The Expendables 2

Review by Adrian Slattery

Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham and some other muscled dudes. That’s really all you need to know about The Expendables 2, the second instalment in Stallone’s action movie hall-of-fame franchise.

The film delivers everything you would expect and little else, but in this unique circumstance it really doesn’t matter. Stallone & Co won us over decades ago with their gun-toting, ass-kicking, one-lining, USA/world-saving heroism, and for that we are indebted.

Expendables 1 and 2 is basically the film version of your favourite band from yesteryear reforming to tour and play the hits one more time. This is the era we find ourselves in, and you could argue our culture is in such decline that we favour washed-up mediocrity over fresh unproven talent. But come on, the original Spice Girls are hanging out and performing ‘Wannabe’ again, that’s awesome... right?!

You could call Expendables 2 the "I’ll be back" tour. For one, the Expendables team is back obviously, and two, Arnie whips out his signature line so many times that it is begging to become the trigger for a drinking game. The strength and major selling point of the film is its nostalgia for the classic action genre that made cinematic and cultural icons of these muscle men.

Expendables 2 makes no bones about this; it is entirely self-aware of its meta-purpose. Whereas the action films of old got by on their unintentional over-the-top machismo and snappy—retrospectively cheesy—dialogue, Expendables 2 perpetrates cringe-worthy one-liners and way-over-over-the-top action sequences ad infinitum with precise intent.

It is purposeful so-bad-it’s-good filmmaking: the acting is awful, the plot is formulaic, and the action-hero cameos are ridiculously forced—see Chuck Norris. Yet no matter how cynical your approach is, seeing Rambo, Arnie and John McClane throw a bunch of dumb lines at each other while unloading millions of rounds of ammo into foreign henchmen is undeniably enjoyable.

It is ultimately more of a parody or tribute to the action genre than an action film in its own right, and for the studious audience it lays the generic blueprint bare on the table. To briefly sum it up, tough—mostly American—guys are forced to take down evil foreign—Eastern European or Asian—dudes who are storing/selling nuclear materials/devices.

In this sense Expendables 2 is exactly like MacGruber, just not as funny (An aside, if you love campy action films and enjoy the humour of them, you must see MacGruber).

The motives for the film’s production are questionable. Are these action stars making it for themselves, the audience or the loads and loads of cash (ummm...)? Regardless, Stallone has created a unique cinematic exhibition with the Expendables franchise, housing these iconic action dinosaurs in an everlasting testament to what they did best—dish out sweet vengeful justice with maximum theatrics.

While the content of Expendables 2 presents nothing new, conceptually it is a fitting tribute to the action genre and the men that defined it.

2.5 out of 5

The Expendables 2
Australian release: 30th August, 2012
Official Site: The Expendables 2
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Jean Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger
Director: Simon West