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SOUND OFF

Sound Off: Simon West's 'The Expendables 2' - What Did You Think?

by Alex Billington
August 17, 2012

Now that you've seen it, what did you think? Time for Round 2. Back for War. Sly has done it again - rounded up one of the most badass groups of action superstars around for another action explosion romp. Simon West of Con Air takes on The Expendables 2, and in addition to Stallone, it stars: Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, JCVD, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Scott Adkins, Nan Yu and Liam Hemsworth. Need I say more? How is this one? Better than the first movie? Once you've seen it, post a comment with your thoughts on Expendables 2.

Editor's Note: I haven't had the chance to see it myself yet, but here's an excerpt from Jeremy's review of The Expendables 2: "As long as the fireballs and explosions are big and the wanton carnage brought on by half a dozen men carrying machine guns is adequate, mission accomplished, everybody. There's more that could be getting done with this series, much more character that could be put into the people all these actors play. Character names would help here, but this is just Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis playing in a multi-million dollar sandbox. Somewhere, buried way down there, there might be an Expendables movie that is both fun and good. With The Expendables 2, fun will just have to suffice."

What did you think of Simon West's The Expendables 2? Awesome sequel or a massive waste? We will remove any comments that indicate you have not seen the movie, as this area is meant to discuss the film only once you have seen it and can talk about your thoughts. Please keep the comments civilized!

Filed under Discuss, Hype, Sound Off

From around the web:

Mick

Fun.
http://www.facebook.com/Lincolnasmith Lincoln Smith

This movie was leaps and bounds better than the first one...every promise the first film made in it's conception and failed to keep on the screen this film fulfills. The action is non-stop, the blood and guts are relentless, there is actual teamwork going on and some great brawls and gun battles as well as some wicked martial arts. There is some cheesiness, which is expected...a few too many call backs to the star's previous franchises and I thought Chuck Norris existed only as a joke...but it was still aggressively bad ass and ultraviolent in a way that reaches near RAMBO(the last one) levels...I hated the first Expendables, this one was killer! Jean Claude Van Damme's villain character, Vilain must be seen, a classic menacing asshole of a villain.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1593169740 Chris Amaya

I enjoyed it for what it was and found it to be way more superior to the first one. Opening was more action packed and everything was more epic this second go around. I enjoyed Stallone and Van Damme's final fight. It was surprisingly brutal. Chuck Norris is still pretty badass for a 72 year old guy hahahaha
ryderup

Got no interest in the first on, but should I see that one before this?
meow

Sucked. Too much comedy. Too many gun fights not enough fist fights. Oh, and JCVD is in it for a total of five minutes. Must miss, terrible, I'd rather watch Scott Pilgram than this poor attempt at a sequel to awesomeness.
http://www.facebook.com/nicolas.dallibortolot Nicolas Dalli Bortolot

if u like well done films, and serious made films, dont watch it... this is a film that was made between friends that love what they do and they have fun doing it. They love this genre and they want people to have fun with them. If u are looking for something serious don't waste your money. if u understand why this movie was made, please go and spend a good time
JBrotsis

As others have previously said, this installment was head over heels better than the first movie...so if you disliked the first, least give this one a better chance. The movie isn't centered around stallone and statham the whole time, like the first was...you actually get to see a lot of crews, couture, and lundgren kicking ass. The gore and blood and nuts in this movie is insane...machine guns and sniper shots blowing chunks of human flesh all over the place. And the comedy in this movie is pretty funny, surprisingly. Some of it are compared to inserts from the actors' previous movies. However (****SPOILER..kinda*****), don't get your hopes up on seeing a whole lot of Li, Norris, Willis, or Arnold, especially not Hemsworth....the trailers make it out like they all have big roles in the film, but they're there more for appearance (they do still kick heavy ass and still have grand introduction scenes). It definitely is a fun, entertaining, and funny movie, but its not anything special.
M1ke

WhaT.. A.. WORtHLESS.. PIEcE.. ...OF SHIt Remind me NEVER to see another movie directed by Simon West.
Jurassic_Max

It was a lot of fun
DeNiro4Prez

Expendables 2 kicked all kinds of ass! Theater was fairly packed too. A lot of 30 and 40 something men (like myself) were there with their sons (like myself). And something sort of profound and moving in that. Before the movie, my son leaned over to me and asked me if this is what it was like seeing 'Rambo' at the theater with my dad when I was a kid? Sure is, I replied. The film was leaps and bounds better than the first, which was more premise than substantial execution. Got the feeling throughout that this film was really the one Stallone had in mind for the first. Best film (and by best I mean most enjoyable) I have seen all year. Fun, exciting... action-packed and funny. With heart. And Jcvd- in his best role in a couple of decades! Cant wait to see this one again. Stallone deserves much, much credit for creating (yet again) an entirely new sub-genre- the aging action star (dream) team up...
Mr. Sane

Well, you all ain't gonna like this, but here goes. Wow, this is the end of the world as we know it. Hello Rome and feeding folks to the lions. What worthless, immature, violnet fantasy junk. I happened to watch the last few minutes of the first one and was appalled by the lack of talent, the silly ten year old male mentality displayed by all the actors in general. This world is in trouble when junk like this draws people into theatres and then they enjoy it. And we wonder why we live in a society where nut jobs go into crowded movie houses and start killing people? This American culture has gone completely mad and these actors, Stallone especially, are only clear indicators of the horrors we live in. Check yourselves out as to why you would go and enjoy bloody junk like this for entertainment. The horror is that Stallone et al and you all that like this crap are not capable of a rigorous self-honest appraisal of the sick perverted nature of this stuff. There is the pity and the true horror. And save your angry and defensive replies to this post as they will only prove the point being made here.
- Mr. Insane
  
  Let me begin by saying..you need help. Whether its this movie or another blockbuster mindless film, it is just for fun, get over the whole "this world is going to S*** mentallity. By the way, did you actually watch this film entirely? By your post, by the 10 min intro mark, you should have left your seat and gone home to cry.
- Mr. Z
  
  We definitely ain't hanging out... what would you suggest we watch...black swan... your man card has just been cancelled. I am sure you weren't born in the 80's and if you were... you were probably one of the weird kids that I wasn't allowed to play with. You must understand this is just entertainment...and why review a movie you didn't watch weirdo... keep your pessimist viewpoints to yourself.
- Cody W
  
  Sooo tell me when was the last time you got laid? by a woman I mean also...jesus your proof of your own complaints.
Spider

Pretty good flick! The story is as serviceable as it needs to be! Kudos to JCVD as Vilain; although the introduction of his character is very effective, Van Damme's screen time is too short and many opportunities to get more use of his character are wasted. The Stallone/Van Damme showdown could have been way better and a bit longer!! The cast gets to kick some ass and Dolph Lundgren getting to showcase his comedic chops was cool, though awkward. Another minor quip of the flick was the editing! Some scenes seem to have been slapped together where characters are in one situation and radically appear in a different one the next frame; this happened quite a few times! The continuity was a little scattered at times but overall it was a pretty cool time at the movies! ......I sure hope that when the inevitable 3rd installment gets greenlit, the producers can get a higher ranking action director like Andrew Davis, John McTiernan, or John Woo that can a bring more substance and suspense to the story along with getting the most from the cast -with less cheese --to give us the action classic sequel this franchise sorely needs!!!! Yes, I liked this flick better than the 1st one, even though it had a lot of flaws! Expendables 3: In addition to those names currently circulating in the media: Michael Dudikoff Steven Seagal Miles O' Keeffe Kurt Russell Ralf Moeller
quest

it was fun...and better than the first one..
mooreworthy

Michael Ironside as the main villian in Expendables 3. Caaaaaan yoooooooou dig iiiiiiiiit!
Guy who comments on things

It was great fun. Sure, the acting wasn't exactly good (Norris and Arnie were beyond abysmal) but I think it did what the first film did on a GRANDER scale.. Loved Van Dam and Staham again, check it out if you want some fun action and memorable scenes of your child hood heroes literally destroying folk at ease together.
Lamar

A good old-fashioned action flick. Lots of fun. Liked it better than the first.
David

I LOVED this movie! It was great action, comedy, bad ass explosions, and plenty of testosterone. There were people in the theater actually clapping during the scenes. If you want a fun popcorn movie go see this ASAP. If you're looking for character development and Tobey Maguire-like crying scenes from spider man 3 then this is not the movie for you.
flyingreddragon

Overall the movie was pretty good the only real downside I had was the whole bad guy exchange thing was a horrible plot, without the stand off they could have easily just got there as the guy was being killed by jean claud and it would have come off 10 times better.