Explosions! Gunfire! One-Liners! Chuck Norris!: Andrew's Review of "The Expendables 2" (2012)

Directed By: Simon West (Con Air)

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jean Claude Vanne Damme, name an action star from the past 30 years and he’s probably in this

Rating: R for strong bloody violence throughout

Run Time: 1 hour, 42 minutes

Synopsis: Barney Ross (Stallone) and his crew of mercenaries, The Expendables, are called into action and sent to Bulgaria to recover sensitive information that went down with a plane. When they run into a competing mercenary named Vilain (Van Damme) and their mission goes awry, Ross and his boys go looking for vengeance.

REVIEW

Sarah: Andrew is still away on work,but did he got the chance today to see The Expendables 2, starring just about every big action star of the 1980s and 90s with Liam Hemsworth thrown in for good measure. I mean they have to throw at least one young actor in there to get some of the younger crowd. This is not a movie that I will be seeing, one because I didn't see the first and two because it just doesn't really appeal to me.

But, Andrew, you've seen the first one and thought it was a fun action movie. What did you think of this new one?

It's Jason Statham Playing Jason Statham, But We Like It!: Our Review of "Safe" (2012)

Directed By: Boaz Yakin  

Starring: Jason Statham, Catherine Chan

Rating: Rated R for strong violence throughout, and for language

Synopsis: Luke Wright (Statham) is a mixed-martial arts fighter who gets on the wrong side of the Russian mob when he doesn't take the fall in a big fight. One day, after being forced into exile by the mob, Wright decides to help a little girl who is being chased in the subway. Doing so, he unwittingly gets himself mixed up with the Chinese mob, the Russians again, and a group of dirty cops. Fist fights and gun battles ensue!

REVIEW 

Andrew: Hello readers! Last night Sarah and I made it to the local multiplex to catch a mid-week movie, and we decided to see the new Jason Statham action flick Safe . Now Sarah, I know you're not a huge fan of Mr. Statham, so what did you think of his latest showcase?

Sarah: It's true, I'm not a big fan. BUT, I will have to say that this movie pleasantly surprised me. I’m wondering if it's how I went into the movie completely expecting it to be crap. In the end, it was quite entertaining and actually a pretty good action flick. What did you think about it?

A: Really?! I'm glad you liked it!

I, too, was pleasantly surprised - but probably for different reasons. I was absolutely expecting lots of a fist-fights and cool action moves, shoot outs and funny one-liners (and we got those in DROVES, people), but I was NOT expecting the film to actually get me engrossed in the reasons WHY the film's plot happens.

At the start of the film, Luke Wright (Statham) is forced into exile by the Russian mob

I mean, in the film’s first half hour Statham’s character, Luke, and the little girl, Mei (played fairly well by young Catherine Chan), don’t even cross paths. I liked that all the time is spent giving you the backstory as to why Luke is a homeless former mixed-martial arts fighter, and why Mei is in the predicament she’s in. If it weren’t for the set-up and making me more invested in the characters, Safe would have been nothing more than a retread of every other nameless action flick.

S: I will say that it is a lot like Statham's other movies, so I don’t think it’s a great movie. But all the dirty cops, drug lord Asians and gangster Russians made the movie a little more entertaining. Actually, the young girl who plays Mei was pretty good for this being her first movie.

A: Yeah, there are a lot of things going on in this movie and again, the first half hour of the film sets it up. You have the Chinese mafia abducting Mei, you have the Russian mafia trying to steal her from the Chinese, the police come in to play and their history with Luke, and more. It might seem like a lot of players (and it is) but the film does a good job spelling it out in a way where I didn’t get lost at all. Kudos there.

If there’s one knock I have on Safe, it’s that the climax was way too short for my liking. There was a lot of build-up and the payoff wasn’t great.

In Safe, Luke gets mixed up with the genius Mei (Chan) and has to stave off Russian and Chinese mobs plus the NYPD

S: See to me, the climax didn’t quite stand out amongst all the other action. There was SO MUCH action in the film, and they left almost none of it for the end. I felt there should have been some sort of differentiation from the rest of the movie and there really wasn’t any.

A: Very true, plus the fact that in the end, the big villain in the film is someone who’s introduced about half-way through, he’s in maybe three or four scenes, and in the end he doesn’t get his comeuppance.

S: I agree with you on that. The set-up was good and entertaining but the pay-off was lacking. Still, it's a fun action movie and if you are a big Jason Statham fan then you should see it in theatres, otherwise, Netflix it!

(Out of Five Clapboards)

Photo Courtesies: Best Movies Ever News, Filmofilia

Our Preview of This Week's New Releases (for Friday, April 27th)

Andrew: Hello readers! Last week we were too busy with a house-guest to write up our weekly preview, so we apologize if you were looking forward to what we had to say on The Lucky One or Think Like a Man.

But we're back this week, and we have a couple of films that we're actually quite looking forward to! The first of the films coming out this week that we really want to see is the new Jason Segel/Emily Blunt wedding comedy The Five-Year Engagement, isn't that right, dear?

Sarah: Yes! This one looks SO cute and funny! Now, there has been a lot of guff over the previews for this movie because some people believe that they gave away all of the funny parts. I am really hoping this isn't the case but I still want to see this one on the big screen. I believe that Segel and Blunt will really play off of each others comedy beautifully.

A: I echo that worry about them giving away too much in the trailer. That said, it's an R-rated comedy so I'm hoping there will be plenty of adult humor that we couldn't see in the green-band trailer (which you can watch below).

We love Jason Segel and while I don't dislike Emily Blunt, I'm not a fan. Maybe she can charm me in this film.

Official Trailer for The Five-Year Engagement

S: Oh but she's so funny! Well maybe she will win you over this go around. We also have THE RAVEN coming out this weekend! This dark thriller/horror movie with John Cusak/Alice Eve looks to be quite good and full of suspense. While it is questionable whether I will go see this one in the movie theaters, I do think that it looks kinda cool. And for our Baltimore readers, it should be a fun movie.

A: We have Baltimore readers? AWESOME! ;)

I'm looking forward to The Raven (and no joke, as I'm writing this, a commercial for the film is playing on ESPN so clearly its ears were burning) because I like the premise. Edgar Allen Poe helping the police find a serial killer who's M.O. is to use Poe's stories as inspiration? I'm down with that.

John Cusack’s casting as Poe worries me a little bit, but I do like him so I'm hopeful it turns out well. Oh, and The Raven's director, James McTeigue, also directed V for Vendetta so I'm hoping he carries that awesomeness over to this new film.

Official Trailer for The Raven

S: The only thing I'm worried about is that it will have a little bit of Sherlock Holmes in it. I am also a little leery of Cusack in this role, but he looks the part so I hope that helps.

Ok, next we have THE PIRATES! BAND OF MISFITS. What do you think about this one?

A: I'll put it right out there - I like pirates and I liked the 2000 film Chicken Run, which was also directed by Pirates!'s co-director Peter Lord. Lord has long been in the business of claymation films with the Wallace & Gromit series, so I expect this to be of similar quality. (Fun fact: Hugh Grant voices the Pirate Captain!)

Official Trailer for The Pirates! Band of Misfits

S: Oh yes, and it looks cute, so I think it will be a fun one, but not necessarily one we will see on the big screen.

SAFE is also one that comes out this weekend. Now, Jason Stathmen is not one of my favotrites. I find his movies all the same. But I have been hearing great things about this one. So it might be one that we see on the big screen.

A: Safe is the kind of movie where you have to know what you're going in to from the get-go. And that's a Jason Statham movie, which means there's going to be a lot of hand-to-hand combat, gun fights, outrageousness and awesomeness. From most accounts I've read, Safe might be Statham's best movie. Which ain't saying much, I know, but it means that it should be a whole lotta fun.

Official Trailer for Safe

I definitely want to see this one in theatres. So with all of that said, our final rankings for which films we're most likely to see from this week goes a little like this:

1.) The Five-Year Engagement

2.) The Raven

3.) Safe

4.) The Pirates! Band of Misfits

So be on the lookout for some of those reviews in the coming week or so, but more importantly, be on the lookout for our review of The Avengers that we'll be posting later tonight! And as always, thanks for reading!