• Cast
• Stunts
• Testosterone Level
• Script/Plot
• Corniness

Fast paced action from beginning to end, The Expendables 2 is the best man-movie of the year. Every action hero returns to the big screen from the first installment of this badass series. From high flying stunts to heavy artillery, nothing is missing from this blockbuster, even Chuck Norris made an appearance. We get to see some match-ups between several heavy hitters; Stallone and Van Damme being the favorite of the whole thing, but Jason Statham and Scott Adkins was a close second. With everyone reeking havoc, not a single boring moment occurred in the entire two hours.

The Good

The Cast

Considering Simon West recruited every actor that can probably kick your ass, the performances didn’t disappoint, especially in the action scenes. The rugged rag-tag crew of The Expendables returned for the sequel with new faces that add a fresh dynamic and sexy aspect to the cast. The sexy is mainly due to Liam Hemsworth, who is absolutely perfect and his character is as sweet as could be. With a take-no-prisoners ideology, the team leader and his faithful right-hand man, Stallone and Statham, deliver kick-ass performances. Jean-Claude Van Damme was a face we haven’t seen in a while, and he absolutely ruled as the villain named “Vilain” (good one, Stallone). With Chuck Norris and Arnold Schwarzenegger joining the cast, Simon West took no chances in making this the most manly movie ever.

Stunts

When I say stunts, I should clarify that the entire movie was all stunts; not a single scene excluded guns or fighting, which kept the action high and the energy in the theater reflected that. Several fight scenes grabbed the audience members’ attention so much that some gasped and shouted along with the cast, which is exactly what should happen. The heavy hits were so devastating and realistic that it was easy to forget everything was choreographed. The blood shed was epic, and I can only imagine how many bullets the cast went through.

Testosterone Level

Through the roof. I mean, to start with there are only about ten women in the entire film, and only one has a substantial role. When you take every actor in Hollywood who has made a name for himself by means of kicking ass, it would be silly to expect anything less than the most intense. I don’t even think many women were included in the crew either, thats how badass this is. Explosions, automatic weapons, and the coolest vehicles made, this a must see if you possess any ounce of testosterone. I really can’t emphasize enough to all my male readers to make your girlfriends go. If they don’t like it, break up with them.

The Bad

Script/Plot

Just… bad. Stereotypical comebacks and one liners littered the script. Not to knock my boy Stallone, some of it was good, but the majority of it was just cliche and stale. I was hoping for at least a little creativity in the dialogue but it just did not impress me. I will say the plot wasn’t terrible, a basic revenge scenario but way more ass-kicking and killing than the average film. The great thing is that the revenge is not over some scorned love, which is pretty cool as well. I still feel like I heard every line before, probably in one of the actors other films. There just isn’t much else to say in those situations I guess, so they just have to repeat themselves.

Corniness

This goes with the one-liners and cliche lines that were laughable at their lameness. Often I caught myself saying, “are you serious?!” out loud at some of the ridiculous things they were saying. I mean, Chuck Norris made a Chuck Norris joke, need I say more? Many men will argue with me about this, and many have already. The film was just a tad lame and could have been more intense had Stallone and Richard Wenk penned the script with a little more seriousness. While they may have intended the film to be a ridiculously testosterone driven crusade without any substance whatsoever, I believe there could have been more.

Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5

It might sound like I hated Expendables 2, but I feel just the opposite. It was a great end-of-the-summer blockbuster and I can’t wait to see it again on DVD. Many marathons of the duo will occur, I’m sure. If you have doubts, brush them away and take the time to go check this one out.

‘The Expendables 2′ Movie Trailer