The Expendables 2

Barney Ross and his band of Brothers have hit a snag... the after math of the first film has seen them in debt with CIA man Mr Church and he has given Barney an ultimatum... retrieve a secret object from a downed CIA airplane, with the help of an associate of Mr Church... or go to prison for a very long time.

But the routine and easy mission takes a turn for the worst and Barney and his boys go off mission again, but this time for revenge against a man called Jean Vilain... a villain who has seriously crossed the line.


Another decent movie from Stallone and the Boys. This time round, a new director is in the chair instead of Stallone and it gives the whole aura a different yet recognisable feel.

For a start, Ex2 is louder and much more fun than it's predecessor.

The action is really the main thing but there's more of a coherant plot to this one. The reason for Barney and his men going into the battle ground is much more plausable than the original film and has much more of a personal air about it too.
The story doesn't disappoint either. It leads to a number of exciting scenes and some more sombre scenes too throughout the running time and carries the weight of the OTT action brilliantly.

It is a bit more light hearted than the first film in terms of overall atmosphere, but in a good way. It's not all serious serious serious with only hints of humour.

This time round we're also treated to some fantastic one liners that beat the original film by miles. It's very very knowing in the humour of the dialogue as well which gives a brilliant air of comedy to the mix of sombre story and explosive blood soaked action.

One thing that lets the film down is some of the CGI blood and gore. It removes some of the shock factor of the action scenes.


The acting is about the same in this one as the original.
Stallone though has been given more time to act being that he's not the director this time round. His character is able to progress more than in the first film.
Newcomer Yu Nan as Maggie, Mr Church's associate is a standout role though. She doesn't do a massive amount but she's a breath of fresh air in a film that's jam-packed with testosterone.

Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger are wonderful in the film though. They play more of a duo in the third act and seeing the pair, with Sylvester Stallone by their side, shooting guns and driving cars, spouting one liners as they go and playing off of one another for the kicks is immense to see on screen.

We're also treated to Jean-Claude Van Damme as Jean Vilain... yes, in keeping with some of the comical names we have a villain with the name Vilain... The Plank however is on top form. His natural on-screen presence lifts the character to great heights and he has a really strange and dangerous psychopathic undertone to his character. I loved JCVD in this film.
I was dubious about Chuck Norris though after some of the bad press the movie recieved... but Chuck is kept to a minimum, background character. When seen though, he's tons of fun and lifts the action too when he's seen in the thick of battle.

Sadly, there's little show from Jet Li in this one. His character had to be written out due to scheduling conflicts but he's on form while on screen.


The action and effects though are, as I said, what the film is about.

We have Sly, Willis and Big Arn side by side... we have Statham doing more acrobatics, heavy hitters with Crews and Couture, Dolph Lundgren calling everyone "insects" and some huge explosive choreography mixed with some nice stunts enhanced by some CGI work too.

Then there's a showdown at the end too between... ah, you'll have to watch, no spoilers but it's great to see the two come to loggerheads.