What a difference two years makes.
Back in 2010, Sylvester Stallone (Rambo, Rocky) assembled an all-star cast of 80s action stars for what was promised to be a no-holds-barred, down-and-dirty, kick-ass action throwback to the hardcore blockbusters of an earlier decade, when heroes didn’t sparkle in the sunlight, but were manly men with bulging muscles who shot big guns, killed untold numbers of villains, saved damsels in distress, and offered up cheesy one-liners.
The Expendables turned out to be an exercise in unreached potential and false advertising. Yeah, it was a relatively fun action movie with some pretty cool parts, but it wasn’t as epic as it could have been and while Bruce Willis (Die Hard) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator) were featured prominently in the film’s trailers, their roles were but mere cameo appearances, good for some epilogue quips and then gone forever.
Back in 2010, Sylvester Stallone (Rambo, Rocky) assembled an all-star cast of 80s action stars for what was promised to be a no-holds-barred, down-and-dirty, kick-ass action throwback to the hardcore blockbusters of an earlier decade, when heroes didn’t sparkle in the sunlight, but were manly men with bulging muscles who shot big guns, killed untold numbers of villains, saved damsels in distress, and offered up cheesy one-liners.
The Expendables turned out to be an exercise in unreached potential and false advertising. Yeah, it was a relatively fun action movie with some pretty cool parts, but it wasn’t as epic as it could have been and while Bruce Willis (Die Hard) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator) were featured prominently in the film’s trailers, their roles were but mere cameo appearances, good for some epilogue quips and then gone forever.
These shattered dreams of what could have been are what have earned The Expendables an IMDb score of 6.5/10 and RottenTomatoes scores of 41% (critics) and 58% (audience).
Yet if you look at the new film, The Expendables 2, you will find an IMDb score of 7.8/10 and RottenTomatoes scores of 67% (critics) and a whopping 82% (audience). Online comment boards are filled with fan-boys raving about how much fun they had watching the sequel.
Yet if you look at the new film, The Expendables 2, you will find an IMDb score of 7.8/10 and RottenTomatoes scores of 67% (critics) and a whopping 82% (audience). Online comment boards are filled with fan-boys raving about how much fun they had watching the sequel.
So why the turnaround in support from first film to second? Primarily, it is because The Expendables 2 finally delivered on the promise of seeing some of the very best classic action stars fighting with and against one another on screen. Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris (Walker, Texas Ranger), and Jean-Claude Van Damme (Bloodsport) all have chances to fill the screen with their larger-than-life celebrity personas, causing mayhem and making some very self-aware jokes along the way.
Of course, when all of those icons are joined by fellow legend Dolph Lundgren (Showdown in Little Tokyo), current film heroes Jason Statham (The Transporter), Jet Li (The One), and Terry Crews (Street Kings), wrestler Randy Couture, and young, rising star Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games), you have an incredibly overloaded movie. Even though Li and Hemsworth exit the film relatively early, Statham, Crews, and Couture end up amounting to nothing more than bodies to return enemy fire.
Then again, it’s not like the filmmakers needed or wanted more time to foster character development. It’s just not that kind of movie. The Expendables 2 gives fans exactly what they asked for: big names, big explosions, and Chuck Norris! And those ingredients add up nicely to a thrilling, funny (sometimes intentionally, sometimes accidentally), and memorable ensemble movie.
Of course, when all of those icons are joined by fellow legend Dolph Lundgren (Showdown in Little Tokyo), current film heroes Jason Statham (The Transporter), Jet Li (The One), and Terry Crews (Street Kings), wrestler Randy Couture, and young, rising star Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games), you have an incredibly overloaded movie. Even though Li and Hemsworth exit the film relatively early, Statham, Crews, and Couture end up amounting to nothing more than bodies to return enemy fire.
Then again, it’s not like the filmmakers needed or wanted more time to foster character development. It’s just not that kind of movie. The Expendables 2 gives fans exactly what they asked for: big names, big explosions, and Chuck Norris! And those ingredients add up nicely to a thrilling, funny (sometimes intentionally, sometimes accidentally), and memorable ensemble movie.
Praise for the film’s flash aside, the plot of The Expendables 2 is mostly interesting, despite being as over-the-top and clichéd as its stars. An antagonist has enslaved a village of destitute inhabitants as he attempts to dig up a previously lost stockade of weapons-grade plutonium. The Expendables must stop him because (1) a terrorist obtaining nuclear materials is bad, (2) it will clear their $5 million debt to the secretive government agent Church (Willis), and (3) along the way the villain makes their conflict personal and they want revenge.
Such a premise allows the film to have almost as much story as it does stars. Perhaps in the third film we may also get some character development! Yep, - surprise! – as I stated earlier, there is little to no character growth in the film and the actors are not expected to accomplish anything great or convey much emotion with their lines; they’re just there to throw punches and kicks, squeeze triggers, and just be cool.
Such a premise allows the film to have almost as much story as it does stars. Perhaps in the third film we may also get some character development! Yep, - surprise! – as I stated earlier, there is little to no character growth in the film and the actors are not expected to accomplish anything great or convey much emotion with their lines; they’re just there to throw punches and kicks, squeeze triggers, and just be cool.
That being said, Van Damme, who had turned down a role in the first film, makes a decently menacing bad guy, if a bit boring. And the film refuses to stoop to the level of degrading and stereotyping a newly introduced female Expendable (Chinese star Nan Yu), even though it would have been easy to do so in a film filled with so much testosterone.
Really, all the acting is about average. But it is having these leading men together that makes The Expendables 2 an exciting movie to watch. It’s loud, it’s good-naturedly ostentatious, and never takes itself too seriously. In a time filled with some very grave issues, it is fun to imagine a few charismatic heroes can step up and accomplish the impossible. We love these stars and often wish either they were real or that we were them. As a feat of almost perfect escapism, The Expendables 2 may not always be realistic, but it’s fun and, after all, isn’t that why we go to the movies?
The Final Word: Go buy a ticket and get excited for the third film!
Really, all the acting is about average. But it is having these leading men together that makes The Expendables 2 an exciting movie to watch. It’s loud, it’s good-naturedly ostentatious, and never takes itself too seriously. In a time filled with some very grave issues, it is fun to imagine a few charismatic heroes can step up and accomplish the impossible. We love these stars and often wish either they were real or that we were them. As a feat of almost perfect escapism, The Expendables 2 may not always be realistic, but it’s fun and, after all, isn’t that why we go to the movies?
The Final Word: Go buy a ticket and get excited for the third film!
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