In the 2010 film "The Expendables," Sylvester Stallone plays team leader Barney Ross. Ross is a veteran mercenary who commands an elite group of contract soldiers known as the Expendables. He is the team’s strategist and moral center, balancing hard-edged combat experience with loyalty to his fellow operatives.
The team is hired to overthrow General Garza, the corrupt ruler of the fictional island nation of Vilena. Ross initially approaches the mission cautiously, but his concern for Garza’s daughter, Sandra, and his belief that the local people deserve freedom draw him deeper into the conflict. The squad includes Lee Christmas, Yin Yang, Gunner Jensen, Toll Road, and Hale Caesar.
Barney Ross is separate from Stallone’s famous earlier characters. Rocky Balboa is the boxer from the Rocky series, John Rambo is the soldier from First Blood and its sequels, and Dutch Schaefer is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character in Predator. Stallone also directed and co-wrote The Expendables, helping establish its ensemble of action-film veterans and launch a successful franchise.