A good reunion of the 80's action hero,yet it is also a dull re-hash of the 80's and 90's action movie

Rating: 5/10 (26 August 2012)

in this sequel of 2010 hit box office "The Expendable" Stallone has managed to gather all of 80's and 90's famous action star in order to make his action extravagance bigger and better.the action movie is indeed bigger and way more louder than the previous movie with raining of gun blazing thousand of bullets and a large amount of explosive.with an entourage of 80's action hero,this testosterone driven action movie is kind of a detour of some of the most fun and entertaining action movie back in late 80's and early 90's. Watching both Willis and Schwarzeneger argued about their comeback in the movie is fun and also with Norris brief appearance as the Lone Wolf Booker fired up a bazooka is also exciting.unfortunately,these kind of reunion is "The Expendable 2" all about. the movie itself is kind of a rehash from the 80's and 90's action movie.it is an action movie that tries to become something fresh by combining the old and the new formula of action movie that include the action stars.despite the effort,the movie is failed in term of bringing its promise,instead its becoming a kind of dull and mindless action movie.
The story is centered on the group of mercenary lead by its charismatic leader Barney Ross and his second in command Lee Christmas.after their successful mission in liberating a country in south America from an evil dictator.the group were given another mission from Mr.Church that it seems like an ordinary simple dirty job given by Church with a decent pay.Church also introduced a new recruit to the team name Maggie,a tech specialist with military training to the team.after the introduction,they began their new mission given by Church.suddenly the unthinkable happened when they were ambushed and then being taken hostage by another group of mercenary.the ambush ended up killing their new recruit named Billy The Kid,a young kid that joined the expendables after he got out from the military.in the aftermath of this event,Barney and his expendables made a promise to take revenge on the man who had killed Billy The Kid.
The classic theme of vengeance and ruthless main villain is the main plot of the movie which is pretty much sum up the 80's style of action genre.while the use of big gun and stylish fighting scene are borrowed from modern action movie.though,its combination didn't bring something new.at one point,there is a feeling of excitement as each of the action hero get back to their roots especially Sly who has managed to do all the action by himself.another surprise that this movie has is the brief appearance of Chuck Norris who eventually come out more than just an ordinary cameo when he appeared in the last battle scene.beside Norris,it is the return of Jean-Claude Van Damme as the main villain that really make the movie become intriguing to watch.his unique accent and high kicks in the final battle really brings out the memories of watching his movie such as "Universal Soldier"(1992).This sequel could be worst without his appearance as the main villain.
although the rest of the movie is basically like any other modern action movie that borrow many reference from another typical of action movie such as "Takers"(2010) where director Simon West decide to focus on develop each character personality that eventually lead to style of action instead the dept of its character.though,The Expendable is better than Takers because it still has a drama,unlike Takers where the character action is driven only by selfish needs that eventually led up to a story where stupid and obnoxious people trapped in the struggle because of their own ego.fortunately,Sly and West are still concerned about the drama and morality of the story even though there is only several scene that truly depict that kind of morality.despite all the mind blowing and over-exaggerate special effects,the characters still have capabilities to connect to the audience with a few punchline of typical humor that simple but effective at the same time.all of the humor is naturally flow in each conversation among the mercenary,even Lundgren could be funny at some occasion.
having these kind of humor is one of the reason that makes this sequel is fun to watch,especially for entertainment.but for those who expect great action movie where there was many twist and unpredictability,"The Expandable 2" is far from that region.instead,the movie is aimed toward the people who loves 80's action movie with its clique.especially for those who love an action movie that is driven by suspense and violent,look no further than this group of old action hero.