Eighties action movies will always hold a special place in cinematic history, their glorious excesses a continuing influence. But although it’s been hyped as 2010’s biggest movie, there was always the possibility that The Expendables would be nothing more than an exercise in nostalgia. Luckily, it’s a little more than that.
When 17-year-old Bennie (Alden Ehrenreich) arrives in Buenos Aires in search of his long lost brother, he is surprised to find that the man he remembers as a passionate, creative writer now cuts a melancholy and isolated figure who has re-christened himself Tetro (Vincent Gallo). Although Tetro’s girlfriend Miranda (Maribel Verdu) welcomes Bennie with open arms, Tetro is less than pleased to have his sibling back in his life. As Bennie digs deeper into why Tetro left the family, it becomes clear that there are painful secrets buried in their shared past. And when Bennie finds, and decides to finish, Tetro’s deeply personal play, their relationship takes a turn from which there may be no coming back.
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