Chris Reviews Expendables 2

Everyone who reads this blog should know by now that the 80's action genre is probably my favorite. All of my critical perspective tends to go out the window when I watch films of that genre. With the first Expendables film I was very disappointed because it really didn't hit hard enough, does the sequel improve upon the original? Read below to find out.

The Good-
     
The action is kicked up several notches in this. We get a fantastic opening action sequence that just unloads one set piece after another. So right out of the gate the testosterone is very high. The cameos are much more effective and lengthy in this as well which is part of the reason you come to see the movie. By far my favorite part of this movie though is JCVD, now I am a bit biased as he is my favorite action hero but I think everyone will agree he is fun as hell in this. He plays a very cartoon like villain who always seems to get away from the Expendables at every turn. He has a very flamboyant charisma about him and the final showdown with Stallone was awesome if a bit short. All of the action scenes have more of a sense of fun than the original and I think that is why I liked this movie.

The Bad-

If you strip away the cool action scenes and take a look at the script, this is a genuinely terrible film. It is the most generic and formulaic story, but isn't that what this whole genre is about. The film does drag a bit in the middle but does have a few smaller action scenes to liven it up. The acting was pretty bad as well but again what do you expect in a movie with a cast like this.

Summary-

I can understand why someone might walk out of this film hating it because it is a bad movie. But if you are coming into this movie look for a well written story and moving performances your an idiot. This is a movie made for the 15-25 year old boy who loves pure violence. This movie made spending hundreds of hours watching Stallone, Arnold, Van Damme, and Lundgren movies worth it. So if old school action movies are your thing this is a must watch. Keep in mind my rating of this movies is balanced between my love for this which would be a 5 and the critical view which would probably be a 2.5.

MY RATING-

4 out of 5

 Chris "Da Franchize" Hart