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Film Review:-
"The Expendables 2"
Review by Dasha Ibrajeva
THIS film is back! Schwarzenegger, Willis, Van
Damme, Stallone, Lundgren, and Chuck Norris there are names which
are causing real nostalgic attacks for those who witnessed the era
of video tapes. However time goes on, the tastes and preferences are
changing, and shabby cassettes with Van Damme and Schwarzenegger got
replaced with HD and DVD discs of three dimensional Spiderman and
Batman. Now, in fashion is painted blood, drawn explosions and
pictured characters, though, I am more than sure that there are
still left those dedicated fans who insanely miss actions of 80s,
because primarily at them is aimed the sequel "Expendables".
Is it good enough? It's already another question…
In my childhood, my friends and I were always arguing who is cooler
Van Damme or Norris, Schwartz or Stallone. Now we have the unique
opportunity to see all top actors of "childhood" in
one movie. I won't hide that it was so nice to see those native
wrinkled faces, but with all respect to our heroes, I think it's
already a bit late. And why they didn't have such a great idea
before?
C'mon, let's face that our boys are not the same like 20 to 30 years
ago; Bruce Willis is bold, Van Damme has horrible bags under the
eyes and I am not even talking about Schwarzenegger whose face looks
like a dried plum and famous menacing grin turns to become senile
and somehow more funny rather than frightening. Time has no mercy on
anyone… ok, maybe on anyone except Chuck Norris. This guy seems to
be canned.)
Understand me correctly, I do pay respect to all these guys. Just
think, Sylvester Stallone is 66 years old! And now look at our 66
year old men nowadays; many of them cannot even walk by their own,
while Stallone still has translucent 6 pack abs. And surprisingly,
most of the tricks old bones perform on their own, which at their
age is quite an achievement. They all are legends, but comes time
when every legend is replaced by another legend. And watching this
movie I had a feeling like a single 40 year old mother is putting on
some clothes of her 15 year old daughter to impress the others and
prove that she is still young. Though, in reality that looks simply
pathetic and funny. To my mind, the concept of "action"
has receded into the background, as all what was happening on
the screen can be easily described as a cheeky parody.
Plot --- The film has a simple plot,
based on a team of professional mercenaries ends up in trouble. This
time they have to take a revenge for the death of their teammate and
simultaneously save the world from unscrupulous terrorists, who
found several tons of plutonium. I will not reveal the plot,
because…there is even no any. The story is clearly dampish and not
finalized.
Actors --- The biggest advantage of
this movie undoubtedly is the cast. Who could imagine that so many
real super heroes will gather together in one movie? Sylvester
Stallone is still on top. He continues to lead the team and remains
a key person; however he does not overshadow the others as in
previous part. I was really pleased to see Jean Clod Van Damme in
the role of a villain. In my opinion, he successfully got through
it. Chuck Norris - a one-man army did not stand out at all. I found
his appearance in the frame senseless. And I still do not understand
why Jet Li was taken to the second part? He was on screen just few
minutes.
Special effects --- The
"Expendables 2" impress with its dose of intensity and
energy. You can enjoy a lot of bright scenes and spectacular moments
in this movie. From the early beginning you can see on screen
incessant shooting, fire, flying bullets, explosions and gushing
blood. However, unfortunately, most of that you can enjoy only in
the beginning. And then, the budget seems to be out. Yes, of course
later we will also be able to see fights and explosions, but they
look pale in comparison to the beginning of the movie or modern
blockbusters.
General --- Yes, the cast is very
powerful, but the movie itself is extremely dumb. You won't be able
to find any meaningful dialogues or off-scale drama in this movie.
Logic and common sense were left somewhere far behind. Abilities of
gang "Expendables" look too exaggerated. All the
characters actually produce an effect of unbeatable. As well as many
laws of physics and chemical processes here, to put it mildly, are
ignored. In one word, realism was smoking somewhere aside during the
whole movie. Obvious drawbacks, movie mistakes, holes in the script
and clichés can be found everywhere. When the budget of the film is
so high and the cast so authoritative, the director could at least
pay more attention to these things.
Another attribute of the movie is American humor. The
characters all the time make sarcastic jokes about their last stars
- Rambo, Terminator, and Mechanic… When a joke with a reference to
the famous role sounds once, it is funny. When it sounds a second
time, it is, basically, also cool. But when it is repeated 5 times,
it's not so funny anymore. Unfortunately, the jokes with hints
repeated so often, that they became irritating and annoying. You
cannot say:- "I'll be back" for hundred times, even if
you are Arnold Schwarzenegger.
To Sum Up --- If your childhood dream
was to see all the action heroes in one movie and you miss the time
when a shabby cassette brought you an unspeakable joy, "The
Expendables 2" will not leave you indifferent. But do not
wait from this movie something new and previously unknown; it is a
classical old-school action in the shell of modern technologies, but
still without a clear sense.
The "Expendables 2" definitely did not meet my
expectations. Some points were really good, but the film should grab
you fully, otherwise for some moments it is enough to watch a
trailer. Budget of 100 million is too exaggerated; in my opinion for
actual filming it was left, in the best condition, less than a half
of it, all the rest was probably acting fees that actors, to put it
mildly, did not deserve. Therefore, for me it is more like heroes of
"childhood" decided to gather together and make some
money, playing on such thing as "nostalgia", probably
they successfully did it. But I'll better go and revise Terminator.
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