Nick's Flicks

"The Expendables 2"

       The Expendables 2

                  4 of 5 stars

Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and his tough-as-nails team of mercenaries are back (Jason Statham, Jet Li, Terry Crews, Liam Hemsworth,Rand Couture, Nan Yu, and Dolph Lundgren); and this time it’s personal. After being cornered by an old friend in need of a favor, Barney signs his team up for another job. Their latest mission consists of tracking down a wrecked aircraft, and extracting an unknown package from a hidden safe; a walk in the park for Barney’s team. However once they retrieve their package, company shows up and robs them of their mystery package and brutally murders one of their team members. Their objective quickly shifts from their original assignment to revenge for their friends murder. With all odds stacked against them, can they avenge their fallen comrade, or will they end up  like their deceased buddy?

What I really enjoyed about “The Expendables 2” was the constant action. Every time one brutal fight scene ended, another was only a few minutes around the corner; and that’s what made “The Expendables 2” a blast. I walked into the theater with about moderate expectations, I didn’t really expect much of a plot, or all that great of a storyline, I just knew I could count on brutal fight scenes and engaging action scenes too. “The Expendables 2” actually hit home with me… by a lot. There was just something awesome about so many legendary action stars all on the same set tearing the bad guys to shreds, and there was just enough humor sprinkled in to lighten the mood. There were crazy stunts, stunning explosions, and even a few Chuck Norris

jokes thrown in. What’s not to love? Normally I am disappointed if a film is lacking a good plot/storyline; but in this case, it couldn’t have been better! All I was expecting was mounds upon mounds of action and gore- and that’s just what the viewer gets, but without a long and stretched out storyline getting in the way. I would go as far as to say this is one of the best films I’ve seen all year (second to “Prometheus” of course). The acting was phenomenal, and I wouldn’t expect anything less from such a gifted and loved cast. Everyone seemed to fit their character without a flaw. All in all I really enjoyed “The Expendables 2”. On a scale of evening price, matinee price, wait for it one DVD, or skip it; I rate it “evening price” and easily worthy of four out of five stars.