Good but not as good as the first.

Rating: 7/10 (24 February 2015)

The Expendables 2 has a bunch of explosions, realistic hand-to-hand fight sequences, and guns and gore galore just like the first movie did. However, this sequel did some things better and some things worse. Looking at the good side first, it did actually have a little big better plot development and believe it or not, even more action heroes. Adding Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme to an already loaded cast and then having Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger each get more screen time were all plusses. All of the little inside jokes were absolutely hilarious, as well. The Arnie one-liners, Die Hard references and Chuck Norris jokes were fun little easter eggs for long time action fans. The problem is that this film somehow found a way to have even less character development than the first film, feeling somehow even more shallow. I actually really missed Mickey Rourke's character in this sequel. I thought he added so much to the first film in how he seemed to humanize the cast, especially Stallone's character. I suppose you could argue that Liam Hemsworth's character does that instead but I don't think there should necessarily be a limit on depth. And while those little nods to the 80's were funny, they actually took away from the seriousness of the film. Seeing Rambo, the Terminator, and John McClane all shooting bad guys side-by-side may have seemed awesome but there was simply too much of the over-the-top element in this movie. I felt the first film found the perfect balance between giving each action hero their due while staying true to making a great movie. This film, unfortunately felt like a parody of the first at times, rather than its own movie.