“The Expendable 2” was released in 2012. (same year Now Is Good came out) It received positive reviews from critics and movie goers alike. In addition to praise, the sequel made enough money at the box office. Two Years Later, a threequel came out and it’s considered the weakest of “The Expendables” series.
My favorite action hero, Jason Statham will reprise his role as Lee Christmas in the fourth movie, “Expend4bles.” As a fan of both The Expendables series and Mr. Statham, I wanna share my thoughts on the second entry. Jean-Claude Van Damme confirmed he’ll be playable in “Mortal Kombat 1.” A reboot of the “Mortal Kombat” series.
This review contains no SPOILERS. I’m giving some of you a chance to see the second movie.
Strong & Weak Qualities
Strong: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Bruce Willis & Arnold Schwarzenegger reprise their roles and they all did an excellent job for their respective performances.
Newcomers such as Jean-Claude Van Damme, Scott Adkins, Liam Hemsworth & Chuck Norris all did a great job for their respective performances.
Action Sequences aren’t shy leaving a bloody crimson stain.
Cinematography never succumbed to technical issues throughout.
Humor has more funny moments and in-jokes on an actor’s career. For an action movie, The Expendables 2 made me laugh than these unfunny comedies from 2012.
- Pitch Perfect
- That’s My Boy
- One for the Money
- The Lorax
- A Thousand Words
- What to Expect When You’re Expecting
- Madea’s Witness Protection
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
- The Oogieloves
- Parental Guidance
- A Fairly Odd Christmas
- Fred 3: Camp Fred
- Home Alone: The Holiday Heist
The titular team have more chemistry together than the first movie.
Brian Tyler (The Fast and the Furious sequels, Iron Man 3, Crazy Rich Asians) orchestrated the soundtrack.
Practical Effects were heavily used while C.G.I. was used sparingly. A few actors did their own stunts.
Pacing didn’t take forever transitioning from one scene to the next. My eyes were glued to the screen.
I noticed the sequel has some similarities to the biggest film of 2012, “The Avengers.”
- A band of heroes must stop a villain from using an item for evil.
- The team loose a good friend and become motivated to avenge their ally.
- The main antagonist leads an army.
- A bald dude recruits the leader and assembles a crew of fighters.
- Characters are memorable. Each one has a distinctive personality.
- Both Avengers and Expendables have one-liners.
- Action Sequences are over-the-top.
After the team shoot a soldier multiple times. Barney utters out, “Rest in Pieces!” A reference to Final Destination 4’s tagline.
Lee gets an awesome pre-kill line. “By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and knife.”
On a plane, Gunnar wears a Darth Vader t-shirt. Back in 2012, George Lucas sold “Star Wars” to Disney for approximately $4 billion.
Booker’s nickname is “Lone Wolf.” A shout-out to Chuck’s “Lone Wolf McQuade.”
One scene made a Chuck Norris fact. Known for absurd yet funny memes describing what Chuck’s capable of doing something that’s impossible for a human being.
Barney calls Lee “The Flash.” The Speedster’s pal Batman, ended “The Dark Knight Trilogy” a month before The Expendables 2 was released.
Before joining the team, Gunnar went to college and major in engineering. Dolph’s also a real-life genius.
When Caesar gives Trench his big gun, he said, “If I don’t get this back, you’re ass is terminated.” An obvious shout-out to Arnold’s iconic “The Terminator” series. Plus, Arnold & Terry were in “The Sixth Day.”
The Big Battle with Barney & Vilan made a dream fight came true with Rambo vs. Luc Deveraux.
My favorite part is when Trench & Church exchange their catchphrases. “I’ll Be Back” and “Yippeekayee.” Followed by another line, “Who’s next, Rambo?”
When I saw the sequel for the first time, the audience and I went nuts seeing Sly, Arnold & Bruce shooting their way through Vilan’s army. Seeing the founders of Planet Hollywood kicking ass together earns Bonus Points for making an action movie fan’s dream come true.
Weak: I couldn’t find anything wrong. I’m giving Sly and his crew an Extra Point for making a flawless sequel as possible.
The Final Verdict: A, FOR APEX!
The Expendables 2 is arguably the best entry in the series. It’s also my sixth favorite film of 2012. My Top 5 are listed below. If you’re prepping up for Expend4bles, rewatch all three movies to get your blood pumping.
- The Avengers
- Skyfall
- Django Unchained
- The Dark Knight Rises
- Dredd
Nickthemoviecritic.com 