So what happens when Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, and Randy Couture walk into a bar? Now what happens when it explodes?!

You could say the world loses some of its badass men, but I think they just shake it off and make a movie!

And then comes The Expendables!

Its pretty much as badass as an action film can get! We have the great old timers and then some! My guess is someone looking for ideas for a good movie thought, "Hey let's just take all these guys and shove them together and see what happens!" And we all get to gather around to see the explosion.

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Now before I get into reviewing the sequel I have to share a bit of my feelings on the first film. I'd say that I got my money's worth and was thoroughly entertained throughout most of the film. It felt like I was watching an old action film with modern day special effects. The film did a great job on capturing the nostalgia of older action films and translating it into modern times.

Now I wouldn't call this a great film when trying to take it seriously. It hardly does anything all too interesting when it comes to plot or acting. And the characters are all hardened badass. What truly drives the film though are just the actors themselves and not necessarily through moving performances, but through the fact that we get to see all these guys thrown together to play off each other and such. Some of the best scenes are just watching these guys talk to one another, joke around, pick fights, and just share old stories.

Now the first film did have some huge issues. The first is its infamous cameos. In the first film the ads highlighted that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis, two of the biggest action stars ever, were to appear in the film. However, they only really appeared as small cameos for few minutes at most. That would be like if every Marvel film highlighted Stan Lee as a staring actor when he only makes split second cameos.

Another huge issue is that the ending scene was rather embarrassing to watch. The special effects really failed on the ending scene. It didn't even look finished and looked REALLY sloppy. And Stone Cold Steve Austin being on fire is just unconvincing and pretty hilarious!

The movie was a very silly movie full of action and explosions, and it was mainly just a spectacle to see these guys all work together! If it weren't for some of its glaring issues I'd put it among some of my favorite action films.

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Now for the ACTION ALL STAR REMIX that is the Expendables 2!

Now I did talk A LOT about the first one and you may be wondering why... well because the second one is mainly just a rehash of the first!

Now that my sound like a really bad thing, but I do like this because it was a good formula for an unforgettable action movie, but its execution was flawed with pointless cameos and bad special effects. And I am happy to say that they fixed pretty much all the issues I had with the first film. Think of this as the first one, but upgraded. And isn't that what an action movie sequel is really supposed to be? In an action movie like this, no one expects a big and intricate story plot to expand on in a second film, they just want more action and more badasses.

The main issues I was worried about from the first movie are gone. No part of the movie really suffers from terrible special effects like the end of the first one. And, without spoiling anything, the ending is phenomenal. It out does the first movie's climax ten fold in my opinion. Also the Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger revise their old cameos, but now are actual functional characters. They even get in on the action a little and have some VERY cheesy memorable lines!

Now there are a few addons this time in the casting and some other changes. First off, Jet Li's character Yin Yang isn't in the film that much. Its not a huge spoiler, but more of a caution that if you are expecting more of Jet Li, you will get your fill... for about the first 5 minutes.

Another change is that the Expendables have a new teammate Billy the Kid played by Liam Hemsworth (best known for... being that one love interesting in the Hunger Games that does little to nothing in the first book/movie? Being engaged to Miley Cyrus?) Okay so he's not an all time great or a badass like the rest of the crew, and he really doesn't fit in with the rest of the crew. Now I would pick on that except it seems intentional that he doesn't fit in. He's the team eye candy sniper and he's new to being a mercenary. He's supposed to look green, he's a rookie who may not even be cut out for being a mercenary. Once again I won't spoil much for you but he too isn't in the film for very long either, but does play an important character. I'll give Hemsworth some credit. He plays his Ken doll

role well. And hey, if you brought your girlfriend who doesn't like action films, she'll get something to stare at that isn't the age of her dad to help get her sucked into the film. I know it worked for me!

Another addition to the team is Maggie, a recon agent played by Nan Yu. She is an agent who kinda forces her way into the team and is necessary to complete their mission. She takes her role pretty well in the team, kicking ass along with her old and more masculine teammates. She plays the badass agent woman (see Black Widow) of the team and really holds her own in the battle field and never really plays damsel in distress. She also doubles as all the guys hit on fodder, though their charms (huh more like awkward grunts) don't seem very effective on her... well maybe one guy but I won't spoil the obvious romance arc for you. But I see her as a welcome addition to the team for at least this movie. She doesn't look bad in a jumpsuit either.

Now the movie does have more cameos besides Arnold and Bruce revising their roles. Chuck Norris joins the fray as Booker, The Lone Wolf! Now Chuck Norris back when the first movie came out and Chuck Norris jokes were still relevant would have been PERFECT for a movie like this! But lately the Norris Jokes have died off and became more of an annoyance. I figured that Hollywood wanted to capitalize on this fad and put him in the second film, but never realized that the jokes were going out of style. So for me it was painful to see this cameo that came way too late. The way they handled the cameo was pretty good, but since the fad is dead its just too late for that. Good execution, bad timing!

FINALLY, we can get to the villains. We've got Scott Adkins as... some asshole henchman. (He appears a lot, gets a few lines, does a few villain like things, and has a cool fight scene) But the BIG VILLAIN! The Head Honcho, the Big Cheese, the Final Boss is none other than Jean-Claude Van Damme! And boy does he make a cool villain. All he really needed to do is his signature kicks and he makes a cool character. Though without spoiling anything, he could be a better character. He had no personality other than evil badass. The Expendables at least have small personalities to play off of. Jean-Claude is just... an asshole, an asshole for no reason other than to be an asshole.

Now here I'd go more into detail on what I liked and disliked, but that was really done when I described the first film. Certainly its main flaws were taken care of, but it still is liked and disliked for the same reasons the first movie is. If anything I feel at times it is too much like the first movie, but then at other times I feel it has a bit of personality on its own. If you liked the first one, you'll love this one.

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*Love, Hate, or Tolerate: Love

**Good, Bad, or Ugly: Good Movie; Bad Film

Who Would Like It?: Anyone who liked the first one. Any big action fan. Any fan of the actors in the movie. Anyone who just wants a silly Saturday night movie to watch with friends. Hemsworth fan girls.

Who Would Hate It?: People who aren't action movie fans.People who don't like silly fun movies and take film as a more serious medium. People who don't like violence. Those who are not into the old action nostalgia this movie tries to emulate. Hemsworth fan girls. Hipsters.

Recommendation: I wouldn't say this is a must see and tell you to storm your local theater. Its good fun action, but it can wait for DVD release. If you do see it in theaters I'd recommend with a group of buddies who are pumped up for action.

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*- "Love, Hate, or Tolerate" runs like a good, bad, or average scale. Hate is a 0-3. Tolerate is a 4-6. Love is a 7-10. I do not like nor care for point scales.

**- "Good, Bad, or Ugly" works as a scale to tell someone whether the movie or film is more of a fun entertaining "movie" or a serious, piece of art "film". I choose to define "Movie" and "Film" differently!