I remember being in Blockbusters once and this guy came in and went straight to the check out, he said “I want to see shit blow up!” – if that had been today, I would have walked up to him and directed him straight to the nearest cinema to see the Expendables 2. As if you like action, no wait, that’s not the right word … ‘action’ doesn’t quite cut-it. If you like blood-splattering, shot-em-ups, warfare, bazookas, rocket launchers and cataclysmic head explosions – this is the film for you.
We were lucky enough to be invited to an early screening of The Expendables 2 at Empire cinema in Leicester Square – big screen action on the big screen. The theatre was rammed full and the film opened to an action packed orgasm of gun-fire, bombs and huge tank-like trucks blasting there was through the landscape – I can see where that $100 million budget went.
I don’t think they could have crammed any more Arnie quotes in there, including “I’ll be back” and various Terminator references in abundance. Plus the action-hero great is responsible for delivering my favourite line in the film, saying “That thing belongs in a museum” at the sight of the replacement plane in front of him, only to have Bruce Willis reply “We all do” – to much laughter in the theatre – love a bit of Bruce comedy!
In amongst all the explosions, warfare, gore and fast paced camera work is a storyline … somewhere in there anyway. It isn’t the strongest and I don’t think that is an unfair comment, after all this is a film that you don’t go to see expecting a cinematic masterpiece. It’s more a celeb-spotting, action-packed film that is so silly at points that it gives it quite a lot of comic value. On the celeb point, the film includes Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme – to name just a few – plus new entries to the films list from Liam Hemsworth and Yu Nan.
The story goes that the Expendables team has once again been enlisted for a formidable mission that even the bravest would shy away from, but not these mercenaries! The drive to succeed is increased as one of their own team is brutally killed, the newest and youngest member of the team – Billy, now payback is on the cards and six pounds of weapons-grade plutonium is at stake.
Directed by Simon West and written by Richard Wenk and Sylvester Stallone, The Expendables 2 is at cinemas across the UK now. Check out the official trailer below…