Rip it Up

Rating: 7/10 (18 August 2012)

Greetings again from the darkness. As we get older, we expect to learn from our experiences. That's exactly what happened here. It's been almost two years to the day since The Expendables hit theatres. That first entry was directed, produced, written by, and starred Sylvester Stallone. This time around Sly sticks to acting and a script credit. Con Air director Simon West is now at the helm and the film clearly benefits from better action, improved characters and especially MUCH more humor ... the key reason it works.
Most of the familiar faces are back. Stallone as Barney, the leader of this pack of mercenaries; Jason Statham as Christmas; Dolph Lundgren as Gunner; Terry Crews as Hale Caesar; Randy Couture as Toll Road; and Jet Li as Yin Yang, though he is unfortunately only in the pre-opening credits sequence. Also back, after brief but funny cameos in the first, are Bruce Willis as Church, and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Trench. If somehow that's not enough testosterone for you, the second installment also provides Liam Hemsworth as Billy the Kid, Jean-Claude Van Damme as Villain (pronounced vi-LANE, get it?), martial arts expert Scott Adkins, and 72 year old Chuck Norris as Booker ... the "Lone Wolf" soldier.
For sake of balance, the female lead is played by Nan Yu as Maggie. She is a brilliant fighter, speaks multiple languages, yet dumb enough to fall for Barney (guessing that was Stallone's contribution to the script). While the story is necessarily simple, her role is vital in that she softens some scenes, while at the same time holding her own with the sea of steroid and botox stars.
This version is extremely likable and filled with tongue-in-cheek humor, sarcasm and wit. The guys are not hesitant about poking fun at themselves or each other ... all the while surrounded by nearly non-stop action, gun play, missile firing and other forms of over-the-top violence and action. In other words, it's exactly what we hoped it would be! (www.moviereviewsfromthedark.wordpress.com)