The Expendables 2 - C

Rated R, 103 minutes

“The Expendables 2” is over-the top, noisy and bloody

Stallone in "The Expendables

“The Expendables 2” is hardly anything but low-key. The derivative, bloody smash-em up popcorn action-adventure film and sequel is a tribute to those kitschy ‘80s action flicks featuring most of those ‘80s action stars mixed with some contemporary ones. Starring Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarznegger, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Chuck Norris, Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis and Jean-Claude Van Damme among many others, it’s a flimsy effort to get these guys together again.  Noisy, stupid and bloody not to mention bloody stupid, "The Expendables 2"  is a sequel that serves up more of the same as the equally dumb 2010 hit. After taking a seemingly simple job for Mr. Church (Bruce Willis), the Expendables, led by Barney Ross (Stallone) find their plans going awry and one of their own is brutally murdered by rival mercenary Jean Vilain (Jean-Claude Van Damme, taking this way too seriously). The Expendables set out into hostile territory to put a stop to a deadly weapon and gain their revenge against the people who killed their brother-in-arms. Stallone has never been one for subtlety, and “The Expendables” is suitably over-the-top entertainment for the masses and never misses a beat in providing as much gunfire, bad dialogue and explosions as possible. Stallone doesn’t direct here (thankfully), instead handing the reigns over to a better director in Simon West (“Con Air”), though that doesn’t mean the film is any better, given that Stallone still pens the script, which isn’t much to speak of. But then, with “The Expendables,” you know exactly what you’re getting: lots of ridiculous chases, action and explosions, which to Stallone’s credit is pretty simple to write (OK, maybe that really isn’t a compliment). You’ve seen all this before and if this is a hit, which it likely will be, you’ll see another sequel with more of the tired action and action stars. Schwarzenegger and Willis’ roles, expanded from cameos in the original, still have small roles for such huge action stars and I would’ve like to see more of them, instead we get a healthy dose of a very earnest Stallone and Van Damme going at it. The loud, egregiously violent “The Expendables 2,” much like its predecessor and many of its stars, gets old, and quickly.