The Expendables

"Big is not always beautiful," that's my impression after I finished watching The Expendables. We saw the returns of Sylvester "Rocky" Stallone in the big screen, not only as an actor, but also as a director. The tagline sounds pretty awesome, "the most awesome action cast ever assembled." Yes it is. Imagine, all of the iconic action heroes, from Stallone to Jason Statham. Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, or from the newer generation, Steve Austin, Terry Crews. And also, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. What? He played in the movie? Yes he is. So it is a big guarantee that this movie rocks! (Don't stop reading, that sentence is not a recommendation yet)

The Expendables is the name of an elite mercenary team, which consist of well everyone I stated above except, Bruce Willis, Steve Austin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mickey Rourke (Well, technically he's on the team, but sort of supporting guy, as he's an ex-member.) They are asked to do a mission on an island called Vilena. Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) also offered the job to Barney Ross's (Sylvester Stallone) rival, Trent Mauser (Arnold Schwarzenegger) but he refuse it. At this point, one moment really made me laugh. Go ahead and see it. So, Ross and Christmas (Jason Statham) go to the island to do a recon mission. Over there, they met their contact Sandra (Giselle Itié). But, their recon gone wrong, and they decided to leave immediately. Leaving Sandra behind, Ross decided to call it off and not doing the job. But after hearing the story of Tool (Mickey Rourke) about not saving a girl, he decide to save Sandra on his own. And the action began (it's already began since the first moment of the movie, FYI.)

Okay, since it already quite late here, and I'm starting to stare at the bed, I'll make it quick. The story is so predictable. Madam in distress, the bulletproof heroes, and bunch of explosions. Too bad, Stallone didn't manage to make the characters of everyone being digged. Seems pretty plain, and all we see is Stallone in his 60s still buffed up body. Maybe because it's a tough job to balancing the story to make a good use of every single actor. But, maybe he didn't need to try that hard to fit everyone to less than two hours duration. He could extend the duration if he wants.

Yes I know this is somekind of tributes to the action heroes from all generations. But at least makes the story more interesting, so all we know about action heroes not about those massive explosions.

Overall, I'm not satisfied, seeing the movie's potential to be awesome and not maximized. I hope someday, Mr. Stallone can create another giant ensemble cast movie, without ruining the awesome cast with straightforward story and lack of character development.

Centurion

"Legio nona Hispana", or the Ninth Legion. The legion that once been commandeered by Julius Caesar, is the main subject of the 2010 British film, Centurion. Directed by Neil Marshall, who also directed the critically acclaimed horror, The Descent, it holds a great hope to be another great film coming from Britain land. Starring Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko, who should give us hope of solid performance.

Legio IX Hispana, a Roman legion which went missing in the 2nd century. And the main story of the movie is take place from one of the debatable mystery of the legion. Which is, they went missing in the land Britannia while marching to destroy the Picts rebels.

 Centurion Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender) is the second-in-command of the Roman frontier outpost in Britannia. One night, in a raid, the guerilla Picts slaughter all of the garrison, capturing Dias in the process. Meanwhile, the governing governor in Britannia, Agricola (Paul Freeman) sent an order to march the Ninth Legion, led by General Titus Flavius Virilus (Dominic West), to the northern frontier to seek and destroy the Picts. He also sent Etain (Olga Kurylenko) a mute Brigantes scout to accompanies them toward the Picts hideouts. Along the way, Dias who managed to escape his captors, cross path with the legion. He then agreed to lead them to the Picts. On the way, the legion got ambushed by the Picts, and almost the whole legion got massacred unless few lucky legionnaires. Knowing that their general is still alive and taken captive, the survivors continues their way north to save their general. And, the adventures of Quintus Dias and a small band of legionnaires begins.

With a solid historical background served as the main plot, the movie shown the brutality of the war in the North. How could the unorganized rebels takes on the might Roman Empire, how did they employ the hit and run tactics, is beautifully shown. And what am I saying with brutal, is really brutal. Head chopped off, throat slits, and many more.

Not forget to mention, the beautiful Scotlands, where the filming location taken, with their lush forest, cold mountain, well you can say it can par to the beautiful land of New Zealand in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

And finally, planned to be release in February 2011 is a film titled Eagle of the Ninth, another film based on the Legio IX Hispana, starring Channing Tatum, which also using the disappearance of the legion in northern part of England. Well, we'll see who managed to comes out as the winner, as both film served us exactly the same background.