Expendables 2 gathers Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jean Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris. A fan's dream, bloody and funny. Our opinion on the film.
This time, Sylvester Stallone has made the wise decision to let Simon West direct the film, specialist of the genre to whom we owe Con Air or Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Better paced and better directed, Expendables 2 finally breaks free from the low end B movie initiated by the prequel.
With an opening scene finally worthy of the name, the movie tends towards what should have been from the beginning of the franchise: an unabashed spectacle and ultra-violent, a barbaric ode where each scene is a moment of bravery dominated by a gang of dominant males. This second chapter does not reach the peaks of action but Simon West allows some premium cuts: a beautiful sequence shot with Jet Li, a tribute to Sergio Leone and an underground plane crash. If the final battle is sorely lacking in intensity, Jean Claude Van Damme acts until ecstasy and the dark look of Sylvester Stallone does the rest.
There is much talk of this gathering of the leading stars, but what about the rest of the band? Apart from Dolph Lundgren, who delights the best comic sequences, the mercenaries of the first movie didn't have much to put under the gun. While the avalanche of appearances of the stars of the genre becomes ultimately obsolete at the end (what will remain of those stars for the last generation of viewers?), seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis exchange their cult replica is a tasty time for the fans. Others have been already stunned by the first episode.
This time, Sylvester Stallone has made the wise decision to let Simon West direct the film, specialist of the genre to whom we owe Con Air or Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Better paced and better directed, Expendables 2 finally breaks free from the low end B movie initiated by the prequel.
With an opening scene finally worthy of the name, the movie tends towards what should have been from the beginning of the franchise: an unabashed spectacle and ultra-violent, a barbaric ode where each scene is a moment of bravery dominated by a gang of dominant males. This second chapter does not reach the peaks of action but Simon West allows some premium cuts: a beautiful sequence shot with Jet Li, a tribute to Sergio Leone and an underground plane crash. If the final battle is sorely lacking in intensity, Jean Claude Van Damme acts until ecstasy and the dark look of Sylvester Stallone does the rest.
There is much talk of this gathering of the leading stars, but what about the rest of the band? Apart from Dolph Lundgren, who delights the best comic sequences, the mercenaries of the first movie didn't have much to put under the gun. While the avalanche of appearances of the stars of the genre becomes ultimately obsolete at the end (what will remain of those stars for the last generation of viewers?), seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis exchange their cult replica is a tasty time for the fans. Others have been already stunned by the first episode.
The first good idea of this sequel is to have handed over the direction to Simon West. Actor and co-writer of the film, Sylvester Stallone has nothing to prove behind the camera and was able to best manage the collective superstars of Expendables, a sort of a dream team of all-field action whose verbal jousting could only be equaled by their muscles. The director of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Con Air demonstrates his talent from the opening scene, true indication of a work that finally plays in the big leagues after a first episode well below expectations.
We find in Expendables 2 the bloody flavor of John Rambo in which Sylvester Stallone had decided to show the horror of war, replacing the false modesty by hemoglobin. The new feature film in which he holds the top of the bill is a monument of mutilated bodies and bloodied members. In a very cartoonist ensemble, the mercenaries of the special unit kill everything that moves between two macho "punchlines". The fans are there for that and so this second component corrects the shot at all levels that we finally have the impression to see the action movie that we expected. Jean Claude Van Damme is great fun in his outrageous game, Chuck Norris plays the lonely cowboys with great aplomb and Dolph Lundgren monopolies most of the comical scenes. Too bad the final battle is not at the level.
It is unclear what will remain of this array of aging mega-stars for the future generations of viewers who have not known them at the top of their fame & art. Only film buffs and fans of the genre will enjoy seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis exchange cult replicas in an exploding airport. Terminator and Jonh McClane meet under the amused eye of Rambo. Sylvester Stallone in any case has the vision to know that they are perhaps a bit too old for this shit, as he achieves it with humor at the final dialogue. Before storing them in a museum, Expendables 2 rings loudly as a seductive last stand.
We find in Expendables 2 the bloody flavor of John Rambo in which Sylvester Stallone had decided to show the horror of war, replacing the false modesty by hemoglobin. The new feature film in which he holds the top of the bill is a monument of mutilated bodies and bloodied members. In a very cartoonist ensemble, the mercenaries of the special unit kill everything that moves between two macho "punchlines". The fans are there for that and so this second component corrects the shot at all levels that we finally have the impression to see the action movie that we expected. Jean Claude Van Damme is great fun in his outrageous game, Chuck Norris plays the lonely cowboys with great aplomb and Dolph Lundgren monopolies most of the comical scenes. Too bad the final battle is not at the level.
It is unclear what will remain of this array of aging mega-stars for the future generations of viewers who have not known them at the top of their fame & art. Only film buffs and fans of the genre will enjoy seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis exchange cult replicas in an exploding airport. Terminator and Jonh McClane meet under the amused eye of Rambo. Sylvester Stallone in any case has the vision to know that they are perhaps a bit too old for this shit, as he achieves it with humor at the final dialogue. Before storing them in a museum, Expendables 2 rings loudly as a seductive last stand.
