Mini Review
Viewing Date - 26th August 2012
UK Release Date - 16th August 2012
Anyone out there not seen The Expendables? Well it's a lot like The Expendables 2 so don't worry, it won't take long to catch you up! Sylvester Stallone plays Barney Ross, the leader of a team of mercenaries with special skills who frequently get hired to take out the bad guy, rescue someone or blow stuff up. In this second installment they rescue Trench (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and then are hired by Church (Bruce Willis) to retrieve a load of buried Plutonium before it falls into the wrong hands of Vilian* (Jean-Claude Van Damme).
As you might expect there are a lot of explosions, people being shot at, car chases, escapes, and some more people being shot at. The times when the film tries to be anything more than this, for example when the team experience the loss of a comrade, are laughable, and not in a good way. These guys know how to look pumped but they've all forgotten how to act. There is more cheese here than in dairy isle at your local supermarket!
I did enjoy Chuck Norris' cameo and was glad they didn't overuse him. Bruce Willis and Arnie certainly had more to do this time around too which was nice. I just don't really know what else to say about Expendables 2 as I don't honestly know how they could have made it better. I guess it was enjoyable for what it was but unless you're looking for a cheesy all action, no brains type film, stay away. 5 out of 10.
*IMDb are spelling this Villain, Wikipedia Vilain and the official Expendables 2 website are spelling it Vilian so this is what I've gone with. If anyone goes to see the film after reading my review can you please let me know how it's spelt in the end credits and I will change accordingly. Thanks!
Viewing Date - 26th August 2012
UK Release Date - 16th August 2012
Cast Overview:
Sylvester Stallone ~ Barney Ross
Jason Statham ~ Lee Christmas
Jet Li ~ Yin Yang
Dolph Lundgren ~ Gunner Jensen
Chuck Norris ~ Booker
Jean-Claude Van Damme ~ Vilian
Bruce Willis ~ Church
Arnold Schwarzenegger ~ Trench
Terry Crews ~ Hale Caesar
Randy Couture ~ Toll Road
Liam Hemsworth ~ Billy The Kid
Scott Adkins ~ Hector
Nan Yu ~ Maggie
Director ~ Simon West
Writer(s) ~ Richard Wenk (Screenplay and Story), Sylvester Stallone (Screenplay), Ken Kaufman (Story), David Agosto (Story) and David Callaham (Characters)
Good review LadyK. The first one had its moments, but this one has plenty more of that and with plenty more iconic faces that I have missed seeing for so long. Hopefully this means that they’ll be back to stay for good. Hopefully, though.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dan. You know I appreciate your thoughts as a fellow reviewer. It was definitely the faces that made it enjoyable.
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