Director: Simon West
MPAA Rating: R
Film Pulse Score: 6/10
The Expendables 2 promises to be the biggest, baddest, most explosive flick ever, with a cast comprised of nearly every action star of yesteryear, including Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, and Liam Hemsworth. But does the ridiculous cast translate into a good film? That all depends on your what the definition of a good film is. The film succeeds at what it sets out to do, with some stumbles along the way, but it’s surprisingly enjoyable, and exceeds the first in nearly every aspect.
In the film, The Expendables must prevent Van Damme from procuring, and subsequently selling, 5 tons of weapons grade plutonium from an old Russian mine. Some old friends pop up along the way, including Schwarzenegger and Norris, who aid the gang on their mission. The plot doesn’t get much deeper than that, but that’s really all you need in a film like this. All that’s necessary is a reason for these guys to get together so they can kill people and blow shit up.
And shit certainly does blow up in The Expendables 2. The film opens with immediate action, and doesn’t dissipate for roughly 15 minutes, until the opening credits hit. The action is plentiful, and explosions abound, but here is where the first issue comes up. There was some speculation a few months ago that this film would be rated PG-13 at the request of Mr. Norris. Later, it was announced that the film would be, in fact, rated R, however the end result feels like a PG-13 movie with digital gore tacked on to bloody it up. While gratuitous violence doesn’t have to be in an action movie to make it good, if you went into Rambo and didn’t see heads blown off, you’d be slightly disappointed. There’s also no foul language in the film, which further supports the speculation that a PG-13 film was the original intent.
Digital blood aside, this is still a fun movie to experience. The endless amounts of one-liners and quips from the cast make it feel that nearly everything they are saying is directed to you, the audience member. While not all of these lines hit their mark, it’s still fun to hear Chuck Norris tell a Chuck Norris joke. Yes, these guys aren’t the best actors, and they’re past their prime, but the astronomical levels of nostalgia is enough to easily recommend this to any action fan.
When comparing the sequel to the original, with the exception of the dumbed down violence, the sequel excels on every level. The stakes are higher, the dialogue is more over the top and ridiculous, and Van Damme as the villain is a perfect choice. It’s tough to have this many big characters without a few taking the back seat, and while this one handles it better than in the first, there’s still some issues with characters sharing screen time. In the last film, Arnold and Willis were in one small scene, in this one, they play much larger roles, but Liam Hemsworth and Jet Li get sidelined. This was disappointing, as the banter between the guys and Li was some of the funniest stuff in the original.
It seems like Stallone is heading in the right direction with The Expendables, and now with two more sequels announced, he has some time to refine the franchise even more. Hopefully he can work out some more kinks, and who knows, by the fourth film, we may be looking at something truly great. Let’s just hope this idea doesn’t become as old as the characters themselves.
