The Expendables 2 (2012) - Simon West

The Expendables are back, this time hunting down a rogue group of mercenaries intent on selling five tons of plutonium, found in an old Soviet mine, to the highest bitter.  This time around directed by Simon West, the Expendables 2 is exactly what one would expect and hope for.  Its big, loud, dumb, violent, self aware and really just a lot of fun.  More so than the first go around, Expendables 2 really revels in it's iconic old action stars, with lots of nice winks at the audience, some even of a surprisingly subtle nature. Although not major characters, with Expendables 2 we get to see Stallone, Willis, and Schwarzenegger sharing the same action landscape, digging in and roughing up the bad guys.  The only times the film struggles is when it gets a little too involved in sentimentality often coming off more laughable than sincere.  Personally I did like how the film explores the pessimistic nature that these characters inhabitant - given there line of work, they are truly loners who have no time for love or relationships outside of the ones through fire and violence.   It is also worth mentioning that Van Damme made strong villain, clearly having fun with the character though I wish he could have been even more flamboyant.  Chances are if you wanted to see The Expendables 2 and/or enjoyed the first one you know what to expect, and the film delivers.

6/10

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