FILM: The Expendables (dir: Sylvester Stallone, 2010)

"I'm not perfect, but you should have waited - I was worth it."

The Expendables is enormous fun. This is the dream-team B-movie action star cast, but it is far from being an ensemble movie - this is very much Stallone's film, although Stallone and Statham play off each other extremely well throughout and Rourke scene-steals mercilessly as usual. It is neither a particularly creative nor original film, but Stallone directs capably and the script has some good moments of humour running through it. The fight/action set-pieces are fine, especially the final assault on the baddies' HQ which is ridiculously huge-scale and relentless, although the reliance on digital blood is very evident. The cinema audience showed clear delight at the already-legendary single scene containing the Holy Trinity of stars - Stallone, Willis and Schwarzenegger - but for me it was seeing Jet Li vs Dolph Lundgren that made the film (and also gave Lundgren the film's best line). The Expendables is the kind of solid, crazy action B-movie that we have not seen in cinemas for a long time and which makes a welcome return here.