Expendables 2 Was Awesome!

I just returned from the theater from watching Expendables 2 and this is the first movie this summer that not only met but exceeded my expectations. I saw the original a few summer's ago and enjoyed it but I felt this one was better; a lot better. I was burned out on super hero movies and wanted to see some ripped action heroes kick butt, shoot bad guys and blow things up instead of men in tights with weird powers duke it out against computer generated backgrounds. The original Expendables was a fun return to the eighties action flicks with most classic action starts in the film. Expendables 2 one ups the first film by adding better dialogue and better humor mixed in with awesome action scenes, and just about every action star you could want in the film. This movie has Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Randy Cotoure, and Jean-Claude Van Damme in a major or minor role. The greatest thing about this one is how pleasantly surprised, well, pleasantly shocked at how great Jean Claude Van-Damme was as the villain. I have always liked action flicks, but never thought Van-Damme was a great actor. I watched a handful of his movies, and his martial arts prowess was always impressive but his performance at times was either dull or laughable. His dramatic scenes in Bloodsport are nearly comical. However, Van-Damme plays the villain in this movie nearly like an Oscar winning pro. Yes seriously. I also did say nearly. He comes across as this vicious, sick, cruel bastard that just gets under your skin from the moment you meet him. Your dying to just punch the guy once you met the character and, as expected, Stallone and Van-Damme beat the tar out of each other in the last scene. Since you couldn't touch a guy like that in real life, we get to see Stallone beat the snot out of him for you. As a martial arts fan, I appreciate Van-Damme's talent so I wish another student of Asian fighting arts got to beat him in the movie but what can I say; this is a Stallone flick, and his scrappy boxing and wrestling look effective so I'm satisfied. Statham mixes it up plenty of times in this film for other fans of the Asian martial arts, and the beginning features the talents of Jet Li so I can't complain. Lastly, I love the fact it's called Expendables 2. Not Expendables Reloaded, Expendables Rising, Expendables Falling, Expendables: Curse of the Bad Protein Shake, or some witty name that with more sequels becomes a strained metaphor. It somehow makes it more eighties and more gritty.   


Expendables 2 was another must see for action fans, and the movie's good enough for non action fans to enjoy it or sit through the flick amicably. I honestly believe this is because Stallone lent his enormous and under rated writing talents to the screenplay. Stallone actually wrote or contributed to the screenplay of his most iconic and successful roles including Rocky and Rambo. One person I brought along that usually doesn't like this kind of movie came out with a smile on this face, and said it was just plain fun to see all the heroes he grew up with in one film, and to see old guys be the hero. That sums up the fun of both flicks well. It's safe to say those who only appreciate dramatic films like Black Swan  or the french art film every film student is talking about, and I haven't seen and probably never will might want to stay away. For those, like me, who appreciate a wide variety of movies and like a good summer action flick then look no further than Expendables 2.