Double impact Another stunning prologue with rammed walls, chases on boats and water bikes, an abundance of explosions, shootouts and an exploding helicopter clearly proves that the plot in such a film is not even secondary. The most important thing is the entertainment and charisma of the caste, which with their expressiveness and coolness to the pathos music shoot terrorists, rescue hostages and blow up enemies.
The absence of Mickey Rourke from the first part and a number of equally desirable action stars in such a picture is compensated by the already overgrown number of characters. Everyone was given due attention, almost all got their moment of fame and memorable action scene. For the timing of the film, the action practically does not stop, stopping only after a spectacular prologue, in order to present to the viewer the heroes, villains, a certain meaning of the brawl and arrange a stunning endless battle-fight.
Simon West’s take on action and replacing the cameraman with the talented Shelly Joson ("Captain America: The First Avenger) made the action movie a reality! If the first film, shot by Stallone himself, successfully tried the ground and surprised with his idea, becoming one of the main film events, then in the sequel the bar was raised in accordance with expectations to surpass the first film and give something even cooler and more spectacular. If in the first part between Willis and Schwarzeneger, whose appearance in itself has already made the whole film, there was only a funny verbal skirmish, then here they were both given plenty of shots, in addition to equally deadly replicas full of movie references. And Chuck Norris, who joined them, manages not only to carry a bunch of people and a tank, but also to joke on his favorite Internet memes, confirming the status of his immeasurable coolness.
A gorgeous villain came out of Van Damme, much better than the dictator from the first picture, only when Stallone, Statham, Schwarzenegger and everyone else are on the side of the good guys at once, and only Van Damme with a bunch of monotonous cardboard terrorists looks a little unfair. And it’s not that we won’t see Willis’ battle with, say, Arnold proving who’s really cooler, but that the main antagonist of the film should have been given a bright environment, and only Scott Adkins was given away. Even in the first part, the right hand of the villain was the cult Steve Austin, here it was necessary to expand the background of enemies with no less star names of the heroes of militants and wrestlers. Let’s hope that the triquel will still be a battle of movie stars of militants against movie stars of militants, and not the persecution of any one Steven Seagal with a set of cult actors, growing from film to film.
It wasn't without newcomers either. I do not know that Liam Hamsworth (brother of Chris “Thor” Hamsworth) and Asian Nan Yu were needed for some very strained conventions of pseudo-drama and pseudo-lovstories. The first part was good because it was completely free of snot, regret and melodrama. Cool male action movie. The second film, by the thoughtful dialogues of Sylvester about love and women, causes in such scenes total bewilderment and the desire to squander delusional conversations on the upcoming meat grinder.
At the same time, there are so many characters in the film that Jet Lee disappears after the first 10 minutes (but he did get his fist fight), Lundgren is pushed far into the background until he begins to joke about Sweden and the Swedes, and Mickey Rourke does not appear at all (he refused to act). Thus, some of the cult heroes were replaced by completely unnecessary newcomers, and although they do everything to show themselves well in action scenes, instead of them I would like to see someone much more thematically fits into such a grandiose collection of movie stars.
If in the first film with his mega-gun, the coolest of the team looked, of course, Terry Crews, then it is impossible to single out one person here, especially when appearing in some action episodes of Schwarzeneger and Norris. Statham received several successful fights, again being both Priest and Mechanic, Stallone looks incredibly energetic and, as they say, “in uniform” worse than all the other “old men”, even Van Dam several times for the film demonstrates his signature reception to the delight of the fans, Arnold finally “back”, as promised to us, so that the team works out to the full program, arranging a truly cruel and bloody spectacle, enjoying the atmosphere of a real action movie without censorship! Blown heads, burnt people, shot bandits, whipping deadly wounds from big knives - a celebration of blood and violence in an action film of the highest quality!
When the first part was a real blow from the past, in a good sense of the phrase, embodying dreams of assembling a bunch of action heroes in one grand film, it was just incredible! The sequel had to try very hard in everything from fights to music, from the charisma of the villain to the beauty of camera work, to surpass the first film and be remembered by a huge number of his signature chips and sparkling jokes. The double blow of coolness, old-school action and nostalgia from the past is made by a real juicy explosion of memories that come to life in modernity and in a new way embodied on the movie screen.
About such a grand event until recently could only dream. Now you can admire to review both parts and dream of a third, remembering that even in such a cool set of actors is still missing Jackie Chan, Steven Seagal, Mark Dacascos and many others. So even with all the splendor and masterpiece of the sequel (albeit having modest shortcomings), you can safely roll your lip into even steeper and richer continuations. It was something that will forever be remembered! Great humor, stunning caste, an abundance of endless fights and shootouts, and most importantly, a blown up helicopter! A real thrill movie for fans of action, spectacle and action movies!
10 IZ 10
Original