Could be so much better

Rating: 7/10 (7 December 2012)

As soon as the movie starts, we are introduced to the action as the Expendables rescue Trench and some other guy. Back at home, Ross is approached by Church for one final mission, a mission that will even things out between them. They are to collect a drive from a crashed airplane somewhere in Eastern Europe. Along for the ride is some little Chinese computer expert girl who claims to be proficient in fighting. They extract the device but are immediately confronted with a gang of bad guys led by Van Damme's Villain who take the device which has the exact location of plutonium. As a result the newest and youngest recruit will sacrifice his life. Villain starts extracting the plutonium using as slaves all the male population of nearby towns.
Ross decides to stop Villain but he's undermanned and underpowered until Church, Trent, and even Chuck Norris appear. "Who's next, Rambo?" Wisecracks Schwarzenegger in one of the funniest lines.
Expendables 2 follows the formula of part 1: lots of shooting and some fights, an even bigger and better cast, and all in rather understated fashion. And that is its weakness. With such a cast, they should have gone for glamour and glory. Both movies suffer from lack of self-esteem due to Stallone's humbleness. While Lundgren steals the show in part 1, in this one he doesn't get to do much. It's as if the story and camera avoids him as to not give him a chance to steal the show again. It's Schwarzenegger who gets all the funny lines. But Van Damme shines as the bad guy. And he's still in shape and can deliver some great kicks. Li and Couture have minor roles. Stallone and Crews are infinitely likable. Adkins is somewhat of a revelation. It was a mistake no to cast Gina Carano as the girl like production had intended to initially. The shootings are much more bloody, reminiscent of Rambo IV with blood squirting and shooting out in by the gallons. Statham gets most of the action screen time but the fights are disappointing and underwhelming, limiting himself to throwing knives.
The large scale action is filmed OK, but some of the smaller scale fights aren't convincing. Despite all that, this movie is mild and gentle, so to speak. This movie is good, but it could have been so much better. I'm also nostalgic about the 80s but this movie could have benefited from a more updated direction. Simon West, unlike what the entire cast says, is just the wrong guy to direct this movie. I can think of countless directors who would have done a much better job. At least the cinematography is nice. Everything is bright and clear and there are no gimmicks and cheesy CGI.
There so much potential with this franchise. I just hope for part 3 they pick a more assertive style, a better director and go for more modern action. Given how self-conscious these movies are, Joss Whedon would be ideal for directing it and enriching the script. Boaz Yakin wouldn't be a bad choice either. If they want to go with someone who could bring a fresh vision, Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. or Morten Tyldum would be good.