Chan-Li Vehicle Stuck in Neutral

Action flick less than the sum of its all-star parts

(NEWSER) - Sylvester Stallone directed and co-stars, alongside a Magnificent Seven-style roster of action-film legends—Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, and Jason Statham—but critics have some issues with The Expendables.

• James Verniere (and a friend), Boston Herald : "Hulk like Expendables. It SMASH. Guns go BANG-BANG. Things go BOOM. Fire EVERYWHERE. Cars crash and make even MORE FIRE. HA-HA-HA. Hulk no like Rourke, though. Rourke NUTS."

Not even an action star can save this flick

(NEWSER) - An ex-spy corralling a crew of unruly munchkins seems like a recipe for PG fun, especially when that spy is Jackie Chan. But critics agree—The Spy Next Door just ain't funny.

• This is True Lies without the striptease or Arab-maiming," writes Michael Phillips for the Chicago Tribune. "It’s hard to imagine anyone being offended, except fans of good comedy."

The Expendables also stars Rourke, Li

(NEWSER) - Musclemen Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis are uniting for one last action flick, the Guardian reports. The Expendables, slated for release next year, tells the story of a band of mercenaries in Latin America, and will show the three grizzled stars together for the first time since the launch of their unsuccessful Planet Hollywood restaurants. More»

Franchise feels distinctly creaky

(NEWSER) - The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is more than a little musty. The third movie in the cycle features "more ancient corpses come to life amid digital effects laid on with a trowel," Jane Horwitz writes in the Washington Post, but the "tiresome and messy" result doesn't measure up to the martial arts and Indiana Jones movies it liberally borrows from. More»

Kingdom takes first, but audiences fall for Sarah Marshall

(NEWSER) - Jackie Chan and Jet Li KO’d the competition at this weekend's box office, Entertainment Weekly reports. The Forbidden Kingdom finished first with $20.9 million, kicking raunchy romantic comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall to second with $17.3 million. Other debuts stirred up little action: The Al Pacino thriller 88 Minutes ranked fourth with $6.8 million, and Ben Stein’s Expelled took ninth, banking $3.2 million. More»