Escape to the Movies: Expendables 2

[Trishbot]

I'm going to disagree with you, Bob.

I'm not much of an action movie junkie (I'm a girl that grew up on sissy things like Flashdance and Xanadu), but this movie was GLORIOUS and a MASSIVE improvement over the original.

Seriously, I've seen the first movie. I OWN the first movie. I can't tell you a thing about it. I remember there being lots of fights, and lots of fire, but I can't recall any specific scenes, story threads, plot, or even locations. I agree with you that the original movie was a dull, brainless, vapid, soulless film that just wasn't much fun.

...

... This is not that movie. Expendables 2 is what Expendables 1 should have been. It's fun. It's funny. It's over-the-top but it KNOWS it is instead of trying to play it straight. The action is better, the story is better, the villain is better, the fights are better, the characters are better, the humor is better, the editing is better, the music is better, the cinematography is better, the pacing is better...

The movie was fun, and the fact Bob didn't have fun makes me REALLY think he's got a bit of a stick up his bum. If you can't smile at lines like "I now pronounce you man and KNIFE!" *stab* or laugh at Chuck Norris basically being the Doctor Manhattan of the Expendables universe, then you might have transformed into some elitist snob scoffing at the filth that Hollywood feeds to the swine of the cinema (that's not far off from his original Expendables review, actually).

Either way, I'm glad MovieBob has FINALLY shut up about The Amazing Spider-man and has now found another movie people seem to really like that he can rant and hate on.

 

[YodaUnleashed]

'movies that basked so unapoligetically in the myopic, cheer-leading triumphilism of america at the tail-end of the cold-war". You sir win mouthful of the week.

 

[Anchupom]

I generally don't disagree with Bob, but I really do have an opposing opinion to his regarding The Expendables franchise. I don't want to pretend at any point that these are "good" movies, but I enjoy them. A lot. Stupid, filled with bad editing, with a microscopically thin plot and little-to-no respect for the fourth wall (using hammy shout outs to famous one-liners used in exhaustingly contrived scenarios), these films are far from great.

However, I can't help but stick them on and enjoy them in a way I haven't since watching A New Hope at the age of 4. I can switch off and just giggle at the explosions, over-the-top violence and sheer scale of the films, much like when I was 4 and didn't care about the plot of a film.

This franchise has something special to me, and I will continue to enjoy the films no matter how many more they make and how many times I see them. Being able to switch off and enjoy a film without looking at the technical aspects of the plot, the camera, and the characters is a real treat, and I will savour it regardless of how poor the actual product is.

 

[Iron Criterion]

This is why I'm growing to dislike MovieBob; everything must be up itself to get an ounce of praise from that nobody. It is what is it - an old school action ensemble, to expect more of it is idiotic.

 

[PatrickXD]

I really struggle to see the point in having reviews of films like this. Don't get me wrong, I do get why people review them - because it's the job of reviewers to review - but I get the feeling that the reviews for films of this ilk just don't matter to anybody. They appeal to an audience, and that audience will go and watch them regardless of any review they read. This despite the fact that the reviews are pretty generally going to be walking around the 2 or 3/5 mark.
The thing I find strangest about this sort of thing, though, is that most of the people who I hear about seeing this film all thought it was a lot of fun to watch. We agree that the film itself is bad - laughably so at points - but we are happy to spend our money on watching it because it is entertaining nonetheless.

 

[47_Ronin]

The little dialog the movie had was brutally awkward. I was hoping for some cheese punchlines and some funny dialog in between the action, but this movie didn't do it for me at all.

 

[Ranorak]

The time spend watching this movie was some of the greatest time I've had in a theather.
Not because of the movie, oh god no, but because of the hilarious comments me and my friends were able to make at the expense of this.

An almost empty movie theather, and this on screen. Hilarious.

 

[Shirokurou]

Hell, I liked it.

I was really disappointed that Li left so abruptly, but otherwise it was good.

 

[drschplatt]

Moviebob is so useful. If he says a movie is great generally I don't watch it because it'll be another self absorbed, pile of dialogue full of mindless psycho babel no one cares about.

If he says it sucks, that generally means it's a good hour to hour and a half of relaxing fun that is funny and has humor and references he has his head shoved too far up his ass to appreciate.

 

[chiggerwood]

My prediction before watching the review:
He won't like it

I was right, this proves I have psychic powers to predict the futuuuuure.

Wait I need another showing of you power. Will the sun set in the evening?????? I need to know!!!!!

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Moviebob is so useful. If he says a movie is great generally I don't watch it because it'll be another self absorbed, pile of dialogue full of mindless psycho babel no one cares about.

If he says it sucks, that generally means it's a good hour to hour and a half of relaxing fun that is funny and has humor and references he has his head shoved too far up his ass to appreciate.

You obviously forgot that his favorite film is Robocop and that he's given positive reviews to stuff like Machete, The A-Team, The Raid, and Predators which he said can be enjoyed solely on be GOOD action movies. Congratulations, you've proven that the one stuck up their ass is YOU.

 

[anthony87]

Moviebob is so useful. If he says a movie is great generally I don't watch it because it'll be another self absorbed, pile of dialogue full of mindless psycho babel no one cares about.

If he says it sucks, that generally means it's a good hour to hour and a half of relaxing fun that is funny and has humor and references he has his head shoved too far up his ass to appreciate.

You obviously forgot that his favorite film is Robocop and that he's given positive reviews to stuff like Machete, The A-Team, The Raid, and Predators which he said can be enjoyed solely on be GOOD action movies. Congratulations, you've proven that the one stuck up their ass is YOU.

Are you like Moviebob's self appointed white knight or something? Every post I've seen of yours in recent memory is just you rushing to his defence.

 

[Calibanbutcher]

My prediction before watching the review:
He won't like it

I was right, this proves I have psychic powers to predict the futuuuuure.

Wait I need another showing of you power. Will the sun set in the evening?????? I need to know!!!!!

I predict, that there will be only one day the sun will not set where I live in the future, but every other day it will.

 

[malestrithe]

Go see and formulate your own opinion!!!

I loved this movie for what it was: a campy, action flick with awesome one-liners, and a host of (now aged) action stars. Don't go into this expecting ANYTHING but what it is, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Addendum: I don't get the critical slaughter of this series... This is a tongue-in-cheek, self-refferential action film. THEY REFERENCE RAMBO DIRECTLY for fuck's sake!!! This was not TRYING to be a critical success. It doesn't take itsself seriously. I just don't undestand the mentality behing listening to a critic with a movie like The Expendables.

No, I will not do that. The reason why critics exist is to not poopoo on things you like. They exist to provide informed opinions about pop culture events. The key is to get a lot of opinions and see what the middle is.

Also, self-referential is not a good enough reason to like a movie for some people. If it's done well, that's one thing. Expendables was not done well.

 

[DRTJR]

I thought that they set out to have a good time in Bulgaria and film the movie they wish they made in 1987. and in that regard they score 10/10, I liked it and if you like Arnold's Cammando then this movie is for you.

 

[mattttherman3]

Well it was a pretty bad movie, saw it last night, I liked the first one too.

 

[Scrythe]

Thanks a lot, Bob. Thanks a fucking lot.

Up until now, I completely forgot that I saw the remake of When A Stranger Calls.

It's going to take a long evening with Kamchatka to forget that one.

 

[Graham_LRR]

-Snip-

Got an example of a joke that could have been done much better? If your gonna say there are ways to do something better at least give a example.

I wasn't talking about the jokes (the jokes were okay, but the Willis/Schwartzenegger reference-off really killed the energy in that scene), I meant the whole movie could've been better.

This movie was fun enough, but there have been truly stellar action movies (mostly starring these same actors), and this one could have been amazing. But the director and writers clearly can't handle an ensemble cast, and are too caught up in how "cool" it is to have these actors under one marquee to focus on making it an excellent film.

 

[BoredRolePlayer]

-Snip-

Got an example of a joke that could have been done much better? If your gonna say there are ways to do something better at least give a example.

I wasn't talking about the jokes (the jokes were okay, but the Willis/Schwartzenegger reference-off really killed the energy in that scene), I meant the whole movie could've been better.

This movie was fun enough, but there have been truly stellar action movies (mostly starring these same actors), and this one could have been amazing. But the director and writers clearly can't handle an ensemble cast, and are too caught up in how "cool" it is to have these actors under one marquee to focus on making it an excellent film.

Fair enough I thought you were referring to the Rambo joke, I can see where you are coming from though. Although I can only speak for myself I thought it was a fun trip (I rarely get into a movie at all, I mean I caught myself going "Oh snap" during the Stathem fights multiple times). But that's what makes people different and makes the different mediums diverse if you ask me.