That was an era when computers had not yet tamed the body. No one thought that a whole body of tendon could be used as a dry battery for The Matrix. From Japanese cartoons, Hong Kong kung fu movies to Hollywood police movies, both sides of the Pacific are still shrouded in the cult of muscular men triggered by Bruce Lee. The suffering of good people-trying to become stronger and stronger-blasts bad people's heads like a watermelon. This is what an action movie is all about. As thin as Neo and as short as Berne, even the coolest windbreaker and sunglasses can only be exchanged for a "sissy". As for good people, there is darkness in their hearts, and bad people have conscience in their hearts. Action movies don’t need these, but only one word: cool!
The group of old heroes who returned in the chariot of "The Expendables" brought us precisely this long-lost "cool" character!
What is "shuang"? It was Jason Statham, who stepped on the Condor with a machine gun, swooped down from the air and killed the soldiers on the entire pier, leaving behind a raging flame full of silver screen. It was Terry Cruise holding the AA12 automatic shotgun off the watchtower and bunker, howling, "Man! Tell me, who can stand this loud noise?" It was Stallone, who was 68 years old, still courageously staged flying. The feat of a sea plane. It was Jet Li who broke his opponent's neck with a clean heel!
The entire "The Expendables" is revived by the Hollywood action style of the 1980s that was not invaded by electronic warfare, information warfare, fake computer special effects and half-hearted Hong Kong-style martial arts. This kind of return has been tried in Die Hard 4, but it has been somewhat restrained by modern information warfare; Yoshiaki Kawajiri's "Highlander's Avengers" has been perfectly reproduced, but in the form of animation; 》I tried to get closer, but it was a pity that after all, the overly sophisticated design got rid of the sense of reality. Only "The Expendables" returned so real and vigorously.
But don't misunderstand this kind of return as being unpretentious. In fact, in the tone of "muscles and firearms", "The Expendables" is still fully advanced with the times. One is the addition of gorgeous American wrestling moves, especially the fight between the champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship Randy Kudrow and the champion of the World Wrestling League Steve Austin. The exquisite moves made up for the action scene in the 1980s. The monotony of punching me. Even Stallone, who I thought I could never move anymore, performed a beautiful grapple on Steve Austin, and at the same time (behind the scenes) successfully broke his cervical spine. The second is the addition of Kung Fu Emperor Jet Li, which reminds Hollywood tough guys that in addition to fists and muscles, people have joints and feet. Although to be honest, the scene of "Deathing Scissors" that can't cut the strong Han Longgel is really embarrassing, but I attribute this to director Stallone's prejudice. The third is to add appropriate computer special effects to make the scene on the screen look more spectacular and real.
The most important thing is that the director did not let these elements overwhelm the "muscle and firearms" action theme, but as an embellishment to add to the cake. This allowed Hollywood to maintain its aggressive action style in the 1980s, while the appeal of the screen was also strengthened exponentially. It can be said that it has successfully evolved to version 2.0.
The vitality of action movies in the 1980s is not only reflected in the action scenes, but also in the layout of the plot. The story can be simple, but the details must be interesting, and the heroic image of the hero must be highlighted. For example, the scene where Schwarzenegger carried the prisoner to interrogate on the edge of the cliff in "Crossing Alone in the Dragon Pool" was a typical example of the combination of the two.
This kind of fun in "The Expendables" can be said to be everywhere. In the opening scene of dealing with the robbers, Stallone and Statham didn't take the victory or defeat as a problem at all. They just "divided up" a few enemies to cook, which reminds people of the funny dialogue between Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao in "The Flying Dragon". Suddenly the bell rang at the moment, Statham replied calmly, "It's a text message," and his sense of humor was cold. Not only that, when the beauty asked for her name, Statham answered without hesitation, "My name is Buda, and his name is Pace", cleverly using homophony, leaving "Buddha" to himself and leaving "Pest" to his partner, as if cold. There is a smiley craftsman, and the joy is natural.
Jet Li said in the film whether it was a breakthrough or a self-destructive image, he made an unprecedented joke about his size and never forgot to ask for money. This is probably the most comedic performance after he traveled east to the United States. It reminds people of the comedy images of this baby-faced master in his early years. Originally, Mukou Mumen's image of an oriental killer didn't suit him. After so many years of hard work in the United States, it is time to consider changing his image.
Of course, the most intensive part of the laughter is the meeting of the "Big Three" in the church. Bruce Willie and Arnold Schwarzenegger, two action superstars who were unable to cross the knife due to schedule, staged this epoch-making meeting together with Stallone. Since they had no chance to fight with real swords and guns, the three put all the cautious thoughts on and off the stage into the cynicism. Stallone ridicules that Governor Shi is a "rat in the trench" and laughs at himself, "The little meat that fell from my body is growing on him", and runs on others "I want to be president!" How can Governor Shi, who once starred in a comedy, show weakness ? He was ridiculed by the cigar-dangling tycoon, "it's only a fool to take on this kind of task", but it doesn't matter, some people "like to go to the jungle." Putting down the swords and spears, the two of them are talking about each other, so it's so lively.
Compared with these two brash men, Bruce Willie, who often pretends to be a "city man", seemed much more educated, just smiling and watching the battle. When the "Terminator" went out, he stared into the eyes of "Lambo" without changing his face and smiled, "Who dares to take the money and not do anything, be careful I chop him up and throw him on the street to feed the dog!" "The cruel words. The three giants all made a lot of face and ended successfully.
I’m just curious, we Chinese movie fans have been waiting here for so many years, let Jet Li, Jackie Chan, and Donnie Yen all compete. Is it true that American movie fans have not seen these top Hollywood stars fighting life and death on the screen? Obsession?
According to legend, the lineup of "The Expendables" is more than what we see now. "Vampire Hunter Blade" Wesley Snape, "Time and Space Police" Shang Yundun, and "Booming Heaven Qianlong" Stephen Sieger all intentionally participated, but it was not realized later due to various factors. But it doesn't matter. Looking at the current box office, "The Expendables" is very likely to have another sequel, and it is a good thing to leave some for the next episode.
In fact, retrospectively, such a grand event has been planned for many years. If I remember correctly, about ten years ago, there was a leak in the "Jedi Ssangyong" project of "Stallone VS Jackie Chan", which caused a commotion among the fans of the "Ssangyong" back then. The rumors that Stallone met Jackie Chan several times to discuss the details added a bit of authenticity to this combination of things. It's a pity that in the end it was still nothing. Who knows to go around, more than ten years later, this wild plan has finally become a reality, but "Ssangyong" has become a "group of dragons", and the representative of the East has been replaced by Jet Li. As for Jackie Chan, most of them are busy representing other things. The backbone of the year, only Stallone remained to support the overall situation.
This incident seems to be accidental, but it is inevitable. Looking at the action movie world, there are really only a handful of stars who can perform various difficult actions in front of the camera, but also control the script, director and other behind-the-scenes links. Most of the action stars have well-developed limbs and simple minds. Even Schwarzenegger, who is the governor, has little success behind the scenes. Only Stallone is not the case. This gentleman showed his film talent in his early years. The masterpieces "Rocky" and "First Blood" are both self-written, self-directed, self-acted, and are a hit, and the box office has a double reputation. Only this kind of all-rounder can have the confidence to recruit the world's heroes and accomplish this grand feat.
Since Stallone was the creator of Stallone, he not only acted as the protagonist, but the main line of the entire script was exactly the same as the later episodes of "First Blood". It was a story of mercenaries fighting against local power and rescuing local people. Of course, the "mercenaries" in such films have always been synonymous with modern heroes, and what finally drove them to act, in the final analysis, was to rescue irrelevant people from the love of water and fire. This kind of story seems simple, but in fact, it is packaged, which is most in line with the "dream-making" function of commercial movies. Action movie veteran Stallone's grasp of the elements of the genre is the key to maintaining the original flavor of this 80s-style action movie.
It's just that, in the eyes of Chinese fans, "Lambo" has a little too much control in the film. See you, after he was almost hanged by the big black guy in "First Blood III", he was stalked with resentment, and he had to use the same rope to clean up Steve Austin. This obsession really makes people unable to help turning around and criticizing our Jet Li: "Why don't you know how to rob yourself? How many times have you been saved by Stallone in the film? Three times, three times. He didn't even kiss the heroine in the end. Do you know what the rotten girls are talking about on Weibo?"
"Hainan Daily" August 30, 2010
View more about The Expendables reviews
