The Expendables 2 (2012)

The premise of The Expendables (and thus also the sequel) is get as big a cast together of the greatest action stars of the last 30 years and have fun.  Plot is non-existent and acting is clearly not a priority.  Everything is secondary to the cast, and having the cast blow things up spectacularly.

The Expendables was fun.  Stupid fun, but fun.  The Expendables 2 on the other hand, is stupid and boring, with little to recommend it.  It ought to be great, but the cast is reduced to bad and tired one-liners that reference their glory days, and the action is simply "hero shots" of our cast as they fire heavy weapons and kill the bad guys.  Explosions are frequent, the body count is huge, but the action is simply dull.  Without a plot to care about, tons of action simply becomes mindless drivel.

The idea of having an action movie not take itself seriously is great.  The execution on this one is terrible.  The word "Expendable" means superfluous, something that can be destroyed without loss.  Nothing could be a better description of this movie.

Entertainment: 4/10
Artistic value: 2/10
Technical merit: 3/10

Overall: 4/10