Pop Culture for Fun

This year seems to be one for action movies with an ensemble cast. There’s not one, but three movies that rely on a group mercenaries/war veterans/CIA black ops on a mission to overthrow a dictator/clear their names/take revenge. Honestly I doubt the plot is all that important. Switch those variables around and it still makes sense. All three movies have some star power, a lot of action, and some humor – pretty much a prerequisite for your action movie. So, let’s delve into details a bit.

The Losers

Directed by: Sylvain White

Starring: Chris Evans, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Idris Elba, Jason Patric and Columbus Short

On the low end of the star-meter, with only two blockbuster acquainted actors: Chris Evans(in a more geeky role than the future Captain America) and Zoe Saldana, but with some solid actors: Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Idris Elba, this one could go either way. The script is by Peter Berg, which gives it some credibility but I would have rather had him, than Sylvain “Stomp the Yard” White as director. The whole “adapted from a comic book” thing is soon becoming normal in Hollywood, so I don’t see this factoring in too much. I expect this one to be met with mixed reviews and not a great haul at the box office.

The A-Team

Directed by: Joe Carnahan

Starring: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Jessica Alba and Patrick Wilson

The remake of the popular ’80s show has all it takes for it to be a success at the box office. Joe Carnahan can handle a large castor stars, as he has proven with Smokin’ Aces, and this time he’s only directing (let’s face it, Smokin’ Aces wasn’t the most engaging script ever). And let’s take a look at the stars: Liam Neeson has great charisma, Bradley Cooper has proven he can be quite likable while being a jerk (The Hangover and All About Steve come to mind), and Quinton Jackson looks the part, though he has big shoes to fill in. I am curious to see Sharlto deal with a less improvised character. I expect this one to be a crowd favorite in June when it opens, and be received quite well, as far as action movies go.

The Expendables

Directed by: Sylvester Stallone

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke, Steve Austin, Dolph Lundgren

Featuring cameos by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis, this movie is every action movie fan’s wet dream. Or should I say it “was”. It’s two decades too late. Stallone has managed to get a lot of action stars, old and new into this, but I doubt it will generate that much hype. Stallone can direct a decent action movie and it’s not new territory for any of the stars. On the other hand, Rambo was a decent flick, but I don’t really want to see Stallone on steroids in the jungle again. I expect nostalgia to generate some revenue at the box office and some polite reviews telling Stallone to give up his action hero persona.

All in all, where there’s three similarly themed movies, everyone gets to win. Personally, I’d rather finally see Machete on the big screen, but I’ll settle with any of these.

Posted on April 6th, 2010 by MrWiseguy
Filed under: Movies