Finally, the manliest movie of the year has finally arrived and in full-on explosive force! The Expendables 2 is officially out and this orgy of action has a high body count, is full of hilarious surprises and will make most people that see it very happy.
After coming back from a “routine” rescue mission, Barney Ross’ (Sylvester Stallone) old friend Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) shows up one night to let Barney know that he still owes him and that he has a new mission for his group of mercenaries (Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Randy Couture and Liam Hemsworth). Reluctantly taking on the new mission and the addition of a Church employee, Maggie (Yu Nan), the Expendables suit up and head to the wilderness to hunt down a computer that shows the location of five tons of weapons-grade plutonium. As they are about to complete their mission, one their own is caught by an evil group of mercenaries, led by Jean-Claude Van Damme and his right hand man Scott Adkins, who take the computer and eventually kill one of Stallone’s boys. It is at that point when the movie turns from a “find the object, bring it back” type of film to one driven by revenge.
Directed by Simon West, The Expendables 2 is a step up from the original in that it’s a film driven by even more of a killer instinct motive than the first one, revenge. As a result, you expect the fights to be more vicious and the kills to be more brutal since there is anger and hate driving it all. That expectation is certainly met and done so with ease. The action in this film is unreal, explosive and intense. When there is a fight scene it last for a minimum of five minutes and makes sure to blow your mind, literally, with tanks, cannons, shotguns, knives and both intentionally and unintentionally bad/hilarious one-liners.
Is this movie better than the first? If you asked me on Monday I would have said no, but as of today I would have to say yes. There are two reasons for this. First off, there is actually a great villain in the form of Jean-Claude Van Damme. He was so good and, besides the action, the best part about the movie and the perfect counterpart to Stallone’s Barney Ross. Secondly, you get to see Norris, Stallone, Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger fighting together in one scene. But what really makes it a side-splitting and testosterone driven scene to watch is seeing Willis and Schwarzenegger driving around an airport in a smart car, conducting drive-bys with heavy automatic weapons. Yes, that does happen and yes, it is awesome.
I’m not going to tell you the point when Chuck Norris, aka the lone wolf, arrives, but I will say that when he does, it is one of the funniest, random and most applaud worthy entrances of any action star in recent memory. To top it off, he even has his own Chuck Norris joke to tell which will get any crowd into a riotous tizzy. He’s just a baller and that’s all you need to know.
I normally don’t care or pick up on plot holes in a film, it’s not my specialty, but you shouldn’t even care about them in this film. If you’re one of those people who cares about continuity, realism or a story that makes sense, then don’t bother seeing this film as every surprise entrance from a
n outside character will drive you nuts.
I have only two issues with this movie. The first one is that my boy Jet Li bows out very early. He only fights once and then disappears. He is replaced by the talented Yu Nan, who holds her own for sure, but you can’t top Li. Secondly, the drama or dialogue in between the action sequences is pretty bad and though it is funny at first, it eventually grows old and a little boring making the film feel like it’s dragging its feet.
In conclusion, if you are a man, you need to see this film. If you are a woman, don’t see Sparkle by yourself and join your man next door while he’s seeing this movie. If you don’t have a man, see this movie and imagine the man you hate on all of the heads of the evil-doers. If you like Chuck Norris (or his jokes) you need to see this film. If like to see shit explode, see this movie. If you want to see Terry Crews yell ridiculous lines and Dolph Lundgren act like a scientist, then see this movie. Basically, all I’m trying to say is, no matter you class, gender, ethnicity or opinion of action movies, go see The Expendables 2, it’s a mindless action flick designed and written by the guys who made this their trademark and they execute it like champs (most of the time).
Rating: Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren, Willis, Schwarzenegger, Van Damme and Norris. Did you need another reason? (6.5/10)
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