The Expendables 2 (2012)
Director: Simon West
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li
The first Expendables movie wasn't very good. And I say that as someone who had been really looking forward to it. I'm an enormous fan of 80s action flicks, and mindless action in general. Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Willis, I love all those guys. And Jason Statham is a more recent favorite of mine as well. So the staggering mediocrity of Expendables was heartbreaking for me. The movie had so many huge personalities, and yet somehow managed to be so bland and forgettable. The movie was so bad in fact that I prayed there wouldn't be a sequel. Because when a movie I don't care about is bad, it doesn't bother me one bit. But I couldn't stand the prospect of getting my hopes up for another Expendables movie, only to be disappointed again. Unfortunately for me, Expendables 2 was announced before I even had time to recover from my shock at the failure of the first movie.
Surprisingly though, Expendables 2 manages to accomplish the rare sequel feat of surpassing its predecessor in quality (something many of the action movies series' to which Expendables pays tribute certainly failed to do). Sylvester Stallone wrote, directed, and starred in Expendables, and I fear he may taken on too much with the first movie. So Stallone made perhaps the first vital step towards ensuring the quality of it's sequel when he stepped down as director. Simon West takes over directing duties for this one, and proves more than competent in doing so. Stallone does get writing credit for Expendables 2, but his writing partner has changed, and thus I assume that screenwriter Richard Wenk can be credited for the dramatic improvement of the writing between this movie and the first one. I don't expect the dialogue in this sort of movie to be of Shakespearean quality, but I would like something a little better than the grade-school level lines spouted by the characters in the first Expendables. By comparison, the characters in Expendables 2 sound like characters in a Tarantino flick.
Not to say that everything is smooth sailing. Some of the conversation certainly seems forced, and the one-lingers are frequently cringe-worthy (in a bad way). The frequently shoe-horned in inside jokes and references to other movies are also a little overdone (although I must admit, this movie made me laugh at a Chuck Norris joke...in 2012). The entire sequence in the plane with Liam Hemsworth (am I the only who struggles keeping up with which Hemsworth is which?) was also laughable for all the wrong reasons. It was designed to develop Hemsworth's character and provide some exposition, but it was all far too obvious and cheesy, even for this movie. When he reached the end of his war-time sob story and randomly threw in the fact that, to top it all off, his adopted dog had been killed too, I nearly laughed out loud at the transparent attempt of this movie to drum up sympathy for a character who would obviously be killed or taken hostage at some point later.
For the most part though, Expendables 2 flows nicely. The action sequences, as you would expect, are good, although a little same-feeling. Statham once again stands out as one of the few cast members young and talented enough to do something other than fire a gun while yelling intensely. And while these movies are typically short on character development (by design), there is some, particularly for the characters portrayed by Dolph Lundgren and Terry Crews. One problem with the first movie was that there was just so much going on, and too many characters, which is one reason I don't blame director Stallone for faltering. An unfortunate side effect of that was that many characters felt short-changed or under-utilized, but there is less of that here. Pretty much everyone gets some chance to shine, except again for poor Jet Li, but that is forgivable given that he parachutes out of a plane about fifteen minutes into the movie and is never seen again.
As promised, there is a lot more Bruce Willis and a lot more Schwarzenegger in this one, and I have to admit it was really fun to see all those guys on the screen at once gunning down bad guys. Chuck Norris is also OK for what little screen time he has, and Jean-Claude Van Damme is, surprisingly, a very solid, if not generic, villain. I couldn't help but marvel, and at times be distracted by, how good most of these guys look, considering nearly all of them are well over sixty years old. Score another one for Hollywood movie magic.
So in the end, perhaps the greatest compliment I can pay Expendables 2 is that I am actually looking forward to the sequel this time. I'm also looking forward to discovering what random seemingly over the hill action stars will be added to the mix this time. I just hope for our sakes that Stallone stays out of the directing chair for part three, and also that none of the principal actors break a hip before filming can start. Good luck, Sly.
Verdict: 7/10
Surprisingly though, Expendables 2 manages to accomplish the rare sequel feat of surpassing its predecessor in quality (something many of the action movies series' to which Expendables pays tribute certainly failed to do). Sylvester Stallone wrote, directed, and starred in Expendables, and I fear he may taken on too much with the first movie. So Stallone made perhaps the first vital step towards ensuring the quality of it's sequel when he stepped down as director. Simon West takes over directing duties for this one, and proves more than competent in doing so. Stallone does get writing credit for Expendables 2, but his writing partner has changed, and thus I assume that screenwriter Richard Wenk can be credited for the dramatic improvement of the writing between this movie and the first one. I don't expect the dialogue in this sort of movie to be of Shakespearean quality, but I would like something a little better than the grade-school level lines spouted by the characters in the first Expendables. By comparison, the characters in Expendables 2 sound like characters in a Tarantino flick.
Not to say that everything is smooth sailing. Some of the conversation certainly seems forced, and the one-lingers are frequently cringe-worthy (in a bad way). The frequently shoe-horned in inside jokes and references to other movies are also a little overdone (although I must admit, this movie made me laugh at a Chuck Norris joke...in 2012). The entire sequence in the plane with Liam Hemsworth (am I the only who struggles keeping up with which Hemsworth is which?) was also laughable for all the wrong reasons. It was designed to develop Hemsworth's character and provide some exposition, but it was all far too obvious and cheesy, even for this movie. When he reached the end of his war-time sob story and randomly threw in the fact that, to top it all off, his adopted dog had been killed too, I nearly laughed out loud at the transparent attempt of this movie to drum up sympathy for a character who would obviously be killed or taken hostage at some point later.
For the most part though, Expendables 2 flows nicely. The action sequences, as you would expect, are good, although a little same-feeling. Statham once again stands out as one of the few cast members young and talented enough to do something other than fire a gun while yelling intensely. And while these movies are typically short on character development (by design), there is some, particularly for the characters portrayed by Dolph Lundgren and Terry Crews. One problem with the first movie was that there was just so much going on, and too many characters, which is one reason I don't blame director Stallone for faltering. An unfortunate side effect of that was that many characters felt short-changed or under-utilized, but there is less of that here. Pretty much everyone gets some chance to shine, except again for poor Jet Li, but that is forgivable given that he parachutes out of a plane about fifteen minutes into the movie and is never seen again.
As promised, there is a lot more Bruce Willis and a lot more Schwarzenegger in this one, and I have to admit it was really fun to see all those guys on the screen at once gunning down bad guys. Chuck Norris is also OK for what little screen time he has, and Jean-Claude Van Damme is, surprisingly, a very solid, if not generic, villain. I couldn't help but marvel, and at times be distracted by, how good most of these guys look, considering nearly all of them are well over sixty years old. Score another one for Hollywood movie magic.
So in the end, perhaps the greatest compliment I can pay Expendables 2 is that I am actually looking forward to the sequel this time. I'm also looking forward to discovering what random seemingly over the hill action stars will be added to the mix this time. I just hope for our sakes that Stallone stays out of the directing chair for part three, and also that none of the principal actors break a hip before filming can start. Good luck, Sly.
Verdict: 7/10
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