| “ | If you don't want that Fu Manchu knocked back into the '60s, you'd better keep your gum-chewing trap shut, and show some respect! | „ |
| ~ Gunner |
Gunner Jensen is one of two tritagonists (alongside Toll Road) of The Expendables franchise.
He was played by Legendary Dolph Lundgren, who also played The Punisher / Frank Castle in The Punisher, Anders in The Best Man (2023), Claude Luc Hallyday in Showdown at the Grand, and King Nereus in DCEU’s Aquamam films.
Personality
Gunner is highy strong and dangerous, as well as formally educated as a chemical engineer. It's implied in the first film that he has had an ongoing issue with substance abuse and is generally a lose cannon in both films. He's crass and vulgar. He's got some light hand to hand training and carries a large bowie knife, a Milkor MGL multi-shot grenade launcher and at times a generic automatic weapon. Though listed as a sniper on both official film websites, he's not often seen using this informed attribute. Jensen views himself as a viking of the modern age.
History
In his youth, Gunner earned a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering and went to M.I.T. then he dropped everything to become a bouncer in the hope of getting closer to a dancer who ended up tackling him.
At some point, Gunner joined the Expendables and his unstable personality was quickly noticed.
Expendables
Infiltrating a boat under the control of the Gulf of Aden to free hostages, Ross tries to make a ransom exchange, but when the pirate leader calls for more, Gunner loses patience and starts a shootout. The team makes it out alive just to find that Gunner wants to hang a survivor. Ying-Yang interferes with his teammate, injuring him in the face with his steel-tipped boots until the Swede gains the upper hand with his superior strength. Barney Ross interrupts the fight by pointing a gun at Gunner's temple and telling him to stop strangling Yang. Following this, Ross decides to do without Gunner due to his mental instability.
Gunner nevertheless returns later to Ross's garage to find out if a new mission is planned. Ross rejects his help, stating that he cannot trust her. Taking it very badly, Gunner leaves in anger and claims that they will regret it.
Subsequently, Gunner goes to find the Expendables' target James Munroe to inform him of his former team's plans against him. When one of Munroe's henchmen criticizes his revelations, Gunner punches him and threatens him with his gun while yelling at him to show respect.
As a potential loyalty test, Gunner is sent out to be eliminated by Yang. His first attempt in a car is based on a failure followed by a pile-up. He then decides to settle it with his bare hands and although at first overwhelmed by Yang's martial arts, Gunner's extraordinary resilience allows him to pull himself together and outdo his former teammate with his raw strength. Before he has time to impale Yang on a metal bar, Gunner is shot by Ross. Beginning to die, Gunner appears to be remorseful and reveals to Ross how to get Munroe, while also asking for a victim's funeral.
At the end of the movie, it turns out that Gunner survived and was reinstated in the Expendables after being forgiven.
Expendables 2
Deployed in Nepal, the Expendables accompanied by their recruit Billy the Kid engage in force behind the wheel of their armored vehicle. Once they get inside the building, they find hostage Dr. Zhou as well as Trench Mauser, a former partner of Ross and leader of a rival team. Trench orders Gunner to untie him by calling him Frankenstein, which the Swede does only after Ross is told to do so. Despite yet another enemy attack, the team managed to flee aboard their plane.
Flying over China, Gunner helps Yang fix the parachute on Zhou while talking to his partner who is about to jump too, who he could tease if he is no longer there. Yang jokes that Gunner will find another minority. The two friends exchange a fist bump before the jump. Back at their favorite bar, the team teases Gunner about dropping out of college just for a girl who ditched him.
The next day, the team is sent on a mission by Chruch to mop up a debt story related to the events of the first film. They are also assisted by Maggie Chan with whom Gunner tries to filter at the beginning but without success. Arriving in Albania at the site of a plane crash carrying an invaluable object, Gunnar and Toll are sent to keep watch. The object recovered, the team is ambushed by the mercenary team named the Sangs led by Jean Vilain. Billy having been taken hostage during the recovery of the mysterious box, the team deliberately throws their weapon on the ground and gives the object to Villain but Billy unfortunately ends up murdered.
After burying their friend, the Expendables set off to hunt down the Sangs for revenge. They arrive in Bulgaria where they have some trouble with the Bloods, only before their salvation to an old friend of Ross, Booker. The team later attacks the mine where the Sangs extract plutonium but end up buried alive. Remembering his knowledge of chemistry, Gunner tries to blow up one of the walls but his idea is ultimately unsuccessful. They are however rescued by Trench and Church puit storm the base of the Sangs. In the end, Barney kills Villain, thus avenging Billy.
Expendables 3
The Expendables extract a former Expendable, Dr. Death from a military prison before returning to Somalia to intercept a shipment of bombs. Sadly, nothing goes as planned, with the team coming up against another former Expendable who is believed to have died and gone rogue, Conrad Stonebanks. In the fight, Caesar is badly injured, forcing the team to retreat. Feeling bad about what happened to Caesar and refusing to lose another friend, Barney disbanded the team much to their dismay.
However, when Barney's new youth squad are captured, Gunner and all the others join Barney before he takes off to go save them, refusing to be knocked down once again. The veterans manage to rescue the young people in Azmenistan only to find themselves surrounded by enemy forces. Despite some tention between new and old, the two teams manage to join forces to escape and kill Stonebanks. They, along with a recovered Caesar, celebrates their victory at a bar.
Expend4bles
Coming Soon
Trivia
- Lundgren already walking with Sylvester Stallone (Barney Ross' actor) in Rocky IV, 25 years earlier.
- The Gunner's Master in Chemical is based on the real life of Dolph Lundgren.
- More the story progresses, the more a reliable person Gunner becomes.