The Expendables 2

[CJohn]

I am just happy Stallone did this. I would probably never knew what those guys would be capable of doing whitout the existance of this movies. After seeing the Expendables 2 two times, I just wanted to see some older movies of Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Van Damme and Chuck Norris. They are fantastic, nobody can come even close to them in action movies.Btw, I saw an old and hilarious scene of Arnold Schwarzenegger in WWE last night. Arnold beating up Triple H was epic!

[CJohn]

Do you have a link for that? How did you find out?

I saw an interview with Simon West, and he said that he wanted Li in the film, so they had to go to his country, with a specialized team for him to film the fight scenes.EDIT: I am trying to find the link, but I have no idea where it is. Edited September 1, 2012 by CJohn

[baumer]

I saw an interview with Simon West, and he said that he wanted Li in the film, so they had to go to his country, with a specialized team for him to film the fight scenes.EDIT: I am trying to find the link, but I have no idea where it is.

I kind of understand that. Li wasn't showcased enough imo in the first. His fights in this one were much more indicative of his true martial arts acumen. It's just to bad he wasn't in it longer.

[The Movie Man]

Never MInd, as same old discussion continues.

Edited September 1, 2012 by The Movie Man

[The Movie Man]

Just watched the frist movie, and truthfully I am wondering if alot of you even remember it!* Statham > Jet LI - as a matter of fact, Statham was the star of tthe first movie.* To the ones who complained about Jet LI and Dolph getting shortchanged, what about Randy Corture and Crews? As Randy easily over Dolph, as he kicked the shit out of Steve Austin, that Stallone wasn't even doing....and Crews had the Chuck Norris part in the first movie...saving the day unexpectedly with the big gun.* And on Dolph, he had 1 average fight scene in the first movie, so I don't know why he would he this great fighter in #2.* And Dolph was really a jerk in 1 - being a jerk in the beginning, where he tried to hang the pirate, and then a traitor in the middle, who luckily didn't get a bullet in the head....And since he was such a head case, they never should have taken him back on the team. Especially since, if Stallone didn't stop him he would have killed Jet Li twice, in the beginning and the middle.* Lastly, thinking about the new stars in #2, the only way that they would have come on, if they were promised some good time and shots, so if the others got these extras you guys wanted them to get....then they should have just continued with the same team from 1...and not bring in any others...which wouldn't have been right. IMO.PS. Just notice, how much the plot of this came from the Magnificent Seven, at least or maybe others before it. (The Seven Samurai?)

Edited September 3, 2012 by The Movie Man

[DeeCee]

I'm in the this is what the first one should have been camp. I didn't follow the production of the first one very carefully so I felt a bit cheated when I finally saw it. It was great seeing everyone get some kick ass scenes and all the corny one-liners. The badder they were the funnier it got.

[The Movie Man]

I'm in the this is what the first one should have been camp. I didn't follow the production of the first one very carefully so I felt a bit cheated when I finally saw it. It was great seeing everyone get some kick ass scenes and all the corny one-liners. The badder they were the funnier it got.

I agree that the new stars added a definite fun factor....and most here agreed that they like #2....

A(9 votes [52.94%] - View)

Percentage of vote: 52.94%

[*]B(5 votes [29.41%] - View)

Percentage of vote: 29.41%

[*]C(3 votes [17.65%] - View)

Percentage of vote: 17.65%

[*]D (0 votes [0.00%])

Percentage of vote: 0.00%

[*]F (0 votes [0.00%])

[IndustriousAngel]

Fun flick, even more brainless action and more jokes than Expendables 1 - pitch perfect. Never tries to be more than it is which is quite enough for 2 enjoyable hours. And if nothing else, those frayed and partly mouldy gramps give us a fine lesson in "why you should never ever let people like Farrell, Renner or Owen carry an action movie".

[The Toymaker]

The Expendables 2

This is a blast from start to finish. But I will say that to enjoy this you have to like the stars in the movie and like their respective careers. If you do not, then you're just going to get overly critical about a movie that is pure entertainment.

I loved the movie. It was really great. I watched it in China (opening day, first showing), so I felt, like I did with the first, that a lot of the bloody scenes were cut. It just cut at weird times when I thought something great was going to come. That ruined it slightly for me. What made up for it was the great dialogue and surprisingly interesting scenes of talking/relaxing, which I really wanted because the first movie seemed to move at such a pace. Stallone and Norris are talking on the bonnet of the car, that was nice.

I was sad to not see Novak Djokovic at all after hearing about him having a cameo! Where was he?

Dolph was underused. I will see it again, and again, and again, but to my recollection he wasn't in the final action sequence at all in the airport. I don't remember him firing a single shot there. He should have been more of a ruthless maniac expendable, rather than the comic relief, because quite frankly his acting isn't good enough to do that. I loved the "I could die for some Chinese" and "She's into me" lines. Great stuff. There were lots of jokes in the film, and I also really enjoyed the subplots, like Statham's fiancee and Hemsworth's girl in Paris. Next time I'd like to see more of Stallone and Dolph's personal life; there must be something.

There's so much to talk about with this film that I feel I cannot cover it all now. Randy Couture and Terry Crews were basically second-strong characters that didn't get much screen time. Crews got a little bit more due to his gun and his 'guns', but is reduced to a joke pretty throughout.

The sentimental stuff, like rescuing the Albanian miners, was fine with me. As a lifelong Stallone fan, I know that Sly likes to write this sort of stuff into the script, so I'm used to it, and I liked it. What is wrong with trying to humanize these characters? You can still enjoy the action if that's what you've come for.

Van Damme was a gem as Jean Vilain. I loved his over-the-top [what seemed like] ad-libbing, but in my opinion it should have been more OTT, would've been even better. He needed to be more of a threat too and given more screen time.

When Arnie, Willis and Sly are all shooting in the airport, the camera is not positioned very well at all, and I think that should have been done better. Arnie and Willis are there, but they don't do much apart from shooting, and it felt like we were being given a treat, rather than them being part of the plot.

What surprised me was how most of the shots in the trailer happened in the opening scene. The film offered many more scenes and circumstances than I thought it would, and I absolutely loved how badass Van Damme was - he wanted everyone to be killed, and they didn't try to water him down at all.

I think in he next one Statham really has got to take of his black garb. Go fight in T-shirt and jeans for a scene or two. Mix it up. Sly seemed to change clothing a lot.

Hopefully Li is in the threequel because when he fights there is such an authenticity about it that the others, even couture, cannot match. I love to watch Li. Even in the first one he is sidetracked with care for his family, so it was no surprise to me that he left so early and never came back. I just wish Dolph had more to say. Norris' cameo was fantastic. The music that plays when he came on was great. I thought that Van Damme may have died in a more spectacular way, but Adkins sure did. I absolutely adored the way that Hemsworth dies. What a Van Damme special.

Yu Nan was great. Very sexy with her British sounding voice and lovely curves. She can also kick some ass, but the best thing about her character is that she was intelligent and not, as some think, part of the Expendables. She is just an aquaintance. But that can all change in the third movie. I liked how Dolph's real life qualifications were used in the movie and all the real world references were good too, if overdone.

Overall, there were a few problems, but nothing major, and this movie really kicked ass. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first because of the high tempo of [and my heightened excitement to see] the first, but I still enjoyed it no end. It has a different pace to this one, but they kept the music the same, thank God for that.

A

[baumer]

Thank you Algren. You said it all beautifully. I feel pretty much exactly the same way you do, with the grade an all.

[The Toymaker]

Baumer, did you notice Djokovic at all? and how many times have you seen it?

[The Toymaker]

I will say one thing about TE2 that TE1 lacked; TE1 seemed to have tunnel vision a bit, whereas TE2 had a more filmy feel to it. TE1 was action, direct in-your-face action, non-stop. TE2 was a story, more grande. There were more locales, more scenes of people NOT just on Vilena or at the Expendables hideout, which is what made TE1 quite narrow, visually. TE2 had many more places, and at any time I did not know where they would be next; in a bar at the beginning with the friends, nice touch, Church on his CIA plane, nicer touch; Van Damme in the mist of the field, didn't expect that; walking through the woods; meeting Yu Nan on bikes first....there was just...more.I am so pumped for a third. This is about more than just the action now. Sly has written characters, and I want to see more of those characters' lives. I also want to see some violence from those characters. The Expendables 3 seems like a great canvas to display those points.

Edited September 4, 2012 by The Toymaker

[The Movie Man]

Glad someone other than me of course brought up Coulture and Crews. Instead of just Dolph, especially consideing Dolphins was a loser and a traitor in the first movie.

[baumer]

Baumer, did you notice Djokovic at all? and how many times have you seen it?

No. I didn't.I have seen it three times now. I will try to see it one more at the theaters.

[baumer]

Glad someone other than me of course brought up Coulture and Crews. Instead of just Dolph, especially consideing Dolphins was a loser and a traitor in the first movie.

The reason we want more Dolph is because we know he is capable of doing more. He is a real life karate or kickboxing champion. He has been an action star and he was Drago. For me, I want to see him show us more.

[The Toymaker]

Dolph's art is karate.I think the only ones that have fighting experience are Jet Li (Wushu, among others), Dolph (Karate), Chuck (Karate), Van Damme (Karate), Couture (MMA) and Adkins (no idea). The rest are only actors.

[baumer]

Dolph's art is karate.I think the only ones that have fighting experience are Jet Li (Wushu, among others), Dolph (Karate), Chuck (Karate), Van Damme (Karate), Couture (MMA) and Adkins (no idea). The rest are only actors.

Yes. Although Statham is (I read) a black belt. He has never competed in tournaments or anything, but he is a trained martial artist.

[The Toymaker]

I wouldn't be too sure about that. But, I am happy to be wrong about this.

[The Movie Man]

Yes. Although Statham is (I read) a black belt. He has never competed in tournaments or anything, but he is a trained martial artist.

From IMDB > Well trained in Mixed Martial Arts and is an expert in Kickboxing.Personally, I don't think you get too high up in these professions without doing alot of fighting, at some levels. I mean, he sure didn't kickbox against himself. LOL!

[jb007]

A straight forward actioner that does exactly what it intended to. I loved the interactions between Arnold, Willis, Stallone. I was completely entertained.A-