Movie Reviews: "The Expendables 2" - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JamesG · 08-17-2012, 06:25 PM

Movie Reviews: The Expendables 2

Given the surprising success of the original The Expendables, Lionsgate quickly ordered a sequel, and voilá, just two years later, here it is — and it’s nabbing more favorable reviews than its predecessor. Mind you, most of those reviews appear to be written reluctantly.

Neil Genzlinger in the New York Times, for example, remarks that the best way to watch “this mindless movie” is by laughing at it, “which is the only way to choke it down.”

The movie, he concludes, “is pleasantly dumb fun if you watch it with the right mind-set.”

Betsy Sharkey in the Los Angeles Times notes that the movie’s “kill count reaches into the ca-zillions.”

No matter, she writes, “somehow all that testosterone-infused blow-’-em-up craziness turns out to be kind of a kick.”

Claudia Puig describes it in USA Today as “Entertainingly cartoonish.”

And although she calls it “corny, barbaric and sometimes visually murky,” she notes that it’s really “not meant to be anything more than silly fun, with an all-star cast of mature hunks engaging in shameless action flick cliches and capitalizing on audience nostalgia.”

And Lou Lumenick in the New York Post commends the filmmakers for serving up “a planeload of thickly sliced, well-aged beef and ham amid lots of stuff getting blown up.”

(And while there’s nary a word of criticism in his review of the movie, he winds up giving it only 2 1/2 stars.)

Not all of the critics are so generous with their praise.

Newsday‘s Rafer Guzmán calls it:

“generally a carbon copy of the first film: mildly amusing but deeply unsatisfying.”

And John Anderson in the Wall Street Journal figures that the movie isn’t really made for Americans.

“It’s mostly for those vast overseas audiences who eat this stuff up, made global stars of Mr. Stallone and Mr. Schwarzenegger in the first place, and helped turn grunting into the Esperanto of the action movie. Fewer words, fewer subtitles. It’s always been about economics.”

-IMDB News

isiahthomas · 08-18-2012, 02:21 PM

I could care less what these gay critics have to say about the movie. My brother and i are gonna see it tomorrow and i'm sure i'm gonna love it like i love the first one. I'm glad it's rated R because i thought it might be PG-13 since Chuck Norris was complaining about the cussing in the script LOL. I'm surprised he would complain about that since most of the movies he's done are rated R LOL. I'm happy that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis will have bigger parts in this one and i'm also glad to see Jean Claude Van Damme in this. I hope there might be a part 3 and if not, that's fine. Great idea by Sylvester Stallone to come up with the idea of putting a bunch of action stars together and so what if these guys are old. It was a good idea to make this happen.

JamesG · 08-18-2012, 04:03 PM

I'm going to be seeing this one soon. Yeah, I'm also glad about the R-rating.

I heard that Part 3 is in the works but nothing is set in stone yet. Apparently offers have been sent out to Nicolas Cage, Steven Seagal, Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood and Wesley Snipes when he gets released from prison.

isiahthomas · 08-18-2012, 04:25 PM

LOL@Harrison Ford, Nicolas Cage and Clint Eastwood getting offers sent to them about a part 3 hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. I don't wanna see them in it if there's a part 3. I'm not dissing Clint because i like his action and western movies except Gran Torino disappointed me. I wish he would've killed those asian punks in Gran Torino but overall it was good. I got 4 of his Dirty Harry movies on one dvd from Best Buy about a few months ago. I'm trying to get his The Rookie movie with Charlie Sheen on dvd soon. I like that movie. I think Clint these last few years have directed some wack movies LOL. I'm surprised he hasn't directed some action flicks the last few years since that's what he's good at. I wouldn't mind seeing Wesley Snipes and Steven Seagal in part 3. I also wouldn't mind seeing Carl Weathers in it if there's a part 3. I love his Action Jackson movie with former hottie/r&b singer Vanity. I'm trying to get that on dvd soon. I just watched a 90's tv show of Carl's called Street Justice that i got from the library and i had never heard of it. Have you heard of it JamesG? It was a cop show. The episodes i've seen so far are pretty good.

JamesG · 08-21-2012, 05:41 PM

Just got back from seeing it, I really enjoyed it.

It was cool seeing Van Damme play a baddie, he rarely plays villains. I loved the fight between him and Sylvester Stallone at the end.

I also liked how they all make jokes at the careers/movies of each other throughout the movie, like Bruce Willis telling Arnold Schwarzenegger, "No, I'll be back this time!"

If you're a hardcore action fan, The Expendables 2 is a must-see.

The only thing I really didn't like was Jet Li not having that big of a part. He only appeared towards the beginning.

The Flying Dutchmans · 08-24-2012, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesG

Just got back from seeing it, I really enjoyed it.

It was cool seeing Van Damme play a baddie, he rarely plays villains. I loved the fight between him and Sylvester Stallone at the end.

I also liked how they all make jokes at the careers/movies of each other throughout the movie, like Bruce Willis telling Arnold Schwarzenegger, "No, I'll be back this time!"

If you're a hardcore action fan, The Expendables 2 is a must-see.

The only thing I really didn't like was Jet Li not having that big of a part. He only appeared towards the beginning.

The last time I saw Van Dam play a villain was in "No Retreat No surrender" He played a Russian and very badly too.

isiahthomas · 09-22-2012, 11:37 AM

I saw The Expendables 2 and i liked it but i liked the first one better. I was disappointed Jet Li wasn't in it that long. Good to see Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis had a bigger part in this one and i was glad to see Jean Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris. Jean is good at playing a bad guy. Loved the fight scene between Jean and Sylvester. I hope there's a part 3 and if there is, i hope Steven Seagal, Wesley Snipes, Vin Diesel would be in it.

08-17-2012, 06:25 PM	#1
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,168	Movie Reviews: "The Expendables 2" Movie Reviews: The Expendables 2 Given the surprising success of the original The Expendables, Lionsgate quickly ordered a sequel, and voilá, just two years later, here it is — and it’s nabbing more favorable reviews than its predecessor. Mind you, most of those reviews appear to be written reluctantly. Neil Genzlinger in the New York Times, for example, remarks that the best way to watch “this mindless movie” is by laughing at it, “which is the only way to choke it down.” The movie, he concludes, “is pleasantly dumb fun if you watch it with the right mind-set.” Betsy Sharkey in the Los Angeles Times notes that the movie’s “kill count reaches into the ca-zillions.” No matter, she writes, “somehow all that testosterone-infused blow-’-em-up craziness turns out to be kind of a kick.” Claudia Puig describes it in USA Today as “Entertainingly cartoonish.” And although she calls it “corny, barbaric and sometimes visually murky,” she notes that it’s really “not meant to be anything more than silly fun, with an all-star cast of mature hunks engaging in shameless action flick cliches and capitalizing on audience nostalgia.” And Lou Lumenick in the New York Post commends the filmmakers for serving up “a planeload of thickly sliced, well-aged beef and ham amid lots of stuff getting blown up.” (And while there’s nary a word of criticism in his review of the movie, he winds up giving it only 2 1/2 stars.) Not all of the critics are so generous with their praise. Newsday‘s Rafer Guzmán calls it: “generally a carbon copy of the first film: mildly amusing but deeply unsatisfying.” And John Anderson in the Wall Street Journal figures that the movie isn’t really made for Americans. “It’s mostly for those vast overseas audiences who eat this stuff up, made global stars of Mr. Stallone and Mr. Schwarzenegger in the first place, and helped turn grunting into the Esperanto of the action movie. Fewer words, fewer subtitles. It’s always been about economics.” -IMDB News

08-18-2012, 02:21 PM	#2
isiahthomas Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Aug 20, 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 10,704	I could care less what these gay critics have to say about the movie. My brother and i are gonna see it tomorrow and i'm sure i'm gonna love it like i love the first one. I'm glad it's rated R because i thought it might be PG-13 since Chuck Norris was complaining about the cussing in the script LOL. I'm surprised he would complain about that since most of the movies he's done are rated R LOL. I'm happy that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis will have bigger parts in this one and i'm also glad to see Jean Claude Van Damme in this. I hope there might be a part 3 and if not, that's fine. Great idea by Sylvester Stallone to come up with the idea of putting a bunch of action stars together and so what if these guys are old. It was a good idea to make this happen.

08-18-2012, 04:03 PM	#3
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,168	I'm going to be seeing this one soon. Yeah, I'm also glad about the R-rating. I heard that Part 3 is in the works but nothing is set in stone yet. Apparently offers have been sent out to Nicolas Cage, Steven Seagal, Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood and Wesley Snipes when he gets released from prison.

08-18-2012, 04:25 PM	#4
isiahthomas Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Aug 20, 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 10,704	LOL@Harrison Ford, Nicolas Cage and Clint Eastwood getting offers sent to them about a part 3 hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. I don't wanna see them in it if there's a part 3. I'm not dissing Clint because i like his action and western movies except Gran Torino disappointed me. I wish he would've killed those asian punks in Gran Torino but overall it was good. I got 4 of his Dirty Harry movies on one dvd from Best Buy about a few months ago. I'm trying to get his The Rookie movie with Charlie Sheen on dvd soon. I like that movie. I think Clint these last few years have directed some wack movies LOL. I'm surprised he hasn't directed some action flicks the last few years since that's what he's good at. I wouldn't mind seeing Wesley Snipes and Steven Seagal in part 3. I also wouldn't mind seeing Carl Weathers in it if there's a part 3. I love his Action Jackson movie with former hottie/r&b singer Vanity. I'm trying to get that on dvd soon. I just watched a 90's tv show of Carl's called Street Justice that i got from the library and i had never heard of it. Have you heard of it JamesG? It was a cop show. The episodes i've seen so far are pretty good.

08-21-2012, 05:41 PM	#5
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,168	Just got back from seeing it, I really enjoyed it. It was cool seeing Van Damme play a baddie, he rarely plays villains. I loved the fight between him and Sylvester Stallone at the end. I also liked how they all make jokes at the careers/movies of each other throughout the movie, like Bruce Willis telling Arnold Schwarzenegger, "No, I'll be back this time!" If you're a hardcore action fan, The Expendables 2 is a must-see. The only thing I really didn't like was Jet Li not having that big of a part. He only appeared towards the beginning.

09-22-2012, 11:37 AM	#7
isiahthomas Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Aug 20, 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 10,704	I saw The Expendables 2 and i liked it but i liked the first one better. I was disappointed Jet Li wasn't in it that long. Good to see Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis had a bigger part in this one and i was glad to see Jean Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris. Jean is good at playing a bad guy. Loved the fight scene between Jean and Sylvester. I hope there's a part 3 and if there is, i hope Steven Seagal, Wesley Snipes, Vin Diesel would be in it.