The Expendables 2

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris, Liam Hemsworth, Nan Yu
Directed by: Simon West
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
2012

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: The Expendables travel to Asia to retrieve a computer with a map that leads to weapons-grade plutonium.

Review:

Tim: While The Expendables showed promise, it was certainly a flawed movie. There was definitely hope that a sequel could improve on the original. And, in fact, The Expendables 2 is indeed better than the first film- although only marginally better. Still, this is a franchise that is enjoyable even when it's not perfectly made. This sequel is flawed, but it's fun.

As in the first film, the main reason to see this movie is for the amazing all star cast of action movie stars. This film wisely builds on the core from the first film, giving us an even bigger and more impressive cast. That is easily the best part of the film. Let's dive into it. We once again have Sylvester Stallone in the lead role. Stallone has so much experience with these kinds of films- it was fun to see him in this role again. He wisely handed off directing duties this time around, so he was able to focus more on his performance. He was great to see here. I was also excited to see Jason Statham back as Stallone's #2. While their banter still seemed forced, Statham brings so much to these films- he definitely has a strong action movie pedigree, but he's still relatively young. He brings a nice blend of experience while also being able to perform many of his own stunts. It was great seeing Statham back.

Jet Li wasn't interested in returning, so he compromised by having a very small role in the beginning, explaining his departure from the team. For all intents and purposes, he's not a factor in this film at all. Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture were fine, but I honestly wish they would be killed, because neither of them is particularly interesting to me. I was sad to see Mickey Rourke declined to return, because he was one of the best parts of the original film.

The cast has some nice additions- Jean-Claude Van Damme was very well cast as the villain. While I was shocked to see how much he's aged (when was the last time he was in a worthwhile movie?), he's still in great shape, and I really enjoyed his performance here. It was over-the-top, but vintage Van Damme. It was also fun seeing Chuck Norris make an appearance, although his role was a bit silly and his presence felt forced throughout the entire film.

One of my biggest complaints about the first film was that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis only made glorified cameos. That is what I (and most people, I imagine) really want to see- we want to see Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Willis just ripping things up and killing people. I loved that Schwarzenegger and Willis had much more screen time in this film. Their roles were expanded, and while not up to the level I'd hope for, it was great seeing them involved in actual action scenes. Schwarzenegger and Willis have a few great moments on screen time together. I know it'll never happen, but I would love to see Lundgren and Couture jettisoned, and Schwarzenegger and Willis to have equal screen time with Stallone and Statham. Still, I'll take what I can get, and I loved their bigger roles here.

The story is fine, although it's nothing special. It was co-written by Stallone, and features exactly what you'd expect from a movie like this. The plot is definitely secondary- it really just serves to get our heroes into multiple scenarios where they have to shoot their way out of. There's a lot of killing, gunfights, explosions, and everything else you expect from this kind of movie. None of it is particularly engaging or fascinating, but it's fun to watch such carnage and mayhem on screen. There's definitely a good deal of action throughout the film. While that doesn't make a great movie, it is at least fairly enjoyable to watch.

Like the first film, The Expendables 2 is worth seeing if you're a fan of action movies, because it is incredible to see all these action heroes together in the same film. Yes, the banter is incredibly forced, but you still get to see Schwarzenegger and Willis trading trademark lines, you get to see Chuck Norris basically deliver a "Chuck Norris fact", you get to see Van Damme and Stallone battle one-on-one, and lots more. The whole thing is ridiculous, but it's fun in a silly way. I would not consider this a good movie, but it's a decent film. I do believe this movie is slightly better than the original. While it's still not good enough, I honestly hope they make this a trilogy- and if they do, I can't wait to see who they get for the second sequel.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Expendables, Rambo, Die Hard, War, The One, The Transporter, Rocky, Maximum Risk