The Expendables 2 Movie Story by Ken Kaufman & David Agosto and Richard Wenk Screenplay by Richard Wenk and Sylvester Stallone Directed by Simon West 2012

A seemingly simple operation for the Expendables turns into a mission of revenge.

Read the movie summary at Wikipedia

Notes from the Expendables chronology

A supposed prequel story to this film takes place in The Expendables 2 downloadable video game. It depicts Barney, Gunner, Caesar, and Yang blasting apart a camp in the Balkans in their search for a kidnapped Chinese businessman. The "Chinese businessman" sounds like the hostage rescued at the beginning of this film, but that occurs in Nepal, not the Balkans (the film was shot mostly in Bulgaria, which lies in the Balkan region of eastern Europe). I have not been able to find a decent walkthrough video of the whole game, so I have not included a study of it in the Expendables chronology.

Characters appearing or mentioned in this film

(Where relative, I have added the name of the actor who plays the character in the movies for aid in visualizing the characters)

Barney Ross (actor Sylvester Stallone)

Lee Christmas (actor Jason Statham)

Gunner Jensen (actor Dolph Lundgren)

Yin Yang (actor Jet Li)

Toll Road (actor Randy Couture)

Hale Caesar (actor Terry Crews)

Dr. Zhou (hostage)

Trench Mauser (actor Arnold Schwarzenegger)

Billy the Kid, real name William Timmons (actor Liam Hemsworth)

Lacy

Juliet (bartender)

Sophia (Billy's French girlfriend)

Mr. Church (actor Bruce Willis)

Maggie Chan (actress Yu Nan)

Jean Vilain (actor Jean-Claude Van Damme)

Hector (Vilain's main henchman)

Booker, the Lone Wolf (actor Chuck Norris) 

Didja Notice?

The film opens in the Sindhupalchowk District, Nepal. This is one of the 75 districts of Nepal.

The vehicle the Nepalese leader is riding in is a 1980 UAZ 469.

At 1:20 on the Blu-ray, notice there are live eels swimming in an aquarium in the market square.

Barney's war vehicle is a Land-Rover Defender 110. The "Knock Knock" vehicle is also a Defender. The motorcycle strapped to the front of Barney's war vehicle is a Rokon, a manufacturer of unusual and custom motor bikes.

The Expendables' war vehicles have Browning M2 machine guns mounted on top.

At 3:14 on the Blu-ray, the team drives past a rusted up old Volkswagen Bus.

The overturned vehicle seen at 3:20 on the Blu-ray is an AM General Humvee.

At 4:10 on the Blu-ray, notice that assorted human body parts fly off the enemy forces as the Expendables blast away at the them with large, powerful, vehicle-mounted machine guns.

The shot at 4:12 on the Blu-ray is the same one flipped from 3:53!

The car that gets knocked over by an explosion at 4:45 on the Blu-ray is a 1981 Peugeot P4.

At 4:52 on the Blu-ray, Gunner pushes the Knock-Knock battering ram down into battering position on the vehicle. But at 5:14, the ram is back in up position, then back down again a few seconds later.

At 4:59 on the Blu-ray, why does there just happen to be a vehicle-size ramp set up for Barney and his team to drive up onto the second floor of their target building??

During the rescue mission, Caesar uses the AA-12 shotgun he used at the end of The Expendables. This is the gun Trench takes from him after he's freed.

The helicopter that Barney sends the Rokon motorcycle flying into, bringing the copter crashing into the compound, is a Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm BO-105.

During the rescue mission, Barney, Yang, and Gunner use Noveske Rifleworks Diplomat assault rifles. Lee uses an M4A1 Carbine assault rifle with an M26 MASS under-barrel accessory shotgun. Toll Road also carries an M4A1, with a Heckler & Koch AG-C grenade launcher fitted on it.

At 7:05 on the Blu-ray, Yang pulls out a SIG-Sauer P228 pistol. When the gun locks up on him after firing just one shot, he throws it...notice that it hits one of his foes smack in the face! (Obviously, the production wanted Yang to lose his weapons so they could showcase Jet Li's fighting ability, with Yang grabbing up the kitchen pots and pans to use as makeshift weapons.)

The Nepalese guerillas use mostly Kalashnikov assault rifles.

At 7:40 on the Blu-ray, Barney uses his Colt Single Action Army pistol, which he also carried on him in The Expendables.

Barney is seen to wear a Panerai PAM 00382 watch. He wore two different Panerai models in The Expendables.

When Trench tells Gunner to cut him loose, he calls Gunner Frankenstein. This is likely in reference to the scar on Gunner's face and his large size, similarities he has with the Frankenstein monster.

When Trench declares he needs a big weapon and first tries to take Caesar's AA-12, Caesar declares, "My big weapon's hangin' right where it is." This is a double entendre representing the psychological concept that some men may overcompensate for penis size by owning/carrying/using the biggest gun (or other "toy" such as a car).

Caesar threatens Trench, in regards to the AA-12, "If I don't get this back, your ass is terminated." This is a joking reference to Arnold Schwarzenegger's multiple roles as a Terminator in the Terminator films. (Actor Terry Crews, who plays Caesar, also had a small role in 2009's Terminator Salvation, but his scenes were cut from the film). Trench's response, "In your dreams," may be a reference to Schwarzenegger's role in the 1990 film Total Recall, in which the concept of what is reality and what is dream plays a prominent part.

Trench turns down Barney's offer of escaping with them, saying he has his own way out. But we don't see it, Trench is simply gone in the next scene.

As the team is exiting the building after the hostage rescue, Caesar is now carrying the Milkor MGL Mk 1L grenade launcher that Gunner had been carrying a bit earlier.

At 9:26 on the Blu-ray, the Expendables tattoo that Caesar had on his right arm in The Expendables is suddenly missing! It reappears later.

The Expendables use the power lines as a zipline to escape from the Nepalese compound. Notice that we never see them actually pass a pylon even though we see several pylons along the route; the men would not be able to make a non-stop zipline run down the power lines, they would have to unhook and rehook at every pylon as the struts holding the cables would stop them each time!

During the Expendables' escape along the power wires through the jungle, Barney uses his Kimber Gold Combat II pistols to return fire against the Nepalese guerillas; he carried these same pistols in The Expendables as well.

At 10:00 on the Blu-ray, the Nepalese guerillas chase the Expendables in a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen with a PKM machine gun mounted on a roll bar. PKMs are also seen mounted to the Nepalese airboats during the river escape sequence shortly after.

Billy's sniper rifle is a Barrett M107.

Toll Road and Caesar use Heckler & Koch UMP submachine guns during the jet ski chase. Gunner later uses one during the battle at the old Soviet base and Maggie uses one at the airport shootout at the end of the film.

At 11:49 on the Blu-ray, the bandanna worn on Gunner's head appears to (ironically enough) have a Knot Violence logo on it, a campaign by the Non-Violence Project, a global non-profit organization with a mission to educate young people on how to resolve conflicts without violence.

The floatplane Barney flies in this film is a Canadair CL-215-IV, a different make and model than the one used in The Expendables. Lee makes a comment to Barney that implies the plane is new to them, "Congratulations, you bought another piece of junk." The registration number is XP 2112, not a registration number that corresponds to any nation; possibly the XP stands for "Expendables", though it would not be a recognized registration in any nation.

At 12:19 on the Blu-ray, Barney's necklace has what appears to be a pendant of a sword or knife. We later see Gunner wearing the same pendant at 58:51.

The floatplane's tail end comes to a wedge shape at the end, but during the ski jet loading shots, the end appears to be more square (to accommodate the ramp and entrance for the skis).

The machine gun Lee fires from the nose of the floatplane is an FN MAG, manufactured by FN Herstal.

At 13:46 on the Blu-ray, a Leica M9 camera is seen hanging from the ceiling of the floatplane's cockpit. Barney later uses it to snap a photo of Yang and the billionaire before their bailout.

At 14:20 on the Blu-ray, the Nepalese guerillas use a KPV heavy machine gun mounted on a dock built across the width of the river.

After blowing up the dock, Lee repeats the same phrase he said in The Expendables after blowing up a dock in that film, "That's a statement!"

The song playing at 16:25 on the Blu-ray is "The Wanderer" by Dion (1961).

Yang and the billionaire bail out of the floatplane over Hebei Province, China. The Chinese capital of Beijing municipality lies on its border, as implied by Lee when he tells Barney they are 20 miles from Beijing.

Returning home to New Orleans, the Expendables meet for drinks at the Old Point Bar.

The car that drives past the Old Point Bar at 18:00 on the Blu-ray is a 2005 Ford Mustang.

At 18:01 on the Blu-ray, a neon sign of the U.S. Marines emblem is seen in the Old Point Bar.

The song that Lacy likes that plays in the bar is "Mustang Sally" by Mack Rice (1965). The lyrics sort of go with the character of Lacy, being about a loose woman and the man who is trying to keep her feet on the ground.

Talking to Lee, Barney refers to Lacy as a cheater and Lee corrects him that she was only a half-cheater. This refers to events in The Expendables, where Lacy was seen to have begun dating another man when Lee was missing from her life without notice for a month.

Notice that none of the beer bottles seen in the bar have labels on them! The team also drinks the same labeless bottles as they fly home at the end of the film.

At 19:19 on the Blu-ray, a bottle of Crown Royal whiskey is seen on the Expendables' table at the bar.

At the bar, Gunner writes what he says is Einstein's theory of special relativity on a napkin. But what he writes is actually Einstein's theory of general relativity. General relativity is a description of gravitation in modern physics. Special relativity is the description of the relationship between space and time in modern physics. Einstein, of course, is a reference to Albert Einstein, the renowned German theoretical physicist who refused, during a visit to America in the 1930s, to return to Germany after Hitler came into power, and became an American citizen.

When Gunner writes down the equation, it is towards the top of the napkin. But when he holds it up to show the others, it is written more towards the middle.

Barney explains to the others that Gunner went to MIT and obtained a masters degree in chemical engineering and then quit his work to be a bouncer. MIT is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Actor Dolph Lundgren does, in fact, have a masters in chemical engineering himself and was also a bouncer at one point in his career.

The second song that plays at the bar is "Don't Want to Fight With Me" by Frank Stallone, Sly's younger brother. The song debuted on the soundtrack album.

Barney's chopper is a Bourget Python 330.

Billy tells Barney he met his French girlfriend in Afghanistan where she was a nurse. Billy is probably referring to his time in the U.S. Army, which has a presence in the nation of Afghanistan for the War on Terror.

The pick-up that drives past the Old Point Bar as Barney revs his chopper to leave at 22:37 on the Blu-ray is a Ford F-100.

The license plate on Barney's chopper is on the left side when he pulls away from the bar. But it is on the right when he arrives at the airplane hangar.

At 22:50 on the Blu-ray, Barney rides his chopper to his aircraft hangar, the same old Spiders Aircraft hangar seen in The Expendables. Why does he go to the hangar and sit inside the plane now? And how does Mr. Church know to wait for him there that night? Does Barney essentially live inside the plane instead of having a house or apartment to go to?

Church claims that Barney broke their deal with what went down on Vilena. This again refers back to the events of The Expendables.

Church claims he could have had Barney sent to Gitmo. "Gitmo" is a nickname for Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, a U.S. navy base on the eastern end of Cuba, where a military detention camp has been located since 2002 to hold unlawful combatants captured by U.S. forces in the U.S. War on Terror. The nickname comes for the airfield code there, GTMO.

When Barney asks Church who he's working with, Church says it's none of his business, "...let's just call our host the Corporation." One of the nicknames of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency is "the Company", so it may be that "the Corporation" is the nickname of a similar government spy agency.

The two bridges crossing the river seen at 25:56 on the Blu-ray, where Barney first meets Maggie, appear to be the Crescent City Connection, allowing U.S. Route 90 to cross the Mississippi River in New Orleans.

Maggie's motorcycle is a 2011 MV Agusta Brutale.

Church sends the Expendables to retrieve a blueprint from a downed airplane in the Gasak Mountains of Albania. As far as I can tell, this is a fictitious mountain range, though Albania, of course, is a nation in southeast Europe.

At 27:41 on the Blu-ray, Caesar is sharpening the folding razor previously in his possession in The Expendables.

At 27:52 on the Blu-ray, Gunner is playing with a Rubik's Cube.

At 29:31 on the Blu-ray, we can see that Gunner is wearing a Darth Vader t-shirt!

During the plane trip to Albania, Billy tells Maggie and the others about a ground battle he was in in Afghanistan. He refers to an Apache helicopter finally showing up to scatter the Hajis. The Boeing AH-64 Apache is an attack helicopter in use by the U.S. military and its allies since 1983 and still in production. "Haji" is an honorific term used for a male Muslim who has completed the journey to Mecca required at least once in life of all members of the faith; in recent decades, the term has also taken on a derogatory sense for those of Middle Eastern or South Asian origin in the West, which is probably the sense intended by Billy here.

When Lee implies he could run up the hill as fast as Billy, Barney challenges him a thousand bucks he can't catch the kid, saying, "Go on, Flash." "Flash" is a reference to the DC Comics superhero called the Flash, whose ability is to move, especially run, at superhuman speeds.

The crashed plane carrying the blueprint is an Antonov An-26.

As Maggie uses her mini laptop to crack the code of the safe on the downed plane at 35:45 on the Blu-ray, the display screen reads "DATA UPLINK TO AWAC ZK101 ESTABLISHED". This implies she has made a connection to a computer aboard an AWAC (Airborne Warning And Control System) plane to aid in the crack; Church's AWAC plane is later seen to have registration number ZK101. This is a New Zealand registration number, possibly meant to be an attempt to hide the fact that a U.S. plane is operating in the area.

As the bomb countdown begins on the safe, the word "Semtex" is seen. Semtex is a type of plastic explosive.

Notice Jean Vilain's last name almost spells "villain".

When Vilain confronts the team, Barney pulls a SIG-Sauer P229 E2 pistol. Vilain himself has a Walther P99. Most of the Sangs are carrying Heckler & Koch G36KV or SIG SG 552 assault rifles.

The double-bladed knife used by Hector to cut across Billy's chest is the Double Shadow model made by Hibben Knives, known for making specialty knives for films and Klingon knives and blades for Star Trek. Barney carries another Hibben blade as well, called the Toothpick, which Vilain takes from him and uses to kill Billy.

When Vilain is threatening to shoot Billy in the head, he is holding his gun in his right hand. But when we see the close-up of his finger slowly squeezing the trigger, it is in the left hand.

Vilain refers to the tattoo on his neck as the Pet of Satan. It is a goat symbol and the goat is sometimes referred to as the pet of Satan. Hector also has the same tattoo. Another one of Vilain's men is seen with the tattoo in a bar later in the film. Possibly, all of Vilain's men have the same tattoo, meant to show that Vilain's group is sort of an evil version of the Expendables.

The helicopter that picks up Vilain and his men is a Mil Mi-8P, a Russian-made military helicopter.

At 46:28 on the Blu-ray, the car Vilain and Hector are riding in is a 2010 Land-Rover Range Rover Series III.

At 48:05 on the Blu-ray, Hector shoots one of the miners with a Colt M1911A1. During the later airport battle, he uses an AKMSU carbine assault rifle.

Church's AWAC plane is a Boeing E-3D Sentry AEW1.

As the Expendables' plane flies over Albania is search of Vilain's men, Church's AWAC radios them, referring to them as registration number CZ1492. This does not seem to conform to any nation's registration code.

The truck the Expendables find and fix for use on their revenge mission is a ZiL 131, produced in the Soviet Union and Russia from 1967-2012.

Notice that the Albanian bar the Expendables drive up to at 50:13 on the Blu-ray has a goat's head logo on the sign similar to the Vilain group's tattoos.

The van parked near the bar is a Ford Transit.

Inside the Albanian bar at 50:38 on the Blu-ray, two slot machines are seen, a Triple Diamond Deluxe and a Triple Bonanza.

The pick-up Lee loads the supplies into is a Ford F-Series from the 1967-1972 range.

As the truck drives onto an old, abandoned Soviet military base at 53:20 on the Blu-ray, the entrance is guarded by a pair of S-75 Dvina surface-to-air missiles. The rotted-out fighter plane seen as they drive in is a MiG-17.

The old Soviet base has a backlot-type mock-up of New York City streets on it, ostensibly for war games maneuvers. The production actually just used an old existing set at the Bulgarian film studio they shot most of the film at. On the set, signs for NY Taxi, Morning Glory Bakery, Silver Strand Fine Jewelry, Hopemag, NY News, Pepsi Cola, Fulton's Rug and Carpet Company, Ray's Pizza, Can Can, New York Noodle House, Yellow Cab, and NY Record Shop are seen. Most of these names are fictitious businesses/products, but Pepsi Cola and Yellow Cab are real and there is a bakery called Morning Glory Bakery in New York. And there are several variations of pizza restaurants called Ray's in New York. (A different side of the NY News building can be seen during the Nepal rescue mission at the beginning of the movie, showing the two very different locations were shot on the same backlot!)

The team beds down for the night inside "Ray's Pizza".

Street names that are seen in the fake New York are Broadway and Noble. These are real street names in New York, though Noble street here does not look anything like the real one in the New York borough of Brooklyn.

Caesar is seen to be something of a gourmet eater, having brought his own cooking supplies, highbrow preserved food (he has rigatoni for dinner), spices, and coffee on the mission (only enough for himself, of course!) instead of the MRE's the others eat.

Caesar asks the others what their last meal would be if they had a choice. Toll Road says cereal. Caeser jokes that Toll Road's favorite meal is probably Earios, "pour milk on them suckers and they just lay there and you don't hear shit." Toll indignantly tells him his hearing is 20/20; the term "20/20", of course, refers to visual acuity, not hearing. These jokes relate back to Toll's cauliflower ears and the story he insists on telling over-and-over about how he got them, as related in The Expendables. "Earios" is a play on the name of the real world brand of cereal called Cheerios; the remark about pouring milk on cereal and hearing sounds is probably a reference to Rice Crispies cereal which is advertised as making a "snap, crackle, pop" sound.

As for the last meal of the other members of the team: Barney says "Donuts and most food that kills ya." Maggie says, "Crispy aromatic duck with plum sauce. Very sexy," adding, with a significant glance at Barney, "But I like Italian, too." Gunner says, "Baby seal and whale ass."

The song that Toll plays on the jukebox inside the pizzeria when the team gets up the next day is "A Beautiful Morning" by the Rascals (1968). It seems odd that a jukebox in a fake pizzeria in a fake New York would actually have music on it!

When the Sangs start shooting up Ray's Pizza, the jukebox is hit and starts playing "Rip It Up" by Little Richard (1956).

The taxi behind which Gunner takes cover at 1:00:28 is a 1987 Chevrolet Caprice.

The taxi behind which Barney and Maggie take cover is a 1962 GAZ M-21 Volga.

During the firefight at the old base, Maggie uses a Heckler & Koch P30, Caesar uses a SIG-Sauer P226R, and Toll Road uses an Arsenal Shipka.

The Sang tank is a Uralvagonzavod T-72 M1.

The car the Sang tank drives over at 1:00:38 on the Blu-ray is a 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon.

The music that plays as Booker makes his first appearance is from the classic 1966 epic spaghetti western, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly with music by Ennio Morricone.

Chuck Norris' character of Booker, the Lone Wolf, is based on two of his classic action characters, John T. Booker in 1977's Good Guys Wear Black, and J.J. "Lone Wolf" McQuade in 1983's Lone Wolf McQuade.

Booker carries a Heckler & Koch G36C assault rifle throughout his scenes in the movie.

The song that plays on the soundtrack as the team drives into the village of women is "Groovin'" by the Rascals (1967).

The farming vehicle seen in the village at 1:05:13 on the Blu-ray is a Belarus 250.

Some of the female villagers are seen to carry Steyr Mannlicher M1895 rifles.

During the battle against the Sangs in the village, Caesar uses a Benelli M4 Super 90.

The floatplane XP-2112 is essentially torn apart penetrating the old Russian mine at 1:13:50 on the Blu-ray.

Gunner's Bowie knife seen at 1:15:50 on the Blu-ray is another knife made by Hibben. 

The ground driller in which Trench penetrates into the cavern where the Expendables and miners are trapped may be an homage to the Mars driller seen in Total Recall.
Earth driller	Mars driller

When Trench bursts into the mining cavern in the driller, he announces, "I'm back." This is a reference to Schwarzenegger's tag line in the Terminator films (and several other of his action movies as well) "I'll be back." The musical beat that immediately follows Trench's statement is similar to a beat from the Terminator theme.

At 1:18:50 on the Blu-ray, Church refers to the Expendables as "the Little Rascals". The Little Rascals was a series of short comedy films, originally known as Our Gang, about a gang of precocious kids, produced from 1922-1944.

The helicopter that flies in at 1:18:51 on the Blu-ray is a Eurocopter AS532AL Cougar. The manufacturer is now known as Airbus Helicopters.

The trucks Vilain transports the warheads in are GAZ 66s.

Church carries a Heckler & Koch HK416 assault rifle during the airport sequence. He uses it until it runs out of ammo while he's driving the Smart car through the lobby, then tosses it aside and scoops up a Heckler & Koch UMP submachine gun dropped by a casualty while he continues to drive.

Trench appears to still have the AA-12 he took from Caesar in Nepal! He uses it for most of the airport battle, dropping it when it runs out of ammo while he rides in the Smart car with Church, scooping up an M4A1 Carbine dropped by a casualty.

The taxi that drives past Vilain's trucks at 1:19:31 on the Blu-ray is a Hyundai Elantra. The car in front of it is a Volkswagen Golf.

The car Vilain's truck smashes into at 1:20:02 on the Blu-ray is a 1984 Volkswagen Golf.

Vilain carries a Steyr AUG A3 assault rifle in the airport sequence.

Vilain's watch seen at 1:20:52 on the Blu-ray is a Jacques Lemans Liverpool 1-1652F.

The plane seen parked outside the hangar as Vilain and his men drive in at 1:20:57 on the Blu-ray is a Bombardier BD-100 Challenger 300.

The plane seen inside the hangar that Vilain planned to escape in with his plutonium cargo is an Antonov An-26.

At 1:21:10 on the Blu-ray, the Smart Fortwo car later used by Church and Trench during the battle is seen on display in the airport lobby.

During the gunfight with the Sangs, Trench announces to Church that he is almost out of ammo and, "I'll be back." Church says, "You've been back enough. I'll be back." To which Trench mumbles, "Yippee-ki-yay." As previously mentioned, "I'll be back" is a reference to Schwarzenegger's Terminator movies; "Yippee-ki-yay" is a catch phrase used by Bruce Willis as John McLane in the Die Hard movies.

When Trench sees that Booker has joined the fight, he says, "Who's next? Rambo?" Rambo, of course, is a character played by Sylvester Stallone in a series of action films. In the study of The Expendables, I speculated that Stallone's character of Barney in this franchise could be actually be John Rambo. So, that brings up the question, is Trench referring to Rambo has a movie character or does he simply know the legend of John Rambo as an actual person in his world? If Rambo's an actual person, then Trench must have never met him or seen a photograph of him in all the time he's known Barney or he would recognize him. Though it was fun to speculate that Barney was actually Rambo in The Expendables, most of the evidence gathered from all of the existing Expendables movies points toward it not being the case.

At 1:23:59 on the Blu-ray, Vilain and his men pull into an aircraft hangar in a 2009 Toyota Hilux. The plane in the hangar is an Antonov An-26.

Not that this movie is especially realistic in general, but completely ridiculous is Trench ripping off the passenger door of the undamaged Smart car (one-handed no less!) and Church kicking his driver-side door off.

The helicopter marked "121" at 1:25:17 on the Blu-ray is an Mi-24D/V. Vilain's helicopter here is a Bell 430.

Notice at 1:27:13 on the Blu-ray that Barney slides his lucky ring on before entering the room to begin his final fight with Vilain. After the fight, at 1:34:09, he slips it off again.

At 1:29:28 on the Blu-ray, Vilain sets his sunglasses down on the table next to him before his hand-to-hand fight with Barney. But seconds later, the glasses are sitting in a different location on the table.

At 1:29:45 on the Blu-ray, notice that the buckle of Barney's holster belt has the Expendables skull and raven symbol on it.

Barney's armored vest has the word "Blackhawk" on each breast. Blackhawk is a brand of security and military gear.

When Church tells Barney they are now even, he calls Barney "Bamm-Bamm". This is probably a reference to the character of Bamm-Bamm Rubble, the son of Barney Rubble in the Flintstones cartoons.

The plane Church gives to Barney is an Antonov An-2R, registration number LZ1162. "LZ" indicates the plane is registered in Bulgaria, where the film was shot.

The van that drives by behind Barney at 1:37:03 on the Blu-ray is a Volkswagen Transporter.

Church's helicopter is number 711. But when it takes off at the end of the film, it reads 712!

Billy's girlfriend Sophia receives his letter and the cash from the Expendables in Paris, France. The car parked on the street behind her as she sits on the bench is a Citroën DS.

As they fly home at the end of the film, the Expendables sing a rendition of Vachel Lindsay's 1914 poem "The Congo". There was also a reference to it in "THE NIGERIAN PRINCE".

The song that plays as the end credits begin to roll is "I Just Want to Celebrate" by Rare Earth (1971).

When each of the main actors' faces are shown with their names during the end credits, notice that for a split second as the image is fading in that their face shows as a skull before resolving into their face.

Notes from the Director's Commentary by Simon West on the Blu-ray edition

The aerial night shot of New Orleans as the Expendables' plane returns home at 17:55 on the Blu-ray is from West's 2011 film The Mechanic.

West says that the war story Billy tells the team aboard the plane is based on a real one that Stallone read about in an article.

As West comments on the scene of Sophia opening the package and letter from Billy in France, he mistakenly refers to actor Liam Hemsworth as Liam Neeson!

Memorable Dialog

this is embarassing.wav
my big weapon.wav
your ass is terminated.wav
so am I.wav
who am I supposed to pick on?.wav
black is too colorful.wav
cross my heart.wav
you got anything that doesn't have skulls on it?.wav
I can't believe she dumped you.wav
a woman.wav
don't sell yourself short.wav
what's the plan?.wav
bad things have happened to people I've gotten close to.wav
pitch black.wav
the Lone Wolf.wav
who you are?.wav
our lives will be the last thing they take.wav
the size of a dinosaur.wav
I now pronounce you man and knife.wav
rest in pieces.wav
I'm back.wav
I heard there's a party in town.wav
I'll be back.wav
who's next?.wav
my shoe is bigger than this car.wav
I'm not gonna hurt you.wav
sometimes it's fun to run with the pack.wav
belongs in a museum.wav
I need a massage.wav

Back to Expendables Episode Studies