Early Reader Review: Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables

/Film reader Rolo Tomassi has seen Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables, and provides us with a short, spoiler free review of the early cut, after the jump.

Context: As always, remember that the film isn't finished until the junket press screenings. This early cut of the film might be very different than the movie which hits screens on August 13th 2010. Here is Rolo's review:

The following is a short, spoiler free, recap of an advanced screening of "The Expendables" which I saw.....It should be noted that Stallone's movie, "The Expendables" is not meant to win Oscars or shed tears or bring us closer together. This is a just a fun, action romp that wows and dazzles with it's ultraviolent action set pieces and cast of familiar favorites.The film deals with a group of vigilantes that go on missions and apparently have unlimited ammunition and weapons on each and every task, as displayed in some of the scenes. Aside from the team of Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, and Randy Couture, you'll see Eric Roberts and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in villain roles, Mickey Rourke in an ex team member role (noted this as some think he's part of the current team and in action scenes), and there are also a couple surprising, humorous cameos (this may have been reported, but I was unaware – made for a nice surprise).The movie has a lot of awesome action scenes, specifically highlighting Statham, as well as the fact that Stallone can move and work this well at this age. As far as looks are concerned, Stallone is cut, but his face looks droopy and elderly, which is weird. It also reminds you that people like Terry Crews should be headlining films and people like Randy Couture have no business trying to act.There were about 40 some seats closed off at the back of the theatre for Lionsgate peeps and possibly even Stallone himself, as this was the first test screening for the movie. Their scheduled release may prove difficult, as previous weeks will have it contending with Inception, Salt, Dinner For Schmucks, and The Other Guys, not to mention opening against the Jason Bateman/Jennifer Aniston vehicle, The Baster.BUT, I figure everyone who isn't into The Baster will be into The Expendables. It'll also KILL overseas, as it is full of action heroes that foreign audiences are accustomed to.Overall, I give it an 8 out of 10. There are some cheese filled moments and even some humor driven scenes that feel like bad improv, but this film does what it sets out to do: they compiled an awesome cast, gave big budget thrills, and remind us of the glory days of the action genre. Hope this helps!Your Inside Source,Rolo Tomassi