It's hard for the concept of this film to be anything but awesome. It's so awesome, that it verges on sheer absurdity. Sly Stallone, Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, et frikin al., in an unabashed 80s style action film? Utter madness.
Ok, as my brain settles down a bit from the blinding brilliance of the casting, I am forced to evaluate the film with a slightly more critical eye. Ok, sure, I and every other Y chromosome bearing homosapien will be seeing this film, let's not pretend, but does this trailer really bear the mark of movie that can live up to its impossibly incredible cast?
So far my impressions are a pretty resounding "no." One of the things I love the most about 80s actions films like First Blood, Die Hard, and Commando is their ability to maintain a serious tone while still being hilariously campy, and clearly by no accident. For some reason I get a dark and brooding vibe from this trailer, a vibe that is all too common of the modern action film, a depressing twist of post modernism that works great in "thinker" action films (like The Matrix) and horribly in "raw" action films (like Man on Fire or A Man Apart).
I trust Stallone won't ruin the great thing he has accomplished in coalescing such a tremendous group of talent, and going by his recent work with Rocky Balboa and Rambo, I trust that the right mix of irreverent humor will be around, but this trailer just doesn't represent that.
Anyways, I guess if this film doesn't deliver, there's always the A-team, right?