More of the same

Rating: 6/10 (18 September 2012)

The Expendables 2 is a film that knows what is required of it but its problems lie not with being bad per Se but with how it has been written. It starts out playing it completely straight and to be fair it pulls it off slightly. It is fun to watch and at the same time tries to somewhat build a story even if its in a very ridiculous sense. The team go for what should be an easy paycheck but get more than they bargained for when one of their team dies. All of the cast are back save for Jet Li who despite what the marketing says is used to only a very small degree. Apart from this though Sylvester Stallone does at least attempt to enhance the film into having an ensemble cast save for the climax. All of them do what is expected but in my view Dolph Lundgren steals the show with a humorous performance. There is a shed load of action which is a great deal of fun and does triumph at times. To the film's credit it does not attempt to shy away from what it was always meant to be and delivers an enormous amount of action and of course one liners, etc. The problems with the film though lie in the fact that it can't decide whether or not it wants to be satirical, with some especially cringe worthy but amusing lines being used to this effect. It is almost like it is deciding it wants to take a heavy handed satirical touch late on in the film. It it however quite a lot of fun and is worth a watch, you will absolutely know what you are in for though when you see the film.