Who is the Best Expendable? – Semi-Finals (You Decide!)

It is the semi-final for who is the best Expendable and now is your chance to vote. The first round already saw the elimination of big hitters of Sylvester Stallone and Jet Li, so it still all up for grabs for the final four competitors. Vote for your favorite from Pool 1 and Pool 2 in the comments below.

Polls close on 11:00 PM Pacific Time on Thursday, Aug. 16.


Pool 1: Arnold Schwarzenegger vs. Jason Statham

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Major Movie Series: Terminator, Conan
Other Notable Movies: Commando, Predator, Total Recall (1990), True Lies
Shameful Movies: Batman and Robin, Junior, Red Sonja, Hercules in New York
Methods of Killing: Brute Strength, Large Firearms
Other Keys Skills: One-liners, Broken English
Fun Facts: Former Governor of California, Former World Champion Power-lifter and Mr. Universe

Why Schwarzenegger is the Best Expendable:
Somehow unable to give up his spotlight as the world’s biggest action star even after retreating to the confines of the California governors mansion for two terms, Arnold Schwarzenegger is not an bodybuilder with which to be trifled (not that many should be). If the crippling and soul-sucking world of politics was unable to fell the Austrian Oak, what chance would a mere mortal have? Unlike a number of those calling themselves “action stars” today, Schwarzenegger has brawn to go with his efficiency with a firearm (and one of any caliber and size). He’s defeated aliens, robots and baddies from around the globe and even battled Batman for a brief stint in the '90s, I’m told. Nobody has — and perhaps nobody ever will — eclipse the mantle held by Arnie. Frankly, if Schwarzenegger joins The Expendables they should change their name, because with him on their side, they’re anything but.


Jason Statham

Major movie series: The Transporter, Crank
Other notable movies: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, The Bank Job
Shameful movies: In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, Revolver, War
Methods of killing: martial arts
Other key skills: Stripping, the self argument
Fun facts: Former male model, former diver for Great Britain

Why Statham is the best Expendable?
Emerging from nowhere to star in two Guy Ritchie movies, the British star Jason Statham (a.k.a. The Stath) is one of the few genuine actor stars left, leading action movies on both sides of the Atlantic. Known for his martial arts abilities, a strong wit and willingness to strip off, The Stath has created two of the biggest action heroes in recent cinematic history, Frank Martin (who had a cameo in Collateral as well as start in The Transporter Trilogy) and Chev Chelios, and his movies are often popular with action fans. The Stath can kick a lot of ass with his expert fighting skills, does his own fighting and stunts and has recently been linked to the “Fast and Furious” and “Transformers” franchises.




Pool 2: Dolph Lundgren vs. Bruce Willis

Dolph Lundgren

Major Movie Series: Universal Soldier
Other Notable Movies: Rocky IV, A View to a Kill
Shameful Movies: Masters of the Universe, The Punisher
Methods of killing: Firearms, boxing
Other key skills: 3rd deg. black belt in Kyokushin Karate
Fun facts: Holds a master's degree in chemical engineering, worked as a bouncer and a bodyguard before coming to Hollywood

Why Lundgren is the best Expendable?
Lundgren proves that some muscle-men have a brain that grows proportionally with their biceps. In addition to spending two years in the Marine Corps and winning back-to-back European karate championships, the Swedish meathead earned a master's degree in chemical engineering, and was long rumored to have an IQ of 160. Plus, he once put Stallone in intensive care for four days while filming Rocky IV. Can any other action star claim to be as smart as they are deadly?


Bruce Willis

Major Movie Series: Die Hard
Other Notable Movies: The Fifth Element, Pulp Fiction, 12 Monkeys, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Sin City, RED
Shameful Movies: Cop Out, Hudson Hawk, The Jackal
Methods of killing: Small firearms, sarcastic remarks
Other key skills: Indestructibility
Fun facts: Born on a German military base, first person to "act" in a video game (Apocalypse)

Why Willis is the best Expendable?
Yes, Bruce Willis did come to fame in the cheesy romantic dramedy series Moonlighting, and yes, he made The Return of Bruno. So the fact that he's still one of the greatest action heroes of all time despite these decidedly un-macho origins speaks volumes to the charisma and testosterone this guy has at his disposal. He's the star of one of the greatest and most enduring action movie franchises of all time, one that forever took the genre out of the hands of muscly goons like Arnie, and gave it over to the average joes. All you'd have to do is shout Die Hard over and over again to prove his legendary status…so I will. Die Hard, Die Hard, Yippee-Ki-Yay, Die Hard, merry Christmas Argyle, Die Hard.


~Kieran Freemantle, Sam Woolf, Simon Brookfield