Movie Review: "The Expendables 2" (2012).

Coming into the year 2012, there were several movies that I knew I'd want to see. "Marvels: The Avengers", and "The Dark Knight Rises" were the two at the top of the list. My review on "The Dark Knight Rises" can be read here. After seeing the movie "The Expendables" on DVD back in 2010, I figured that a sequel would most likely happen. When I found out that the sequel would be released this year, "The Expendables 2" also made the list of must see movies for 2012. The film was released on August 17, 2012. I was finally able to make it to the theater this past Saturday to see the film. I'm going to give my thoughts on the movie in this article. For anyone who has yet to see the film, there aren't any spoilers. Feel free to read on, and I hope you enjoy.

A good portion of the cast from the original movie returns for this highly anticipated sequel. Headlining the returning cast members include: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and Terry Crews. Action legends, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger -- whom both had cameos in the first film, return for bigger roles in this sequel. The film also features several new faces, with two of them being action movie legends. Both Chuck Norris and Jean Claude Van Damme make their return to the big screen in "The Expendables 2". Other newcomers to the series include: Yu Nan, and Liam Hemsworth. Sylvester Stallone co-wrote, co-produced, starred in, and directed the first film. He gives up his directorial duties in the sequel to Simon West.

Tagline: "Back for War".

Sylvester Stallone: Barney Ross, leader of The Expendables.

Jason Statham: Lee Christmas, The Expendables knife expert.

Jet Li: Ying Yang, The Expendables hand to hand combat expert.

Dolph Lungren: Gunner Jensen, sniper, and volatile member of The Expendables.

Chuck Norris: Booker, a retired military operative.

Jean-Claude Van Damme: Jean Vilain, leader of the mercenary team "Sangs".

Bruce Willis: Mr. Church: A secret CIA agent.

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Trench, Barney Ross's rival, and occasional ally.

Terry Crews: Hale Caeser, The Expendables barrel-weapons specialist.

Randy Couture: Toll Road, The Expendables demolitions expert.

Liam Hemsworth: Billy the Kid, newest member of The Expendables, and former military sniper.

Scott Adkins: Hector, Jean Vilain's right hand man.

Yu Nan: Maggie Chan, a CIA agent working under Mr. Church.

The Expendables are a group of elite mercenaries for hire. In the movie "Expendables 2", the team takes a mission that initially appears to be fairly easy and painless. However, things go wrong during the mission, and one of their guys ends up getting brutally murdered by Jean Viliain(Jean-Claude Van Damme). Viliain is a member of a rival mercenary team called "Sangs". Following the tragic loss of their brother, Expendable group leader Barney Ross(Sylvester Stallone) decides that the team will avenge their fallen team member's death. When asked by Lee Christmas(Jason Statham); "What's the plan"? Ross replies; "Track em, find em, kill em". The Expendables search for and track Viliain and the Sangs through Bulgaria, and end up receiving much needed help along the way. There is non-stop action during their hunt, and it all leads up to a fierce and action packed showdown.

Movie critics of "The Expendables 2" gave the movie much criticism based on it's plot and character dialogue. This didn't surprise me too much. I personally didn't expect the acting or the plot to be anything special or complicated. Most action movie lovers don't care much about acting or the plot. The action sequences and fight scenes are what people pay attention to, and this is where "The Expendables 2" shines at most. Like the original movie, this movie definitely brings back the vibe of the 80's action scene with all of these veteran action actors. Although I like the first film better, the action in the sequel was an upgrade from the original. This movie started out with an amazing action sequence that lasts 10 to 15 minutes. Another aspect of the film that impressed me, and even surprised me a bit was Jean-Claude Van Damme as the main villain in the movie. We're so used to seeing him as a good guy in his past films, so it was pretty cool to see him in a different kind of role. I personally thought he was convincing, and he done the character of Jean Vilain a lot of justice. Another thing that somewhat disappointed me was the limited screen time of a certain starring character. I will not name the actor I'm referring to in order to keep from spoiling anything. It was great to see some of the older action stars like Chuck Norris and Van Damme on the big screen again. Overall the comrade between most of the actors was great, and the added humor was a big help in keeping the film balanced.

Now comes the important question; Would I recommend anyone to go spend an 8 dollar movie ticket to see "The Expendables 2"? Well, if you're an action movie junkie kinda like myself, then of course the answer is yes. A movie with this much action, fight sequences and explosions should definitely be experienced in a movie theater. Now if you're one of those people that prefer acting and a great plot, then this movie may not be for you. You may want to wait until it comes out on DVD. Then again, I'm writing this hub under the premise that readers have seen the first Expendables movie. If you can look past the acting and see this movie for what it's really worth, then it's definitely a fun watch. I hope you enjoyed this review, and thanks for reading.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1764651/trivia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expendables_(2010_film)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expendables_2