The modern world may be chaotic, unpredictable, and a general disaster, but some things remain beautifully consistent: Jason Statham will always find his way onto the streaming charts, and his character Lee Christmas will always remain the most unintentionally festive action hero in cinema history. And this week, Statham’s holiday-adjacent tough guy has officially returned to the spotlight, as The Expendables blasts into the Top 10 on Pluto.
Released in 2010, the film marked Statham’s first collaboration with writer, director, and co-star Sylvester Stallone, kicking off a four-movie franchise and a fan-favorite partnership that would spill over into Homefront three years later, all the way to A Working Man this year. Alongside Stallone, Statham’s weapons expert Lee Christmas forms the emotional backbone of the group — which is hilarious, given that Christmas is literally his last name and Statham now dominates December streaming like a tinsel-covered terminator.
A synopsis for The Expendables reads:
“Mercenary leader Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and his loyal men take on what they think is a routine assignment: a covert operation to invade the South American country of Vilena and overthrow its dictator. But, when they learn that the job will be a suicide mission, they must choose redemption or the destruction of their brotherhood.”
Also starring Jet Li, Terry Crews, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, and more, The Expendables promised a throwback to old-school, explosive, bone-crunching action. Critics weren’t fully onboard, though, giving it a 41–42% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Was ‘The Expendables’ Successful?
You bet it was. Despite the poor reviews from critics, The Expendables remains one of Statham’s highest-grossing films, hauling in $268 million worldwide from a budget of $82 million, including $100 million domestically. It finished as the 28th highest-grossing film of 2010, beating out several prestige releases and even topping its opening weekend over Eat Pray Love, the Julia Roberts “live, laugh, love” movie that venerable film critic Mark Kermode once referred to as “Eat, Pray, Love, Vomit.” It spawned a number of sequels, including the most recent EXPEND4BLES which, let’s be honest, didn’t quite hit the mark. But for fans, they’ll always have the original.
The Expendables is currently streaming for free on Pluto, making this the perfect time to revisit Statham’s unofficial holiday persona. Stay tuned to Collider for more streaming updates.