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The Expendables 22012 | 102 min | R | 2.39:1
I was a great admirer of Sylvester Stallone’s “The Expendables,” released two years ago. A brutal throwback to the sweat-stained, no-nonsense actioners of the 1980s, the picture was undeniably rough around the edges, yet contained a slick appreciation for genre necessities and broheim comfort. After its unexpected box office success, we’re now faced with “The Expendables 2,” a crisp sequel that employs a great deal of hindsight to move ahead as a possible franchise. Stripped of Stallone’s tendency to ramble, the follow-up is a more traditional bruiser, barreling forward with waves of violence, self-aware humor, and a rowdy supporting cast pieced together out of newcomers, B-actors, and martial art icons. 
Out chasing paydays and bad guys, Barney (Sylvester Stallone) and his “Expendables” team are soon locked into a raw deal with Mr. Church (Bruce Willis), who demands repayment of money owed, sending in associate Maggie (Nan Yu) to help retrieve the location of a plutonium stash in Eastern Europe. Stealing the information is Vilain (Jean-Claude Van Damme), a ruthless terrorist out to make a killing in the bomb business. Hungry for revenge, Barney, Toll Road (Randy Couture), Gunner (Dolph Lundgren), Hail Caesar (the always entertaining Terry Crews), Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth), and Lee Christmas (Jason Statham) suit up for duty, using their skills with weapons and blunt force to thwart Vilain’s dastardly plan. And when all else fails, extra help arrives in the form of friendly mercenaries Booker (Chuck Norris) and Trench (Arnold Schwarzenegger), who beef up Barney’s makeshift army as the gang inches closer to their target. Attempting to support mindless violence with a meditation on teamwork and global politics, Stallone threw a curveball with “The Expendables,” attempting to update the style of aggressive cinema that turned him into a household name. Passing directorial duties to Simon West, Stallone is more of a passenger for this round, co-scripting (with Richard Wenk, who directed “Vamp” many moons ago) a straightforward tale of villainy concerning a man appropriately named Vilain. It’s not a drastic cerebral comedown from the first installment, yet “Expendables 2” is noticeably broader with its characterizations and situations of survival, striving to amplify visceral elements that tickled audiences the first time around. It’s a safe approach, commencing the sequel with a greatest hits package of bloodshed, bullets, and brawn as the squad infiltrates a Nepalese fortress to rescue a kidnapped Chinese billionaire. 
The opening 10 minutes of the feature is a total gas, highlighting deafening weaponry and semi-smooth banter between the boys (criminally, Jet Li is reduced to a cameo for this round), returning to the muscle-bound magic that defined the original picture. Past the explosive welcome mat, “Expendables 2” carries itself like a Bond movie, with Van Damme chewing the scenery as Vilain, having a ball as the thorn in Barney’s side. With a Euro antagonist, a mine filled with bomb ingredients, and a fist-pumping revenge plot, the sequel doesn’t waste any time finding a ripping pace that comfortably works in bonding time between the soldiers, exposition with Maggie, and the meaty action sequences that strain credibility, but in all the right ways. Despite a checkered filmmaking past (including “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” and “The General’s Daughter”), West is kept on a tight leash here, playing scenes for their innate bigness, without stylistic distractions, leading with an eardrum-smashing sound design and extended presentations of extreme violence. “Expendables 2” is enormously entertaining, even navigating a few goofy one-liners and direct career references with Stallone, Willis, and Schwarzenegger. Chuck Norris even makes a Chuck Norris joke. The sequel doesn’t take itself too seriously, though it’s hardly camp, working to satisfy fans with fierce shootouts and heavy equipment, while returning to the good-old-boy mentality of the previous picture, keeping the beer-swilling, classic rock atmosphere alive. The performances match this screen energy, with Stallone in a particularly heroic mood as Barney pounds his way through enemies, while Lundgren is given more to do as the brilliant madman, Gunner. Nan Yu is perhaps the only true disappointment of the feature, barely making an impression beyond her broken English and lackluster fight scenes. Casting could’ve been a lot more interesting with her character. Thankfully, Willis and Schwarzenegger pop up for the grand finale, juicing up the shenanigans with their brief but effective screen time, shattering glass and destroying an airport alongside the battling heroes. 
Despite some emotional content tucked into the pockets of the picture (to explain further would be entering spoiler territory), “Expendables 2” is primarily devoted to big screen hellraising, embracing its position as a mayhem machine. It’s not particularly clever (Barney to a corpse riddled with bullets: “Rest in pieces!”), but it’s a lean moviegoing experience that delivers on core genre requirements with an aged perspective. Frankly, these old guys still make the finest racket around. Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Terry Crews, Jet Li Director: Simon West » See full cast & crew |
 
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