The Expendables 2was the only one of the fourExpendablesmovies that actually accomplished what Sylvester Stallone set out to do with the all-star action franchise. For years,Stallone was best known for headlining two major franchises: theRockyfranchise, about an underdog boxer becoming a world champion, and theRambofranchise, about a Vietnam War veteran reckoning with the fact that the only thing he knows how to do is kill. But in 2010, Stallone added a third franchise to the roster:The Expendables, about a band of aging mercenaries secretly making the world a better place.
Although it was conceived by screenwriter David Callaham, once Stallone took over the project,The Expendablesbecame an excuse to get every big action movie star on the same marquee.Stallone is backed up by Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, and Mickey Rourke, and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis make a memorable cameo appearance alongside their Planet Hollywood co-founder.The Expendablesset out to poke fun at the bombast of ‘80s action movies while still recapturing their cheesy magic, but only one entry in the franchise pulled that off.
Expendables 2 Made Fun Of Itself While Still Being A Good Movie
Expendables 2 Is Both A Self-Parody & A Genuinely Good Action Movie
Released in 2012,The Expendables 2is the best entry in the franchise by far.It works brilliantly as a silly self-parody— the villain is literally called Vilain — butit’s a genuinely good action movie, too. Simon West took over the director’s chair from Stallone and brought all the explosive spectacle and self-aware humor of his classic debut featureCon Airto the proceedings. The plot and dialogue are nothing to write home about, butthe movie has more than enough thrilling action sequences and tongue-in-cheek comedic momentsto make up for it.
Simon West took over the director’s chair from Stallone and brought all the explosive spectacle and self-aware humor of his classic debut feature Con Air to the proceedings.
The Expendables 2utilizes its amazing cast more than the first one. Schwarzenegger and Willis both get a much bigger role in the sequel, and Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme both bring a bit more star power to the ensemble.It’s a really fun movie full of goofy one-liners and delightfully absurd action, but it still takes the time to flesh out its James Bondian premiseof an eccentric rival mercenary threatening the world with a deadly weapon. It’s the bestExpendablesmovie, and it’s not even close.
Expendables 2 Improved Upon Everything Expendables Tried To Do
The First Expendables Took Itself A Bit Too Seriously
The Expendables 2was a huge improvement on what the firstExpendablesmovie had set out to do. The first film took itself a bit too seriously, playing its story of aging mercenaries taking down a ruthless dictator completely straight, andit just wasn’t that good of a movie. The self-aware humor ofThe Expendables 2works so well because the story would be unintentionally hilarious without it. By taking its ridiculous plot seriously,the originalExpendablesfilm invited unintended laughs.The Expendables 2embraced that absurdityrather than trying to pretend it wasn’t there.
Sylvester Stallone’s 3 Biggest Movie Franchises All Ran Into The Same Problem Despite $3.1 Billion Success
Despite their box office success, all three of Sylvester Stallone’s movie franchises encountered the same problem after the first couple of films.
Part of that can be blamed on the fact thatThe Expendablesdidn’t technically originate as anExpendablesmovie. Callaham’s script was initially developed independently of Stallone. When he had the idea fortheExpendablesfranchise,Stallone used Callaham’s existing script as a jumping-off point, so it was somewhat beholden to the tone and narrative established by Callaham. WithThe Expendables 2, Stallone developed the script from scratch as anExpendablesmovie in line with his original vision of a star-studded, self-aware throwback to the ‘80s action classics that put him on the A-list.
Expendables 3 & 4 Completely Lost Track Of What Made The Franchise Interesting
They Were Just B-Movies, Not A Love Letter To B-Movies
The subsequentExpendablesmovies failed to recapture the perfect tonal balance ofThe Expendables 2. The action wasn’t as riveting and the humor didn’t land as effectively. WhereasThe Expendables 2is an affectionate spoof of old-school action cinema, the later sequels are just tired examples of it. 2014’sThe Expendables 3and2023’s box office flopExpend4bleswere just B-movies, not a knowing love letter to B-movies.The Expendables 3adds some great new action stars to the ensemble— Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford —but it’s completely lacking in its predecessor’s sense of fun.
Expend4bleshas the franchise’s lowest Rotten Tomatoes score with just 13%.
Expend4blesgets off on the wrong foot altogether when it becomes clear thatStallone’s role is a glorified cameo. From there,it doesn’t even have the fun of watching ‘80s action stars back in action again, which is all this franchise really had to begin with. Lundgren is still in the picture, but the rest ofthe cast is rounded out with non-action stars like Megan Fox and 50 Cent. The story of the Expendables preventing World War III is a great premise for this series, butExpend4blesis sorely missingThe Expendables 2’s star power and tongue-in-cheek humor.
The Expendables 2
Cast
The Expendables 2 reunites some of the most famous action stars in movie history in an explosive mission to stop Jean Claude Van Damme’s terrorist leader Jean Vilain. This time, Sylvester Stallone’s Barney Ross is accompanied not only by teammates such as Jason Statham’s Lee Christmas, Dolph Lundgren’s Gunner Jensen, and Terry Crews' Hale Caesar, but also by old friends like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Trench Mauser, Bruce Willis' Mr. Church, and Chuck Norris' Booker.
