Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and his team of elite, gun packing mercenaries are once again recruited by the mysterious Mr Church (Bruce Willis) for what seems like a simple collection job. But when one of his team his killed during the job, and the target stolen by the ruthless Vilain (Jean-Claude Van Damme) the mission turns into one of revenge, that can only end when all the bad guys have been blown to smithereens.
Frankly speaking, this film is exactly what everyone was expecting - a rough idea of a story, followed by an hour and a half of explosions and people being shot to pieces. But it isn't fair that people still rip on this film because of that alone. It is wrong to judge this film as anything more than what it is - an hour of fun, over the top violence that is just meant to entertain for a bit. Accept this film as that and don't have expectations for anything more, and then it's possible to have a good time.
That being said, even when you drop your expectations of this film, there are a good few flaws to see. Obviously, there is little to expect from the story....actually there is a set up, and then explosions, that's about all. Most of the dialogue is based around the actors ripping on each other for the fact they are old: mostly this is good for a few laughs, but sometimes it comes off sounding either very bro-mantic or even a little gay (someone should have given the script a once over). The cast give the same level of performance as The Expendables, but the cast has been extended to drop Jet Li, give Schwarzenegger and Willis bigger parts, and even include Chuck Norris (who basically lives up to every chuck norris quote on the internet). The cinematography and editing are pretty good, but some of the long and wide shots are a bit fuzzy, again it couldn't have hurt to get a once over. And of course the action is the most redeeming quality of this film, giving you draw dropping excitement and just some bad ass stunts from every heart pounding second.
The Expendables 2 is exactly what one expects from its predecessor, and anyone who expects more will be sorely disappointed. Enjoy the film for the action and seeing the old action stars do their stuff and you are guaranteed a good time.
