Film brings exactly what's expected: one-liners, big guns, explosions
Sylvester Stallone. Jason Statham. Jet Li. Dolph Lundgren. Jean-Claude Van Damme. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bruce Willis. Randy Couture. Terry Crews. And Chuck Norris.
No other franchise has gathered as large a group of action stars as "The Expendables" has. And as a movie with such a huge, testosterone-filled cast, the franchise doesn't leave much room for character development or plausible storytelling.
Then again, "The Expendables 2" really isn't the type of film to prompt high expectation, especially since there is some joy to be found as the movie gets dumber with mind-numbing action. Whereas the first "Expendables" (2010) took itself way too seriously, the sequel is a slight improvement with its more cartoonish action.
Though it is horribly written and barely acted at all, the action scenes are better staged with Stallone not behind the camera this time, and more humor can be found, though it isn't as self-mocking as it could have been.
Stallone returns as Barney Ross, the grizzled veteran and leader of the Expendables team. The rest of the team returns, except for Mickey Rourke, as well as new blood in the form of Liam Hemsworth as Billy the Kid and Nan Yu's Maggie, who brings a bit of estrogen to this testosterone fest.
The movie begins in the very way that is expected — with a 15-minute action-palooza involving the rescue of a Chinese businessman that has nothing to do with the overall story, serving only to give audiences what they paid to see.
The movie then turns into a mission involving the Expendables team seeking revenge against a guy whose name sounds borrowed from a James Bond movie. The villain, Jean Vilain (Jean-Claude Van Damme), is the leader of an opposing team of mercenaries who finds some weapons-grade plutonium and intends to sell it on the black market.
Most of the humor found comes from a set of some pretty clever one-liners, providing a couple of priceless moments from the more seasoned action veterans. Willis lets out a "This time I'll be back," referencing Schwarzenegger, while Schwarzenegger offers a "Yippe-ki-yay," referencing Willis. Chuck Norris even gives himself a self-referencing joke, talking about how "a king cobra bit his arm and died after five days of agonizing pain."
Under the direction of Simon West ("Con Air"), the action isn't as incoherent as the first film. There's no shaky cam like in "The Expendables," so the action scenes come out clearer. There's enough gunfire, explosions and even hand-to-hand combat to make this movie stand above its counterpart.
True, a logical story isn't expected, but just because not much of a story is expected doesn't mean it's not an issue. West begs forgiveness for this nonsensical plot by giving every good guy in this film his own hero moment, as well as giving Willis and Schwarzenegger more to do than in the first film.
There really isn't much to write about "The Expendables 2" other than to repeatedly say it is all about the action and nothing else. This is a basic throwback into '80s action films for those needing an escapist fantasy of male camaraderie and explosions. If you expect anything else, spend your money elsewhere.