THE EXPENDABLES (2010)

THE EXPENDABLES is a US action thriller about a group of mercenaries on a mission to overthrow a dictatorship in a fictional South American country. The film was originally classified '15' for cinema release after a single cut was made to remove a close shot of the hero sadistically twisting a knife into a villain's neck. This DVD version of the film reinstates the footage cut from the cinema version and was therefore classified '18' for strong bloody violence.

The strong bloody violence occurs throughout the film, with the mercenaries shooting and stabbing dozens of people in a manner that is strongly reminiscent of a video game. The BBFC's Guidelines at '15' state that 'Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury'. The film contains many moments depicting the infliction of injury but most of these occur in the context of lengthy battle scenes where the general mayhem and chaos lessens the visual impact of the actual killings. However, the single moment cut from the cinema release (in which the hero sadistically twists a knife into a villain's neck) does dwell on the infliction of pain and injury and therefore exceeds the terms of the '15' Guidelines.

The film also contains multiple uses of strong language and frequent sight of knives being displayed and used.