Its just not what I ever dreamed about when I envisioned all the classic action men together in one film. Statham didn't come along till the 2000s. I somewhat resent him being in with this lot. I'm sure he's a great action man and all but I have zero nostalgia associated with him. I wouldn't have minded if his was Jet Li sized role.
That's not the point of the franchise though, it's not bringing back the classics alone, it's bringing back the old guys and growing a new generation. Stallone's biggest thing is he felt that the action genre stopped needing "manly" leads and guys like him became obsolete, the Expendables is a showcase of the old, some of the new who fit the profile, which Statham definitely does, and turning some guys into action starts like Terry Crewes and Randy Couture. I think the idea is, Stallone's the action guy of then and Statham's the guy of now, and while you could probably say Sly and Arnie are about tied for who's more the icon of classic action movies, but as far as now, I don't think anyone personifies it better than Statham, the Rock tries but I just don't think he's as good.