Review of The Expendables 2 (2012) by Quincytheodore — 21 Aug 2012

A movie so crammed with testosterone and gunpowder you can whiff it oozing from cinema screen, The Expendables 2 is everything I expected it to be. It's literally a line up of almost every action heroes for the past two decades, shooting dozens of extras with probably thousands of bullets. This movie is self-aware enough to make jokes about itself, using cliche puns for self-deprecating instead of macho bravado to entertain audience. It's efficient, predictable and quite fun actually.

It has a degree of story, decent enough to get things started, although it doesn't push the movie beyond the ludicrous over-the-top premise, and it doesn't really intend to. Safe to say, it's a group of mercenaries against another, the only downside is the lack of villains, only Van Damme and Scott Adkins plays the bad guys. It gives a decent set-up for the carnage to come, even though some ridiculous scenes change the short tone of seriousness.

The cast do what they are supposed to; shooting and bashing people, then pose for camera for a catchphrase. For what it's worth, Stallone has a screen charisma and believable as an experienced leader of this rag-tag band. Van Damme as antagonist is imposing, mostly because he brings knife to gunfights. They don't exactly escape their action hero roles, but the script uses more personal touch so they look more natural instead of acting at some parts. There are a few chuckles here and there, some in the expense of Lundgren or Chuck Norris' internet joke. It embraces the silliness rather than pretending the audience will buy their overly stern personalities. The rest of the script is accumulation of catchphrases from ye olden days, highly overused and could derail the movie from the plot, yet oddly still entertaining. Set pieces are more constructed this time, the end stretch in airport gleefully reminds me of Max Payne 3. For those who wait the mano-a-mano showdowns, there are some to be had as Adkins and Van Damme provide convincing threats.

This time, Willis and Scha... Shcwaz... Arnold also have more screen time, I think fans will appreciate them shooting side by side. Action is predictably loud, explosions everywhere and piles of dead bodies. It's not exactly the type of excellence from melee brawl The Raid had offered though. For all the bang and cheesy one-liners The Expendables 2 brings, it won't go beyond the hay day of action movies despite the modern grimy visual. If you come for just that action overdose, that's plenty here.