Narrative
Equilibrium
A team of elite, highly-trained mercenaries, the Expendables, are deployed to the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia to halt local pirates from executing the hostages on a merchant vessel. They rescue the hostages, but one member, Jensen, is kicked out due to his drug abuse and psychological problems. When the group is commissioned by the mysterious Mr. Church to assassinate the merciless dictator of a small South American island, Barney and Lee head to the remote locale to scout out their opposition.
Disruption
Once there, they meet with local rebel Sandra and discover the true nature of the conflict engulfing the city. When they escape the island and Sandra stays behind, Ross has to choose between staying away from the conflict or going back to save Sandra. He chooses Sandra and with the rest of the gang, they go back to the island to infiltrate Garza's palace.
Restoration
Garza is killed by a controlling ex-CIA agent, the Expendables set explosives over the palace and detonate them, leaving the army dead and a handful of survivors. Ross chases down the CIA agent, Munroe, who has Sandra held as a hostage. Ross, with the help of Christmas, kill Munroe and as a result, democracy is restored on the island and the Expendables go home.
Iconography
- Weaponry - the blade used by Christmas and the machine guns by the other characters
- Armour - the Expendables are wearing body armour (bullet proof tops), bandanas as well
- Dull colours and dark lighting, highlights the facial expressions of the characters, shows their sweat and blood
- The deaths result in blood being splattered everywhere, and knives being pull through bodies, these special effects make the film more realistic to the audience
Characters
- Barney Ross (played by Sylvester Stallone) - leader of the Expendables and the hero of the film, a typical aspect of an A-A film.
- Lee Christmas (played Jason Stantham) - best friend of Ross, the typical sidekick, helps Ross to kill the villan at the end of the film. He also thinks he is much skilled than his best friend and they have a friendly rivalry.
- Gunnar Jensen (played by Dolph Lundgren) - the false hero, after being kicked out of the team by Ross, he gives information to the enemy, a car crash leads to Jensen being close to death where he gives Ross vital information which helps him later in the film. By the end of the film, Jensen has been reinstalled in the group
- Sandra Garza (played by Gisele Itié) - the princess but also the daughter of the villian, she is different to her father and resents his actions, so much so, she is waterboarded by his cronies and taken to prison. She inspires Ross to complete the mission, but there is no love interest,
- General Garza (played by David Zayas) - appears to be the villian but is in fact a victim of a scam by a former CIA agent, he is the father of Sandra and he is killed. His role is becoming a more common theme in A-A films, the false villain.
- Hale Caesar (played Terry Crews) - weapons expert, part of the Expendables, he is the technical character and also represents a stereotype of African Americans.
The film is generally based in a fictional South American island, which is under dictatorship. The fact that the island is isolated highlights:
- The dangers of the mission which the Expendables face; if they die, no one will know as the news is unlikely to spread to the outside world
- The island is isolated from the outside world due to the dictatorship of General Garza.
The setting also reflects real life conflict as there are some places in the world where dictartoship reigns supreme and no one is able to combat it; the film shows the audience a fictional solution by using incredibly macho mercenaries to get rid of the dictator and install democracy.
The clip above is set on a boat on the coast of Somalia, where piracy is prominent in the real world, and here the hostages are held by pirates.
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