The Expendables 2 (2012)

Rating: 7/10 (26 August 2012)

The Expendables 2 is the ultimate fan service and gives us even more than we got for the first installment. The Expendables 2 sees Barney Ross and his team having to pay back Mr. Church by going on a simple mission of retrieving an item from a downed plane. All goes well until Jean Claude Damme shows up. Van Damme is an excellent villain. He is clearly having a lot of fun and looks damn cool at the same time. The film just builds up to action set-pieces and cameos that don't always make a lot of sense, but are much appreciated. With so much going on, not everyone gets their due. Li has to leave early on to make some room, and Crews and Couture are sidelined for more A-List stars for the finale. The final action sequence what you paid your money for. Stallone, Willis, Lundgren, Norris, Schwarzenegger and Van Damme all taking part in a single action scene. It's great to finally see it but it does go too much towards comedy as the characters trade their famous catchphrases. The film has delivered on its promise even if there is a distinct lull in the second act where the dialogue is cringe worthy and it tries too hard to develop characters we don't really care about. I am now very excited for Stallone and Schwarzenegger's next projects and The Expendables 3.