The Expendables 2. Rated MA 15+ (strong action violence). 102 minutes. Directed by Simon West. Screenplay by Richard Wenk and Sylvester Stallone.
Verdict: Hollywood’s action movie royalty blow the place –
and everyone in it – to bits. Better than anyone.
Make no mistake. Sylvester
Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Dolph Lundgren,
Jean-Claude Van Damme and Jet Li are action movie royalty – and the guilty
pleasure of seeing them all sharing the big screen together is impossible to
resist. Between them, these men have created some of the most iconic roles in a
seemingly endless list of unforgettable movies that includes Rocky, Rambo,
The Terminator and Die Hard.
In this sequel to the
hugely successful The Expendables
(2010), our team of Hollywood heavyweights regroup to ensure a payload of
weapons-grade plutonium doesn’t end up in the hands of the tyrannical Jean
Vilain (Van Damme). Also along for the ride are Jason Statham, Terry Crews (Terminator
Salvation) and Nan Yu (Speed
Racer) as Maggie – while Liam Hemsworth’s fine cameo as
‘Billy the Kid’ is the trigger for all the death and destruction that follows.
West (Lara Croft: Tomb
Raider, Con Air) and cinematographer Shelly Johnson’s (Jurassic
Park III, Captain America: The
First Avenger) appear to
instinctively understand (and greatly respect) the inherent value of their
precious cargo, and the rock solid direction and cinematography never miss an
opportunity to let the cast do what they still do better than anyone.
Similarly, Wenk and
Stallone’s screenplay ploughs through its big action movie territory in
spectacular fashion, with, perhaps not unexpectedly, some genuine laughs along
the way (watch out for Schwarzenegger and Willis sending each other up during
the airport terminal sequence).
It also needs to be said,
however, that this is an especially violent and gory film – with the opening
search, rescue and destroy sequence an almost mind-numbingly gruesome affair.
By the end of the film, the body count is astronomical – with one
weapon-wielding extra after another having been dispatched with astonishingly
blood-lusty and equally ruthless efficiency. So don’t say you weren’t warned.
This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.
Everybody here knows that they are just making another loud, stupid, crazy action film that’s not going to change the world, but still offer you plenty of entertainment in a short limit of hour 40 minutes and that’s all that mattered to me. Great review Geoffrey.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dan. Might we have expected anything less?
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