It’s worth remembering that “The Expendables” was a mere gimmick movie, made solely for the purpose of assembling an impressive cast of well-established action stars. Stallone directed the first “Expendables” in 2010 and starred in it alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Jason Statham and Dolph Lundgren. The cast was completed by Randy Couture, Mickey Rourke, Terry Crews, Steve Austin and the incredible Gary Daniels. The plot is completely ridiculous, following a group of testosterone-soaked mercenaries as they go on a mission of violence. It hardly matters what anyone does in “The Expendables” because we only want to see the actors do action stuff.
The first “Expendables” was a success, but you could tell — thanks to the editing and blue screen effects — that actors like Willis, Stallone and Schwarzenegger were never actually together on camera. Additionally, the action scenes were choppy, preventing audiences from seeing a true ensemble of “badass” actors firing guns next to each other. All of this was fixed in “The Expendables 2.” Simon West (“Con Air”, “The Mechanic”) took over director duties and provided greater spatial continuity in the action scenes. Visually, it was an improvement. I can’t say the same about Stallone’s wacky storyline.
Additionally, West filmed scenes of Willis and Schwarzenegger together, taking care to stage the shots so that it could be seen that they were indeed in the same room. Amusingly, the two exchanged their famous catchphrases “I’ll be back” and “Yippie-Ki-Yay.”
Also, Alsothe set of famous badasses has expanded. Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Willis, Statham, Li, Lundgren, Crews and Couture all returned, but they were joined by Chuck Norris (in a cameo) and the devoted Jean-Claude Van Damme (as the villain). It was the biggest, craziest movie in years.
