Flawed but still fun action sequel.

Rating: 7/10 (17 August 2012)

Expendables 2 is a fun follow-up to the 2010 eighties action throwback hit that isn't quite as engaging in it's quieter moments as the previous flick but, thankfully there aren't too many of those. This installment finds the gang being sent by the mysterious Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) after a downed plane in Eastern Europe to recover the contents of an on board safe. Along for the ride is Maggie (Yu Nan), a tech specialist and new sniper, Billy (Liam Hemsworth). But, they are intercepted by a gang of armed thugs headed by the cold blooded Villain (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and henchman Hector( Scott Adkins) who take their quarry and kill one of the team. Now it's personal as Barney (Stallone) and Co. seek to track down Villain and put him down. Along for the bullet-ridden ride are old rival Trench (Arnold Schwarzenegger), Mr. Church and legendary 'Lone Wolf' mercenary Booker (Chuck Norris). When the action is flying fast and furious, EX2 is a real blast. It's great to see Arnold, Van Damme and Norris back on screen doing what they do best. Van Damme in particular seems to be having fun chewing up the Eastern European scenery as the lethal bad guy and he doesn't get enough screen time, sadly, to really establish the character's full menace. Aside from an overuse of CGI blood, director Simon West gives us some good, old-fashioned rip-roaring action scenes that fit the retro action icon cast perfectly and some good hand to hand combat as well. Although some of those, especially Stallone v.s. Van Damme, could have gone on a bit longer to give them more dramatic intensity. And drama is where West stumbles. The scenes between the action, which should be engaging and strong to keep us involved until the bullets fly again, are rather ho-hum. The dramatic scenes, though few, needed some energy, some 'POP'. The camaraderie between the team members that Stallone captured so well in part 1 is weak here and because of that we are less forgiving of the cheesy dialog and the characters are less engaging because of it. Perfect example is Lundgren's Gunner who practically stole the flick first time around, is nowhere near as fun as in EX1 and the fun Statham/ Stallone relationship is also weaker. The in-between scenes also had a quicker pace under Stallone's direction last time and thus we were able to overlook the plot holes easier. But, this is an action film and there is plenty of that and who is in action is why we sat in our seat and on that level Expendables 2 delivers on what we came to see. I am all for Expendables 3 but, find a director that can put some energy in the drama, give the team their team spirit back and a writer who can give them some livelier banter... as well as deliver the carnage.