Expendables 2

 

The Expendables 2 is a 2012 action film directed by Simon West and written by Sylvester Stallone, David Agosto, and Ken Kaufman. It is the sequel to the 2010 film The Expendables and stars Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Liam Hemsworth, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris, and Bruce Willis. The film follows the Expendables, a team of aging mercenaries, hired to complete a mission that goes wrong, leading them into a conflict with a ruthless arms dealer.

The story was interesting however, the film's execution is poor. It was full of clichés and plot holes. The script was worse than the original. The dialogue at times was poorly written. The characters constantly crack jokes and one-liners, even in the middle of serious situations. This made the film feel cheesy and undermined the drama. Even though some of the lines were ill timed I did appreciate a couple of lines that were more self-deprecating or where they were in on the joke of how ridiculous it was that men in their late 50s and 60s were action heroes, which made it a bit more tolerable.

This casting was the first time I saw how Stallone or the director West, bring in a lot of actors who had once fallen from grace and are in a sense giving them a second chance (Jean-Claude Van Damme as Vilain, Chuck Norris as Booker). Neither of the characters however were very impressive or memorable. Additionally the cast makeup was lacking, especially the terrible mustache on Stallone.

The action sequences were often unrealistic and over-the-top. The last fight sequence in particular was unnecessary and the accompanied dialogue was painful.

In the end, The Expendables 2 was a disappointing sequel to the 2010 film. It suffered from a weak script, over-the-top action sequences, and some truly terrible dialogue. It is a film that is best avoided by all but the most die-hard fans of this franchise.