The Expendables 2 *spoilers from post 263*

sxt

There is no problem with citing the reasons a film is rubbish. Repeatedly making snotty potty remarks about Stallone's face and speech is not a great movie review

Could the reviewer have informed the movie goer , that they might like this film if they are a fan of dumb old school terrible outlandish action movies?

Would it have hurt to have acknowledge that Jean Claude Van Damme is great in it , playing the best euro trash villian since Hans Gruber

He could have mentioned Jet Li dishing out kick ass with a frying pan, and asked the question, why didn't they let Randy couture get all MMA on somebodys ass!?

What about the non PC comedy gold form Dolph lundgren?

Liam Hemsworth is the next Chris Hemsworth etc

johnny_ultimate

sxt wrote: »

There is no problem with citing the reasons a film is rubbish. Repeatedly making snotty potty remarks about Stallone's face and speech is not a great movie review

That's because his speech is actually beyond farcical at this point. There were plenty of points when it was impossible to make sense of what he was saying. And considering it's all seemingly down to excessive plastic surgery, it's fair game to criticise it.

Could the reviewer have informed the movie goer , that they might like this film if they are a fan of dumb old school terrible outlandish action movies?

A review is entirely subjective. It's one reviewer's personal opinion: and in this case a little cheeky but generally well argued. There'll be an audience for almost every film: a reviewer is under no obligation to point that out every single time.

Would it have hurt to have acknowledge that Jean Claude Van Damme is great in it , playing the best euro trash villian since Hans Gruber

Come on! He was ****ing awful.

What about the non PC comedy gold form Dolph lundgren?

There's a difference between 'non PC' and regressive and embarrassing. The racially insensitive jokes here were the kind of thing cinema should have put behind them decades ago. Donald Clarke has the good sense to call the film up on this.

Liam Hemsworth is the next Chris Hemsworth etc

I will concede this: in a film that's almost uniformly poorly acted, Hemsworth and Nan Yu at least give the impression they'd be able to act if they weren't straddled with a lazy, ignorant script.

pixelburp

sxt wrote: »

Could the reviewer have informed the movie goer , that they might like this film if they are a fan of dumb old school terrible outlandish action movies?

I like old-school action movies & the Expandables series is rubbish; just a cash-grab, trading on peoples nostalgia for their childhood. Compared against the back catalogue it's apparently aping, it is pretty dreadful. It's not a given that those with a love for the genre are going to like this cheap, indistinct mess of a film.

sxt wrote: »

Would it have hurt to have acknowledge that Jean Claude Van Damme is great in it , playing the best euro trash villian since Hans Gruber

Well what makes your opinion any more valid than Clarkes? Frankly, you're in the minority who thought JCD was good, or that Lundren's dialogue was a laugh riot. VanDamme was wasted in a vacuous role that required him to do nothing & the idea that he had even a percentage of Hans Gruber's personality & character is a bit laughable tbh. Ditto the idea that just because what Lundgren said was 'non PC' it automatically makes it funny - I definitely don't follow that logic.

If you enjoyed the film, then fair enough; but don't try to find an agenda or bias in those who plainly didn't enjoy it - or who found it pretty excruciating.

krudler

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

That's because his speech is actually beyond farcical at this point. There were plenty of points when it was impossible to make sense of what he was saying. And considering it's all seemingly down to excessive plastic surgery, it's fair game to criticise it.

well to be fair Stallone has always had speech problems, part of his lower face is paralysed since birth, so its not really fair game, he has had way too much plastic surgery though, he'll look like his mother lol

sxt

pixelburp wrote: »

Well what makes your opinion any more valid than Clarkes? Frankly, you're in the minority who thought JCD was good, or that Lundren's dialogue was a laugh riot. VanDamme was wasted in a vacuous role that required him to do nothing & the idea that he had even a percentage of Hans Gruber's personality & character is a bit laughable tbh. Ditto the idea that just because what Lundgren said was 'non PC' it automatically makes it funny - I definitely don't follow that logic.

If you enjoyed the film, then fair enough; but don't try to find an agenda or bias in those who plainly didn't enjoy it - or who found it pretty excruciating.

Again,no problem with a reviewer finding a movie terrible , but I'd prefer a movie review rather than an obnoxious ,bitter sounding rant

Compare that irish times review to all the other reviews in irish papers and the difference in tone and analysis is remarkable. It gets a panning as well by the way, but at least you learn what to expect if you decide to go

http://www.ifco.ie/ifco/ifcoweb.nsf/lookupfilmreviews/6FA7AC750DE1164380257A4E004F8595?OpenDocument&Reviews=True

SirLemonhead

krudler wrote: »

well to be fair Stallone has always had speech problems, part of his lower face is paralysed since birth, so its not really fair game, he has had way too much plastic surgery though, he'll look like his mother lol

I found him perfectly understandable myself.. he's always sounded like that, due to the birth complications you mentioned.

How does plastic surgery change a persons ability to speak?

krudler

SirLemonhead wrote: »

I found him perfectly understandable myself.. he's always sounded like that, due to the birth complications you mentioned.

How does plastic surgery change a persons ability to speak?

Lips would I guess, or jaw restructuring.

CMpunked

I bloody loved this movie. It was ridiculous, over the top, funny, dumb and satirical and had some heart; just enough for there to be a fleshed out story.

johnny_ultimate

I didn't realise his speech problems originated at birth, apologies for that mistake. However, I still do feel his diction in recent films has often bordered on the incomprehensible (and there were plenty of times during The Expendables 2 when many people in the cinema clearly shared this view), and I do not think it is entirely unfair to comment on that as it has a negative impact on the films themselves. However, I do now accept it is not his fault, even if I suspect his extreme facial surgery may have further slurred his speech.

krudler

I chuckled when the Asian chick said to Stallone something like "you never talk about blahblah's death" eh..because it happened about an hour ago?

JohnMarston

sxt wrote: »

The Expendables 2

1 star out of 5

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/theticket/2012/0817/1224322293712.html



It seems more of a complete snide commentary than a review? Snide commentary in black, not saying that alot of what he says is fair to say if he is comparing to Godfather 2! , the reviewer completely missed the whole point of the movie , in the first place?

Do you think this was a "Fair" review ?

No pleasing some people i suppose

Delightfully Pessimistic

I saw this yesterday and loved it. It was cheesy,over the top and flat out ridiculous. But brilliant.
Chuck Norris' entrance had me and basically the whole audience in stitches.:p

Handsome Bob

This isn't an excellent self parody of the genre, it is no Last Action Hero.

solarith

Delightfully Pessimistic wrote: »

I saw this yesterday and loved it. It was cheesy,over the top and flat out ridiculous. But brilliant.
Chuck Norris' entrance had me and basically the whole audience in stitches.:p

Same! Loved it! It kicked ass!

Border-Rat

Handsome Bob wrote: »

This isn't an excellent self parody of the genre, it is no Last Action Hero.

Homage and parody - two different things.

h57xiucj2z946q

This film was the best film in the history of films. Nothing will top it.

Galvasean

Leland Flaky Door wrote: »

This film was the best film in the history of films. Nothing will top it.

Expendables 3?

h57xiucj2z946q

Galvasean wrote: »

Expendables 3?

I'm speechless. I heard they are looking to get Clint Eastwood for it!

JohnMarston

Leland Flaky Door wrote: »

I'm speechless. I heard they are looking to get Clint Eastwood for it!

They should name him Harry Callahan. Harrison Ford and Nicholas Cage are also being sought. Seagal could also be in the next one.

h57xiucj2z946q

JohnMarston wrote: »

They should name him Harry Callahan. Harrison Ford and Nicholas Cage are also being sought. Seagal could also be in the next one.

Also Sean Connery.

Tipsy McSwagger

Leland Flaky Door wrote: »

I'm speechless. I heard they are looking to get Clint Eastwood for it!

I heard he won't do it unless he is partnered with his chair.

Galvasean

Speaking of chairs, I've heard that the main reason Seagal hasn't been in an Expendables movie yet is that he is notoriously hard to work with, often demanding that his scenes consist mostly of mid shots and facial closeups so that he can 'act' while sitting down.

Galvasean

Galvasean wrote: »

Speaking of chairs, I've heard that the main reason Seagal hasn't been in an Expendables movie yet is that he is notoriously hard to work with, often demanding that his scenes consist mostly of mid shots and facial closeups so that he can 'act' while sitting down.

He also hares one of the main producers of The Expendables and refuses to work with him. I imagine the main reason he is not being considered is because of how lazy he is. In recent years he has refused to do any ADR aswell as the fact that stunt doubles have to be used for every scene. There are films where he does no martial arts beyond a few slaps and a double is used for any kicks or punches or scenes where he has to run.

JohnMarston

Leland Flaky Door wrote: »

Also Sean Connery.

I cant see Connery getting out of retirement. Portraying Eastwood in an action movie at his age is going to be a chore in itself, if he is cast

podgemonster

Went to see this Friday night in Dundrum on my own as the GF and the lads had no interest. Arrived in to find 2 couples inside, a small screen. A korean couple come in and sit up the back, 2 guys and a girls walk in and sit near the front. A nice quiet screen.

Then during the trailers about 20-25 lads walk in, Id say straight from rugby training, i thought to myself that this is going to be a disaster, how wrong I was.

First few minutes was a few comments by the lads trying to be funny, the couples moved away from them and the 2 guys and the girl kept turning round and shushing them. Then came the scene where the plane had to fly over the dam, pure silence, then when it went over a huge cheer from the crowd, high fives flying everywhere. From there on it was a glorious interactive cinema experience.

A solemn round of applause when Van Damme killed Billy, infectious laughter at the extremely bad jokes, and huge cheer for all the cameos especially Arnies "I'm Back".

I think eventually everyone left with a smile on there face, great fun had by all especially the korean couple who were píssing themselves on the way out.

fluke

podgemonster wrote: »

Went to see this Friday night in Dundrum on my own as the GF and the lads had no interest. Arrived in to find 2 couples inside, a small screen. A korean couple come in and sit up the back, 2 guys and a girls walk in and sit near the front. A nice quiet screen.

Then during the trailers about 20-25 lads walk in, Id say straight from rugby training, i thought to myself that this is going to be a disaster, how wrong I was.

First few minutes was a few comments by the lads trying to be funny, the couples moved away from them and the 2 guys and the girl kept turning round and shushing them. Then came the scene where the plane had to fly over the dam, pure silence, then when it went over a huge cheer from the crowd, high fives flying everywhere. From there on it was a glorious interactive cinema experience.

A solemn round of applause when Van Damme killed Billy, infectious laughter at the extremely bad jokes, and huge cheer for all the cameos especially Arnies "I'm Back".

I think eventually everyone left with a smile on there face, great fun had by all especially the korean couple who were píssing themselves on the way out.

Sounds like a Ross O' Carroll Kelly book!

I wish they were around during my viewing

Fenian Army

I really enjoyed it, was stupid, but fun

username123

I LOVED it!!!

Does anyone know if Van Damme was genuinely doing the high spin kicks himself or was it a stunt double?

Noticed the terrible film quality in some scenes myself.

JohnMarston wrote: »

Number 3, if there is one, needs Kurt Russel, Seagal and Wesley Snipes. Danny Trejo might not be a bad choice either

I agree, but, Seagal is fat and almost unrecognisable now:



and Wesley Snipes is currently in prison.

Id be happy to see a cameo with Liam 'Taken' Neeson myself!!

Galvasean

I'd say Van Damme did the kicks. He is a legitimately good martial artist.

username123

Galvasean wrote: »

I'd say Van Damme did the kicks. He is a legitimately good martial artist.

Yes, I hope so - he isnt too old to be high kicking either, at 51 he was a spring chicken in that movie!