Like the first installment of the franchise, the sequel to Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables (2010) had some dialogue that, on the surface, seemed less than adequate (corny, cheesy, any other synonym one might think of). This dialogue, however, both pokes fun at and pays homage to the slew of films that these actors have been a part of. The Terminator series, Rocky and the WWE are all referenced throughout the first two films and that makes them even more enjoyable for those who have been following actors like Stallone and Arnold Schwarzanegger for years. This film continues to develop the characters from the first film as well as introduce new ones. The most interesting new character in the film was Liam Hemsworth’s Billy the Kid who shares a story with real-life military veteran Dakota Meyer. Billy is relatable and enjoyable in his short stint as one of the Expendables and allowed audiences to empathize with the main characters throughout the film. Arnold Schwarzenegger (Trench) and Bruce Willis (Church) had significantly larger roles in this film. Through the years the two have starred in big film franchises such as The Terminator and Die Hard making it only fair that the two be allowed to share some screen time with some of the other incredible stars (including the man, the myth, the legend, Chuck Norris [Booker]). Stallone, again, managed to provide appropriate screen time for each of the many actors to star in this film. Like the first film, the fight scenes were well choreographed, however, the scenes in the first film were certainly more enjoyable. Randy Couture (Toll Road) and Steve Austin’s (Paine) fight scene at the end of the first film appeared better choreographed and, in general, better planned out than the second film’s final fight between Stallone (Barney Ross) and Jean-Claude Van Damme (Vilain). Sadly, it could have been due to their age, but the fight, in general, lacked the same intensity that the final fight did in the first film. It was essentially Billy’s demise that helped fuel the fire in this fight and not the actors who were a part of it. This added dimension is what made the fight enjoyable and helped make up for that previously mentioned lack of intensity. Team-up films are generally a lot of fun and this did not disappoint. Stallone and crew chose great new cast members (the previously mentioned Van Damme, Hemsworth and Norris along with other additions like Nan Yu (Maggie) and Scott Adkins (Hector) and everyone gelled nicely with one another making for another high-octane, fast-paced adventure that any film fan should be able to appreciate. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1764651/?ref_=tt_sims_tt
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