The Scorecard Review news
News: After disappointingly short appearances in last year’s The Expendables, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger are returning in larger roles for The Expendables 2. Sylvester Stallone, who directed and starred in the first film, will not be directing the sequel. He will return as an actor while handing the directorial duties to Simon West (Con Air, The Mechanic). Source: Deadline
Thoughts by TSR: Sometimes I find myself quite interested in sequels to films that did not live up to expectations. You know, the movies that seemed to have quite a bit going for them on paper, but then end up being letdowns. Last year’s The Expendables fits that description for me. I’m not a huge action lover, but I found it hard not to be a little excited thanks to the cast that was a who’s who of action stars. Still, it didn’t come together and was a major disappointment. That said I have hopes they will be able to get things right the second time around.
One of the more bothersome aspects was how the marketing played up the appearance of Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, but then what was shown in the advertising turned out to be their only scene. When you have Rambo, John McClane and the Terminator all in the same movie I expect brawling, blood (not CG blood, either!) and awesome one liners flying between them. The Expendables failed to deliver on that. But now there’s hope! Oh yes, Arnie and Bruce are in for The Expendables 2. According to Deadline, their roles are “substantial” this time around. It's hard to say just what that means, but it should be good for more than a couple minutes of screen time.
There was a lot wrong with the first film. Hopefully they will make the necessary changes and deliver the action film we all hoped The Expendables would be. Most of the cast from the first film is expected to return – Stallone, Statham, Lundgren, Rourke, Crews, Jet Li – and there are rumors Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris might even be up for roles! Insert obligatory Chuck Norris Joke here!