The Expendables 2

Review Date: August 19, 2012
R
Genre: Action/Adventure
2012

Common Sense Media says

The Expendables are still very violent, but much improved.

Age

Quality

Positive messages0
The Expendables 2 is mostly based on/driven by revenge, which enables the band of heroes to kill any number of bad guys without feeling bad about it. At one point, they're asked to help rescue some captured civilians. They initially refuse -- a rescue would get in the way of their mission -- but they eventually do it.
Positive role models1
A strong female character who's a wise and skilled fighter quickly becomes an equal among the men. Although the men are violent and driven by revenge, their hearts are generally in the right place.
Violence4
The movie's violence is strong and graphic, but it's also cartoonish and without much weight or consequence. There's heavy shooting, spurting blood, and many dead bodies. There are also knives and stabbing, hitting with brass knuckles, and martial arts fighting. There's a helicopter crash and a very, very quick shot of a burning man. One major character dies. A character is beheaded by a whirling propeller, and a main character brings back a man's head in a bag. Kidnapping.
Sex1
One of the main characters frequently speaks flirtatiously to his girlfriend on the phone. Viewers see them together in one scene, in which they kiss briefly. There's some discussion about her "cheating." The main female character flirts slightly with the lead male character. Additional flirting and love talk.

Language3
Several uses of "s--t," plus "bastards," "damn," "hell," "ass," and "swear to God."
Consumerism1
A large, old-fashioned Pepsi-Cola sign is highly visible in a few shots.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking2
Dolph Lundgren's character has a history of "chemical dependence." He's seen drinking from a flask on more than one occasion, but he never seems drunk and is more in control this time around. Characters occasionally drink beer in a bar or clink bottles while flying a plane. Some characters smoke cigars.

Expand to see more details

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that The Expendables 2 has even more legendary action stars -- and is quite a bit better -- than The Expendables, so expect boys of all ages to be clamoring to see it. The violence is strong and constant but slightly less nasty than in the first film. Overall the feel is cartoonish, although the characters are motivated by revenge, and there's lots of killing (and fighting, spurting blood, and dead bodies) with no consequences. Language isn't nearly as strong as in the last movie (supposedly due to co-star Chuck Norris' objections) but does include about a half-dozen uses of "s--t." There's some love talk and flirting and a discussion of cheating, but most of the sexual content is mild. A character with a history of chemical dependence takes a drink from a flask from time to time but never appears drunk; some of the main characters smoke cigars. On the plus side, there's a strong female character this time around, in addition to many other improvements.

What's the story?

After an explosive "teaser" to kick things off, Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and his team of "Expendables" (Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, and Liam Hemsworth) are called in to pay off a debt; their mission is to retrieve some classified information from a safe in the wreckage of a downed plane. Martial artist Maggie (Nan Yu) comes along to help. Unfortunately, the sinister Jean Vilain (Jean-Claude Van Damme) steals the intel -- the secret location of a store of plutonium -- and puts it to use. Worse, he also kills one of Barney's team members. So the team vows revenge, hopefully saving the world at the same time. Jet Li, Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger join the fun from time to time.

Is it any good?

Director Simon West (The Mechanic) replaces Stallone at the helm for this sequel to The Expendables, although Stallone still co-wrote the screenplay. Whatever the dynamic of this new combination, it magically fixed most of the problems of the first movie. THE EXPENDABLES 2 is less cruel and vicious than the first movie, concentrating more on explosive, cartoony violence. Consequently, the action is much clearer and more effective.

Characters are also given more time to interact and banter, which seems impossible given that there are even more of them this time around. Stallone and West give the team plenty of downtime between shootouts to talk about things like last meals. Strangely, the soundtrack is peppered with rather gentle old pop tunes ("Groovin'," "Crystal Blue Persuasion," etc.), which works wonderfully with the movie's flow. Some silly jokes turn up from time to time, and Stallone still has nothing to say about the action genre in general, but The Expendables 2 is a great deal of fun.

Explore, discuss, enjoy

Families can talk about the movie's violence. How did it affect you? What impact did it have?
Is this sequel more or less violent than its predecessor? What expectations do you think audiences/fans had after the first movie? What's the appeal of these action heroes, whose careers range over several decades?
Is Maggie a female role model? Does she present an unrealistic body image?

More details

Topics:	adventures
Studios:	Lionsgate, Millennium Films
Director:	Simon West
Cast:	Jason Statham, Jet Li, Sylvester Stallone
Genre:	Action/Adventure
Run time:	102 minutes
Theatrical release date:	August 17, 2012
DVD release date:	November 20, 2012
MPAA rating:	R
MPAA explanation:	strong violence, language and brief sexuality

This review of The Expendables 2 was written by Jeffrey M. Anderson

Age

Based on 11 parent & educator reviews:

82% say violence is an issue
45% say language is an issue
36% say there's too much drinking, drugs, or smoking

| |

Wwerobert1995

Teen, 17 years old

August 18, 2012

Pause for kids & under

Too violent

Extremely violent for kids

What other families should know

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was this review useful?

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Movied14

Teen, 16 years old

August 17, 2012

OK for kids & up

Expendables 2 movie review

Very fun

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Stevie111

Teen, 14 years old

August 21, 2012

Not for Kids

Extremely gruesome action movie is great but insanely bloody

Lots of brutality and violence with blood and gore throughout. Not at all for kids.

What other families should know

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was this review useful?

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See all user reviews

Jet Li's Fearless

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Jet Li's final fight; teens OK.

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The Transporter

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Pure popcorn pleasure for older teens and up.

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First Blood

(R, 1982)

First and most popular Rambo; and yes, bloody.

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The Expendables 2

Common Sense Media says

What parents need to know

What's the story?

Is it any good?

Explore, discuss, enjoy

Most useful reviews by all members

Stars many well known action buffs. Sylvester Stallone is the lead of the group of Expendables and are taken by surprise when a supposedly simple mission goes terribly wrong. Stallone and the gang seek revenge on the group that kills one of their own.

Adults only

Amazing movie

??

best movie ever

Great movie

better than the first

Too violent

Expendables 2 movie review

Extremely gruesome action movie is great but insanely bloody

Jet Li's Fearless

The Transporter

First Blood