Insights from the Cinematic World: mercenaries

Safe House

Oscar winner Denzel Washigton and Ryan Reynolds star in Safe House. Washington plays the CIA’s most dangerous traitor, who stuns the intelligence community when he surfaces in South Africa. When the safe house to which he’s remanded is attacked by brutal mercenaries, a rookie (Reynolds) is forced to help him escape.

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Jean-Claude Van Damme was personally offered a role by Stallone, but turned it down because he felt there was no substance to the character. Stallone said that Van Damme told him that he should "be trying to save people in South Central." Dolph Lundgren was then cast as Jensen.

The Expendables

The Expendables is about a group of elite mercenaries, tasked with a mission to overthrow a Latin American dictator. It pays tribute to the blockbuster action films of the 1980s and early 1990s, and stars an array of action veterans from those decades, including Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Jet Li, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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