and-yellow facepaint. Notably, they're actually able to force the Expendables to seriously ''work'' to kill them, unlike the regular soldiers who they mow down with regularity.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Most everyone gets one, but Gunnar's in the opening scene really sets the tone for the entire movie.
** "Warning shot!"
** [[spoiler:"It's good to hang pirates!"]]
** The opening scene is basically the ''film'''s EstablishingCharacterMoment. It lets you know this is a movie where the heroes kick ass and take names, and isn't going to muddy the waters with things like [[RealityEnsues realism]].
* MrFanservice: From TheOtherWiki: "Research by Lionsgate found that between 38% and 40% of the film's viewers were female".
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** [[spoiler:Garza turns on Munroe]] because of this, and the fact Munroe isn't keeping his promises.
** Munroe alludes to it, saying that he was raised not to hit a woman...but he employs people who don't have "that moral dilemma."
* EvilBrit: Err... the Brit.
* EvilIsHammy: Eric Roberts as Munroe is a pretty triumphant example.
* ExcusePlot
* FakeNationality - the "Somali" pirates that don't even look remotely Somali.
* FragileSpeedster - If this was a WorldOfWarcraft party, Yang would be the striker. In his fight with Gunnar he was faster and more agile but Gunnar was a MightyGlacier who kept on taking his hits.
* FiveManBand: -
** TheHero: Ross
** TheLancer: Lee and, to a slightly lesser extent, Yang
** TheBigGuy: Caesar, though most of them are pretty big.
** TheChick: Sandra
** TheSmartGuy: Toll Road.
** SixthRangerTraitor: Gunnar
* FriendlyEnemy: Ross and Trench to each other.
* FruitCart: They hit one during the ChaseScene at Vilena.
* TheGeneralissimo: The Expendables' mission is to eliminate one such general. He is ''slightly'' more sympathetic than the usual examples.
* GeorgeLucasThrowback - If Stallone, Willis, and Schwarzenegger's involvement doesn't tell you anything. Stallone is trying to wrangle in even more 80s action stars for the sequel.
* GroinAttack: Yang's fighting scenes ''will'' include several kicks to the balls. Used multiple times when Ross and Christmas take on a truckload of [[{{Mooks}} bad guys]] in the field.
* GrossUpCloseUp: The long focus on Tool's face during gives the audience a lovely view of his spit-moistened lips.
* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Munroe calls Garza's men out on this, for letting Ross and Lee into the country. Special mentions go to the idiot tasked with guarding Munroe and the General. He lets Gunnar walk in with a shotgun (!) because "He wouldn't let me take it from him."
* GunsAkimbo: Ross
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Gunnar's "warning shot" to the pirate leader. It's worth noting that the victim of this single shot has his legs fall off and his upper body [[BlownAcrossTheRoom launched fifteen feet backwards into a wall]] rather than being horizontally bisected at the waist, which ''might'' have made sense by comparison. It does however set the [[RefugeInAudacity tone for the rest of the film]] rather nicely.
* HannibalLecture: Monroe gives one, before [[spoiler: [[ShutUpHannibal being silenced by six bullets to the chest and a giant knife to the back]]]].
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: [[spoiler:Gunnar is particularly indecisive version of this. First, he's kicked off the team for being psychotic, is promptly hired by Munroe to kill Barney, nearly impales Yang. During the chase scene, he also seems to be trying to run down his allied mooks. Then he gets shot, and... is back on the team, having been forgiven.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: General Garza starts having second thoughts when it's his own daughter being tortured by Munroe and Paine. Pity Garza [[InTheBack turns his back on Munroe]] to speak to his soldiers...]]
** SubvertedTrope: One of the rarest characters in film: [[spoiler:The sympathetic South American Generalissimo.]]
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Ross and Lee.
* HoistHeroOverHead: Gunnar does this to Yang.
* {{Homage}}: The movie is intended to be an homage to seventies and eighties action films, invoked with a thin story, ludicrous action and exploitative violence.
* HonourBeforeReason: Why Ross decides to finish the mission, despite the odds they're up against.
* HoYay: Quite a lot.
* HeroOfAnotherStory. Trench, who is implied to have his own team in the same manner as the protanogists.
* HyperspaceArsenal: The good guys seem to have an awful lot of satchel charges, considering they didn't carry bags or backpacks with them. It helps that they're pocket sized.
* IAmNotLeonardNimoy: The names of the people in the movie might as well be Stallone, Statham and Li. The names they were given are almost inconsequential.
* ICallItVera: Caesar has names for his weapons.
* IGotBetter:
** [[spoiler: Gunnar.]] Lampshaded by Barney.
** [[spoiler:Paine]]'s actor is supposedly returning in the sequel, so this just might apply for him, too.
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: The bad guys. Not a single one of the protagonists is successfully hit by any ranged weapon for the entire duration of the film, and there are even multiple scenes when the mooks fail to open fire at all despite having the protagonists flatfooted and at their mercy. The closest we get is Toll getting hit in the flak jacket.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: The good guys.
** Munroe displays impressive ability with his pistol. [[spoiler: While restraining Sandra with one arm he manages to shoot Garze twice in the back and kill three of his guards before any of them got a chance to retaliate. These were elite soldiers wielding automatics under orders to fire on him immediately if he attempts betrayal. He was lucky of course; none of them started aiming at him until the camera pointed at them.]]
** Stallone's character shoots a mook almost directly behind Statham's character. Statham's character isn't quite as confident in his ally's aiming skills.
** Occasionally averted, the most notable being near the end when Ross clearly fires many, many pistol shots before taking down just one soldier in a group of many.
* InvincibleHero: The Expendables are infallible, indestructible ubermensch. They are not, however, [[TropesAreNotBad Boring]].
* IronicEcho: "You look nervous."
* IronicNickname - Church, who curses up a storm and is generally un-church-like.
* ItsWhatIDo: Lee demonstrates to Lacy what he does for a living.
* JumpCut: Every fight scene is saturated with these. A shot will rarely be held for over three seconds, and tracking shots use JitterCam.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Gunnar.]]
* KickTheSonOfABitch: What Lee does to Lacy's boyfriend.
* KillItWithFire: How [[spoiler:Paine]] is killed.
* KnifeNut:
** Lee Christmas always has a knife on hand. Lampshaded by Gunnar, who carries a huge bowie knife himself, and later hands it to Christmas. Ironically, Statham's breakout role in ''LockStockAndTwoSmokingBarrels'' had his character get very creeped out by a KnifeNut.
** Tool as well, with whom Christmas has throwing knife competitions.
** Implied with Hale Caesar, if his application of the shaving razor is any indication.
* LeeroyJenkins: Gunnar. It gets him kicked off the team.
* LetMeGetThisStraight: Lee to Ross.
* LighterAndSofter: The sequel will be PG-13.
* LoudOfWar: Hale Caesar mentions how the sound of the AA-12 automatic shotgun is just as effective as any weapon on the battlefield. Never mind that it ''[[MoreDakka fires shotgun shells at something like]] [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill 110 per minute.]]''
* LudicrousGibs: Averted. Mooks are mutilated, blown apart and cut through like wet tissue paper, yet there is little blood in the wake of any firefight and their viscera seems to be composed of boneless Kool-aid.
* MadeOfIron: None of the protagonists suffer meaningful injuries for the duration of the films. [[spoiler: Gunnar gets shot just below the heart and is hale and hearty by his next scene.]].
* TheManBehindTheMan: Munroe.
* ManlyTears: Tool lets out a few near the end of the story he tells to Ross, who can't see his face but the audience can.
* ManOnFire: [[spoiler:A CMOA results when Toll knocks down Paine with a flying punch while Paine is on fire.]]
* MeaningfulName:
** A pretty obscure one. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Christmas Lee Christmas]] was a mercenary during the real-life Banana Wars. GeniusBonus for history buffs, and a huge hint that the name is really an alias.
** The team's name "Expendables", given the plot of the movie, although it also borders on NonIndicativeName. [[spoiler: The CIA considered them expendable, but they showed themselves to be a {{badass}} crew of [[InvincibleHero invincible supermen]].]]
** Is Mauser as a last name merely a cliched stock reference... [[ActorAllusion or a portmanteau of]] [[TotalRecall 'Mars' and 'Hauser'?]]
** James Munroe could well be a reference to James Monroe, the U.S. president most known for formulating the "Monroe Doctrine", which served as a justification for U.S. meddling in Latin American affairs.
** Barney Ross was the name of an American boxer from the 1930s. His name could be a reference to the fact that one of Sylvester Stallone's best known characters is [[{{Rocky}} a boxer.]]
* MightMakesRight
* MoreDakka: About 60% of the film is pure dakka. Hale's AA-12 makes up 59.9% percent of that dakka.
* MotiveRant: Munroe gives one.
* MyGreatestFailure: Not saving a woman attempting suicide in Bosnia is one to Tool. His [[HeroicBSOD telling the tale]] to Ross motivates him to go back to Vilena and save Sandra.
* MythologyGag: "Give the job to my friend here. [[{{Rambo}} He loves playing in the jungle.]]" said by [[{{Predator}} Arnold]] to BruceWillis, who made his own jungle action flick in ''TearsOfTheSun.''
** Arnie may have unpleasant memories of his [[{{Predator}} last time in jungle]].
* NeverBringAKnifeToAFistfight: The team kick much ass using real weapons in CQC. Mooks? Not so much.
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Tool clearly gets a kick out of taunting Lee by mentioning "Christmas time".
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Sandra stops Garza from killing Munroe. And [[spoiler: two seconds later, Munroe proceeds to kill Garza.]]
* NobleDemon: General Garze, though he's a dictator, he would rather be ruling peacefully than having to grow drugs for his CIA dealer. He even admits that his daughter is who he ''should'' have been.
* NonIndicativeName: [[spoiler:[[EverybodyLives All of the "Expendables" survive]], even ''Gunnar''.]]
* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: DoubleSubverted. Sandra is left at Vilena [[spoiler:because she insists on staying]], but then Ross goes back for her.
* NoodleIncident: The Expendables talk between themselves about previous adventures in well-known hot spots of the Eighties and Nineties. Subverted in the case of Mickey Rouke's character - he describes a woman he could have saved in Bosnia.
* TheNotLoveInterest: Sandra to Ross. There seems to be some chemistry, but nothing ever comes of it - his primary reason for saving her is that she's a resistance leader.
* NotSoDifferent: Munroe attempts to make Ross believe that they are both mercenaries who are "dead inside."
* NowItsMyTurn: [[spoiler: Gunnar to Yang]]
* OffscreenTeleportation: Played to the hilt from the very first scene. When Gunnar attempts to lynch the pirate [[ItAmusedMe for the lulz]], Yang suddenly appears next to him after silently traversing his way between the cargo hold fifty feet below to the deck of the ship in under three seconds and engages him in a short CQC fight. Seconds later when Yang is at Gunnar's mercy, Barney follows suit, making the same trip just as silently and almost as quickly.
** The use of JumpCuts in every fight scene means that the protagonists appear to fight like [[XMen Nightcrawler]].
* OhCrap:
** After the alarm is raised at the Garza's palace, the guys run into the ''entire'' army, and are forced to take cover and detonate the charges.
** The look on the [[BigBad Big Bad]]'s face when his escape helicopter explodes is ''priceless''.
* OneSceneWonder: Trench and Church, played by ArnoldSchwarzenegger and BruceWillis. Also, Mickey Rourke, who has about 5 minutes of screen time yet gives arguably the best performance of the film.
* OneManArmy: "Four and a half men" but close enough.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname:
** Mr. Church devised his own nickname on the spot and suggests that Barney Ross (and possibly his entire team) is just an alias.
** Toll Road? Hale Caesar? Yin Yang? If those aren't aliases this might as well be called "[[JohnnyCash A Boy Named Sue]]: TheMovie"
* OutrunTheFireball: Several times. Usually by the bad guys, and it ''sometimes'' works for them.
* PrisonRape: Sandra [[AttemptedRape almost]] falls victim to this, but is saved by Ross.
* PsychoPartyMember: Gunnar.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Never quite invoked, but heavily implied, as the two [[{{Mooks}} guards]] who go into Sandra's prison cell talk as if they'd better do it without any of their superiors knowing.
* RatedMForManly: Look at the cast! It's like a singularity of manliness!
** Just see this [[http://www.youtube.com/v/X9N5dNkZ4Zk fan-made trailer]].
** A review shown in the trailer outright calls it the manliest movie ever made.
** ''TheDirtyDozen'' + ''TheMagnificentSeven'' X Every [[TheEighties 80s Action Movie]] ever made = The Expendables.
** [[WebOriginal/BumReviews My testicles ran out and killed a wild boar! And ate it!]] - Chester A. Bum on TheExpendables.
* RealMenWearPink: Tool's obsession with "decorating" pretty much anything, whether it's Lee's head with a tattoo or a guitar he plans to smash once it's completed.
* RebelliousPrincess: Sandra, General Garza's daughter.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: General Garza]]
* RefugeInAudacity: After a bit, this starts to look like a non-satirical version of ''TropicThunder''.
* RefugeInCool
* RetiredBadass: Apparently, Tool (Rourke) has retired from mercenary stuff, but can still easily hit a bull's eye with a knife.
* RuleOfCool: The entire film. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Special mentions go to]]:
** Stallone's character uses a single-action revolver which he fires in bursts by fanning the hammer. Badass? Yes. Homage to classic Westerns? Probably. Utterly illogical? Who gives a fuck?!
** Ross and Caesar blow up a chopper by throwing a shell and then setting it off in midair. By ''shooting at it.'' Wait, aren't those things, like, built to make sure stuff like that doesn't happen? Fuck that! Who needs physics when you've got HSQ?
** Yang riding in the back of the pickup to shoot at the cars chasing them. In reality, this would make him a sitting duck. But the idiots shooting at them graduated from the ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy, so who cares?
* RuthlessModernPirates: The African pirates at the beginning.
* SameStoryDifferentNames: The story has invited comparisons to ''TheDogsOfWar'' and DolphLundgren's earlier film ''Men of War.''
* ShellShockedSenior: Tool, when he reveals his guilt to Barney.
* ShirtlessScene: [[BadassGrandpa Sylvester Stallone]]'s character and his ''insane'' abs.
* ShootTheDog: [[spoiler: Barney to Gunnar]]
* ShortRangeShotgun: Awesomely averted with the AA-12. Helps it's loaded with frag rounds meant to go farther than usual.
* ShowyInvincibleHero - It wouldn't be an old school movie throwback without one.
* ShutUpHannibal: "I didn't come for you, fucknuts; I came for her!"
* SmugSnake: Eric Roberts is, shall we say, not straying far from his comfort zone here.
* SnowyScreenOfDeath: The footage of the custom office's CCTV when Barney shoots the camera.
* SpiritualSuccessor: This could easily be seen as a modern reimagining of ''{{Commando}}'', especially the grand finale.
* StealthExpert: All the Expendables, as seen in the first and final fight, despite Barney running around with ''a high beam torch'' waving all over the place. Averted by Toll in the final fight, who just beats the shit out of all the guys he runs into.
* StrictlyFormula: If you have seen ''any action movie ever'', you already know how the plot goes. Then again, you're proabably not watching it for the story anyway.
* StuffBlowingUp: TheMovie. Somewhere, MichaelBay is watching this movie, dabbing a tissue at the single [[ManlyTears Manly Tear]] at the corner of his eye, and whispering, "it's ''beautiful''". Then he throws away the tissue. And it explodes.
* SummerBlockbuster
* TakeThat: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fncp0sQvBM0 This trailer]].
--> "If we don't? If ''this'' loses to ''EatPrayLove''? '''[[ThisIsSPARTA YOU DON'T... DESERVE... TO BE... A... MAN.]]'''"
** One could see the Austin/Couture fight as a Take That from MMA to pro wrestling.
* TheDulcineaEffect: Part of Ross' motivation. He seems to realize that it doesn't make much sense.
* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: The guys' motto, it seems.
* ThrowAwayGuns - sometimes to ditch extra weight, sometimes out of necessity.
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks - [[spoiler: If several .45 bullets doesn't end Munroe's life, a huge honking Bowie knife clear through the heart will.]]
* TitleDrop: Averted. While the name "Expendables" appears on weapons and motorcycle decals, the name of the group is never actually spoken. Some countries call the film ''[[CompletelyDifferentTitle The Mercenaries]],'' and that term shows up a lot.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Gunnar.
* TokenRomance: averted. Nothing between Stallone and Sandra, which is nice considering how tempting it must have been. And while Statham also has a LoveInterest, most of their interactions concern the fact that she dislikes his lifestyle.
* TooStupidToLive: The leader of the pirates. Seriously? You have a group of elite badasses who have all of their {{LaserSight}}s directly on you, they have just tossed down a bag of money to peacefully let the hostages go. And you have the audacity and stupidity to ask for more money?
* TortureAlwaysWorks: Subverted. Sandra is waterboarded for information on the Expendables but does not give in. Instead, Monroe needs to get his information from [[spoiler: Gunnar]].
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: [[spoiler: Gunnar is clearly seen lifting Ying over his head and over a sharp spike, which makes it obvious from the beginning he betrays the team. They try cheating by making his face blurrier and speeding up the action, but it doesn't work.]]
* {{Troperiffic}} - It even provides the page image.
* UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny: [[invoked]] Basically the reason these films are made. In the first film there was specifically DolphLundgren vs. JetLi and SylvesterStallone vs. StoneColdSteveAustin. [[spoiler: Surprisingly enough, Stallone and Li are playing the heroes and are clearly outmatched by Austin and Lundgren]]. The sequel added JeanClaudeVanDamme and ChuckNorris to the list and we'll see who gets paired against who.
* UndersideRide
* TheUnfairSex: Nicely averted. Lacey's cheating isn't portrayed sympathetically at all, and [[spoiler: while Lee saves her from her abusive boyfriend, it doesn't look like he takes her back]].
* TheUnintelligible: Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren and Schwarzenegger are all known for sometimes being rather hard to understand either due to their accent or just kind of growling out their words. Put them together in the same movie and it's even more noticeable.
* UnorthodoxReload - Subverted, Barney reloads his M1911 ''extremely'' fast, but with sufficient practice, it ''is'' possible to reload a gun that quickly.
* VitriolicBestBuds - Inverted: Barney and Trench hate each other's guts, but talk as if they were old buddies.
* WarForFunAndProfit:
** Ultimately averted by the end of the movie, finally going in to kick ass because an innocent woman's going to get murdered if Barney doesn't save her.
** Initally played straight for the rest of the team, since a $5 million paycheck made goo-goo eyes at them.
** And Barney was highly considering not rescuing the girl until he talks to Tool and realizes he'll get to deal with the guilt of not rescuing her for the rest of his life.
* WarriorPoet: [[spoiler:Lee Christmas, at the end.]]
* [[WeaponizedCar Weaponized Seaplane]]: with four machine guns hidden in the nosecone, and a fuel dump to ignite and use as a Fuel/Air Explosion. Very very good at spreading out a cushion of air that turns people's innards to jelly.
* WeaponOfChoice - An interesting case in that each character has their preferred weapon, but all characters switch between guns and fists/knives to fit the situation - or are forced to [[ThrowawayGuns drop them due to situation change.]]
** Ross: [[TheGunslinger Guns]], most notably a [[GunsAkimbo pair of M1911s]] and a [[RevolversAreJustBetter Colt Single Action Army]].
** Lee: [[KnifeNut Throwing knives]].
** Gunnar: [[KnifeNut Huge Bowie knife]], [[SniperRifle sniper]] [[ColdSniper rifle]].
** Yang: [[BareFistedMonk His fists]].
** Caesar: [[{{BFG}} Automatic shotgun with explosive rounds]], [[ImprobableWeaponUser straight razor]].
** Road: [[StuffBlowingUp Explosives]].
* WifeBasherBasher: Yes, Lee's girlfriend left him for a violent drunk, but that dosen't mean he isn't going defend her honor by beating the ''absolute tar'' out of him and his fellow wife-bashing basketball-buddies in broad daylight for beating her.
* WorldOfBadass: Everyone but the girl fits.
* WorldOfHam: Considering it's a movie with SylvesterStallone, DolphLundgren, Stone Cold SteveAustin and ArnoldSchwarzenegger, this trope was pretty much unavoidable.
* WouldHitAGirl: Paine.
* WrestlerInAllOfUs: A lot of wrestling moves are used, even though only one actor is a (professional) wrestler.
* WrittenInInfirmity: Randy Couture's ear deformity is now ''Expendables'' [[RedRightHand canon.]]
* YouALLLookFamiliar: The soldiers' black war paint allowed the director to keep re-using the same stuntmen and actors in close-up fights. Knowing bad 80s movies, this was intentional.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Gunnar gets upset with the Mook he's stuck with during his [[ChaseScene high-speed ambush]] of Ross and Yang, up to the point he crushes the [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Mook's head against the dashboard with his boot]].
-->'''Gunnar''': Insect.
** Munroe, to General Garza [[spoiler:after the dictator decides to kick his ex-CIA partners as well as the Expendables out of his country.]]
* YourMom: Let it not be said that Stallone [[TotallyRadical is not down with what the kids are into]].
** That's not what your momma said.
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