Another Fan Review After Watching EX2 On Aug 3

Chris [Fan]: Hey everyone. I wanted to let you know that I will be seeing The Expendables 2 on Friday, August 3rd at 9PM! Needless to say I AM VERY EXCITED to watch it!

Elrey [EX2 Blog]: Hey Chris, We'd love to post your experience on the blog after you've seen the movie

Chris: Sure buddy here it is. Let me know if you have any questions.

Okay so here it goes. First my apologies for not having this up sooner but I needed to take some time to let the film sink in before I wrote this. On to the review.

First off, it's extremely difficult to not go into this film with VERY high expectations. As good as the first one was, and with this ridiculous cast it's hard not to expect perfection. Or at least something pretty d**n close. Did we get it? In a word...YES! 

In many many ways this film will exceed all of your expectations. I cannot put into words exactly how surreal it is to see everyone in this film. From the opening frame to the FANTASTIC end it's everything we hoped for and more. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the first twenty minutes alone out does anything that was in the first film. In short, if you liked the final sequence in the first film, get ready to have your MIND BLOWN. You'll be a wreck after the first sequence. The only way I could come close to putting it into words would be that this film is similar to The Avengers earlier in the year. When I saw all my childhood comic book heroes on the screen back to back getting ready to throw down I almost cried. Don't judge. This is VERY similar. And I got a very similar feeling. As action fans we have all been waiting for this for a very long time and it is executed about as perfectly as it can be done. When we finally get to see everyone together on screen kicking ass it's a beautiful thing and it will be better than you ever imagined. 

One of the wonderful things about this film is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. At all. It almost makes fun of itself. At first, I thought that would be a problem. I wanted to have some serious reasons for these guys to come together. However my reservations were put to rest, as there is good cause here for this team to assemble. We've all seen the "You're terminated" line in the trailers. Well there is a lot more of that where that came from. Think of the church scene in the first one and you'll know what I mean. These guys are making fun of and mocking each other the whole film. Even WHILE they're kicking ass side by side. I don't feel that's a spoiler because if you've seen the trailers it's pretty evident. 

Now onto some performances. Stallone is Stallone. The man is great in whatever he does. That's a no brainer. The one thing I will point out is he seems to have come into his own as Barney this time around. He plays a much colder Ross than the first time out, and I enjoyed that. Everyone in the original cast is played almost identical to the first one. And it's great to see them all return. Especially Statham. Again, he has some great stuff here. So.....I can hear you wondering....how is Arnold? Arnold is great! Too me it felt like he never left. He slides right in and you can tell he has a HELL of a time in this film. I don't want to go in to too much detail with his character. I will say that thankfully, we get to know more about Trench and who he is and how he is connected to Ross. It's cool and it ties up loose ends from the first one. Mother-f**king Chuck Norris! Again, I won't say too much but he has one of the very best introductions of all time in an action film. HE is crazy cool, and it is an honor to see him on screen once again. He got the biggest pop of the night from my crowd. By far. The very best part of this film though, is Van Damme's performance. After watching this film, you are going to wish he played the villan more often. It suits him. Boy does he knock it out of the park here. He is COLD. And it's awesome. When he kills "the expendable that shall not be named" it's awesome. And it gives the other guys a reason to be pissed. And it drives the story and makes it personal. 

The final fight between Stallone and Van Damme is SURREAL. It's like watching two titans clash. It's like watching Ali and Tyson just throw down. It's BRUTAL. And BEAUTIFUL. The spinning kick that we see in the trailer is AMAZING on the big screen. When he hit that, the audience ERUPTED! It was clear that there were a lot of Van Damme fans in my theater. 

This film is beautiful. It's a true love letter to the action fans of the 80's. The movie was wonderfully shot and scored. The days of the shaky camera are long behind us. I was worried that with such a big cast, some people would be left out. The truth is, everyone gets a few wonderful standout moments, so no matter which legend you're a fan of rest assured, your guy will have his time. I'm sure there is a lot I left out, and I'll answer any questions that anyone posts. The bottom-line is this film is exactly what we all knew it would be. It's the most fun you'll have at the theater all year. This is a film for you and your buddies to all get together and see. When you get into the theater, relax, turn OFF your brain and enjoy the film for what it really is. The most fun you'll have all year.

Faithfully submitted......
Chris Williamson