A new trailer for The Expendables 2 hit the ‘net this morning, and as one would expect from a series specifically designed to revive the glory days of hyper-masculine, overly-muscled dudes shooting gigantic guns, and dropping hilariously witty quips before dispatching the nebulously ethnic villain of the week, it’s quite fun for all children of the 1980s.
Granted, there are a half-dozen instances where one could point out that physics just doesn’t work like that, and I doubt that any former gubernatorial official could actually tear the door off of a car, but given the film’s cast, who cares? There’s something really, purely awesome about John McClane and The Terminator yelling at one another during a gunfight, and Jason Statham is physically incapable of being anything but intensely charming — doubly so when he’s stabbing people in the face.
The most intriguing (though not surprising) part of the trailer is Jean Claude Van Damme’s inclusion as the villain. If you haven’t been paying much attention to the man’s acting of late, we don’t really blame you, but you have missed out on a completely unexpected late-career resurgence in which Monsieur Van Damme is undoubtedly doing the best work of his life. If you don’t think the star of Universal Soldier is a legit actor, please take a few hours to watch 2008’s JCVD. Compared to that dark, meta look at the man’s life, hamming it up as a megalomaniacal villain opposite the top box office draws of the Reagan era should be no problem.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is that kid that Stallone is seen talking to in a few scenes. According to IMDB, his character is actually named “The Kid” and he’s played by Liam Hemsworth (Hunger Games). It’s easy to understand why the film might want to inject some new blood, if only to mix things up a bit, but he just seems completely out of place in a movie featuring guys who were literally fictionally killing people by the thousands when Hemsworth was still in diapers. Maybe he’ll be the film’s standout character, but it seems far more likely that he’ll be the annoying contrast to all the cool stuff the other guys do.
The Expendables 2 hits theaters on August 17, 2012.
