Movie Review: The Expendables 2
The Expendables 2 is one of those critic-proof movies. No matter what any of us say, people will go see this movie if they’re fans of the genre or looking for another nostalgic trip down memory lane. To put it bluntly, this movie isn’t for everyone and I get that. Fortunately for all of you, I’m part of the population that enjoys a good trip down memory lane with all of my favorite action stars from the 1980s and 1990s. In fact, I’m willing to call this movie pure candy for a person who loves a good throwback action flick.
Just like the first film, The Expendables 2 starts off right in the middle of the action as our favorite geriatric action heroes try to save a hostage. The body count raises, but Sylvester Stallone and team save the day. One of the hostages just so happens to be a last action hero we all know and love. The action just goes from there.
After getting back from the mission that opens the movie, Stallone and team are once again put back into action by Mr. Church (Bruce Willis). This time, things don’t go quite as well as the team meets up with Vilain (Jean Claude Van Damme) and one of the Expendables ends up dead. From there, the movie switches gears from a run-of-the-mill mission-based action movie to a full-fledged revenge flick.
Along with the usual cast of characters from the first movie, Stallone is joined by other action legends Chuck Norris and Arnold Schwarzenegger. With all of that testosterone floating around, it seems pointless to mention how violent the movie gets in some parts. I usually don’t mind the obsessive violence in movies like this because it all just seems to come with the package, but towards the end it just became redundant. With people like Van Damme, Norris, and Jet Li involved, I was hoping for a bit more hand-to-hand combat and martial arts for good measure, but instead I just got more gunfights at close range. Speaking of Jet Li, I was also hoping to see him in more of the movie, but with such an all-star cast, it’s safe to say not everyone can shine.
Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Terry Crews, Nan Yu and Randy Couture in “The Expendables 2.” © 2012 – Lionsgate.
Speaking of shining, even though this movie boasted a much better cast than the first offering, Dolph Lundgren was really given an opportunity to shine here. It felt like he was having a lot of fun this time around, and believe it or not, there was some decent character development with him.
Aside from the unrelenting gun violence, The Expendables 2 was a better movie than the original in almost every way, which is a rare feat. The cast was better; the plot was better; the pacing was better; and most importantly, it didn’t feel like the Jason Statham and Sylvester Stallone show. This isn’t a bad thing of course, but with a cast this packed, I want to see them all shine. Director Simon West was able to really tighten up this film more than Stallone was able to do with the first one. For fans of 1980s and 1990s action films, seeing The Expendables 2 is a no-brainer (the plot can probably be described as that too, but it comes with the territory). This may not be the best movie I’ve seen in the theater this year, but it was the most fun.
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