The Expendables 2

The Expendables 2 pretty much picks up where the first movie left off. Fans of that film will find plenty more here for them to fill their plate with. Action, blowing things up, action, knife fights, action, huge set pieces, action, and, as it happens, a bit more action. This film, as well as the first one, is very clearly aimed at a certain type of market; the type that grew up through the 1980's and the cheesy macho dialogue that came with it, the type that went for muscles over character development, the type that would rather see Sly Stallone win a knife fight than Robert De Niro win an Oscar fight. These people will be mightily pleased with The Expendables 2 and all that comes with it.

Come and 'ave a go if you think you're 'ard enough

The film brings back the majority of the cast from the first film; Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger returning in their roles. If that wasn't enough action heroes to satisfy your needs, you'll be pleased to know that Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme, as well as Liam Hemsworth (brother of Thor's Chris Hemsworth), have been added to the mix. One thing that is different as far as this film goes is that Sly Stallone has handed over directing duties to Simon West (best known for Con Air and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider). West's style is to flesh out more of the action, to let the audience see more of what is going on, as oppose to Stallone's muddled, intense, close up style for the action scenes in the first film. Sly does still have a hand in the writing duties, meaning that the film has a very similar feel to the original in other ways. The film basically follows the same principles as the first film, just with additional Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris, and expanded roles for Bruce Willis and Arnie.

The film starts off with a huge, testosterone drenched set piece, as Stallone's crew undertake a rescue mission. Not long after this, whilst celebrating their success, Bruce Willis' Church makes a proposal to Sly Stallone's Barney Ross. Stallone gets his troops together, and off they go in search of an airplane wreck, accompanied by Nan Yu's Maggie to oversee operations at the request of Church. Upon getting to the wreckage, they come across a rival group trying to salvage something from the crash scene; a rival group headed up by Van Damme's villain of the piece. Van Damme and his team escape with what they came for, as well as taking the life of one of the Expendables. Stallone and company then engage in a good old fashion revenge mission.

"That's not a knife..."

Van Damme and his team are enslaving and exploiting local villagers in mining for extreme plutonium, whilst generally just snarling at the screen and chewing up the scenery. It's Stallone and Co's task to track him down, free the miners, and take revenge for their fallen comrade... all while blowing up as much stuff as possible. The film doesn't hide from what it is. The dialogue is all very tongue in cheek, with various nods to action films and heroes of years gone by. Don't be surprised to hear an 'I'll be back' or a 'Yippee-Ki-Yay!' along the way, and don't be surprised to see certain heroes manage to dodge a barrage of bullets, yet manage to land every single one of their own shots. The action is full on from the get go, with no times spent developing characters. If you're sitting down to watch this film, then the chances are you are more than likely to know exactly what to expect. The violence is plentiful, the gore extreme, the acting minimal. That said, there are a few more subtle performances, such as Liam Hemsworth's Billy The Kid. Hemsworth's performance distances himself from most of the other performers, with him bringing an effective, emotional core to his ex forces operative. All of the other main players are great in their roles, doing exactly what you'd expect of them. The real standout of the film, though, is Jean-Claude Van Damme. Van Damme makes a brilliant first impression, then turns up fleetingly throughout the film, each time devouring the scenes and making himself the star of the piece. He has a cool, cocky vibe that's backed up by his infamous spin kicks. Whilst he could have done with more screen time, showing him in short, swift sequences leaves you wanting more. Also worthy of a mention is Chuck Norris in his role as Booker, who conveniently turns up to assist Barney Ross and team at just the right times. There's also a slew of Chuck Norris references thrown in, varying from nods to his past roles to flat out poking fun at the Internet craze of Chuck Norris facts - if you don't know what I mean, just Google the term 'Chuck Norris Facts'.

The joy of Chuck Norris facts

The film is fast, furious and pulls no punches. It's all compacted nicely into 90 minutes, and it gives you plenty of bang for your buck. The only disappointment for me was that Jet Li's role was greatly reduced for this film - if only there would have been a Jet Li and Van Damme face off. As mentioned earlier, this film is for a very particular audience, and those people will not be disappointed. The film is a lot more smoother than the first one, mainly down to getting a better visual on what is happening in the big action sequences. I'd give the film a healthy 3 bad one liners out of 5. For those people that are a fan of the '80's and '90's action genre, it may rank higher. All that's left now is to discuss who will be in the sequel. Already there's talk of Wesley Snipes, Nicholas Cage, Steven Seagal, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Don Johnson, Charlie Sheen, and even Clint Eastwood being involved in the sequel - and there will be a sequel. In typical Stallone fashion, he's shaped himself a nice little franchise again.