Watching The Expendables 2 has reminded me what I love about The Expendables. Its non-stop entertainment value. The big guns, loud explosion, over-the-top sequences, head-shots, enemies blown up into pieces, and more. You name it, you have it. And then, there is this casting full of stars. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger took a break from his day job and acted a few scenes in this movie. I’ll be back. I am back. And more I’ll be back. Yes, Mr. Governor. We love the fact that you are back.
I did have one complain about The Expendables. The lack of female presence in that team of mercenaries. As though Hollywood has read my mind, in The Expendable 2, Jet Li is out. As he jumped out of the plane for a permanent vocation, he promised, “You’ll find another minority.” And so, the Chinese actress Yu Nan is in. Now, what I found strange is that she is not credited on the posters. Yet, she has played as big a part as Jet Li did on the previous installment. I found Yu Nan charming. Though my friend TK may not agree with me. Beauty is only skin deep my friend.
There is not much point talking about the plot. It is the Rambo style of blowing things up. The lines are cheesy as ever. But that is part of entertainment. Hearing actors poking fun on each other, making references to their past successes, I laughed out loud throughout the movie.
The one-on-one fight between Stallone and Van Damme is exhilarating. That is how men should fight. I wish that scene lasts much longer. I was so overwhelmed that after the movie, I said to TK and Cynthia, “Now, how I wish the fight between Batman and Bane is as epic as this!” Both of them simultaneous gave me that you-are-an-idiot look. I should have known better not to provoke a Batman fan. Or two at the same time for that matter. Interestingly, the filming of The Expendables 2 may have damaged the population of bats in one Belgium cave. It is a true story. OK, that is totally random and unrelated. Forget that I have mentioned the bats.
Rumor says that there may be an all-female Expendables. Who would you like to see? If I was the producer, I would want the following in my movie.
- Carrie-Anne Moss
- Uma Thurman
- Kate Beckinsale
- Angelina Jolie
- Milla Jovovich
- Scarlett Johansson
- Lucy Liu