Expendables 2: The Best Expendables Movie? A Franchise Retrospective

The Expendables: Only ONE Movie Got It Right!

Sylvester Stallone's Expendables: A Franchise That Mostly Missed the Mark

Sylvester Stallone is a legend. We all know that already! Rocky and Rambo? Total classics! But then came The Expendables (2010). This all-star action franchise had amazing potential; those awesome '80s action flicks getting a crazy, self-aware update– it seemed pretty perfect, really. It's got that amazing cast: Stallone himself alongside Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke – and cameos by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis! But it turns out only one actually nailed that retro action awesomeness that was originally intended!

Stallone's original goal was simple—a hilarious send-up of those cheesy '80s action Movies and a fun nod to those earlier days that made him famous. But that amazing idea didn’t quite get realised fully. It missed the mark with those attempts. Only one film actually got it right – but let’s find out why! This wasn't about simply getting an impressive ensemble, or showcasing action for itself– there needed a more complex ingredient; a compelling overarching goal for the storytelling to actually achieve something deeper.

Also Read: Jason Statham: Action Star's Hits and Misses, From 'The Expendables' to 'Fast X'

The Expendables 2 (2012): The Only One That Got It Right

Custom image of Rambo, Barney, and Rocky Image

The Expendables 2 is a comedic masterpiece. Seriously. Directed by Simon West (who also gave us Con Air), the sheer brilliance is how successfully it manages to be silly and totally awesome all at once! That perfect blend— self-aware humor and totally amazing action scenes! That's an awesome achievement. The plot isn’t anything groundbreaking; a supervillain literally named Vilain! But what that film lacks in original storyline – more than makes up for it in epic action, perfectly complemented with this clever use of comedic moments throughout this action drama. The addition of Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme in this film also brings incredible power and impact that’s otherwise unseen and never completely replicated across that original franchise.

The Expendables 2 also gets its cast right – everyone’s totally involved! Schwarzenegger and Willis had much bigger roles, elevating its storyline beyond a mere “getting famous people” exercise. The plot itself, however unrealistic might be (mercenaries versus supervillain threatening global chaos) still gets improved and well delivered, adding serious levels of detail which other sequels often lacked.

Also Read: Jason Statham as James Bond? Next 007 Casting Speculation

Why The Expendables 2 Was a Massive Improvement

That very first Expendables film attempted to make the storyline much more serious than those comedic moments, those small funny moments found scattered throughout, allowing it to become successful through those very important dramatic themes which needed serious improvements. It fell flat, unable to successfully handle this tricky, challenging dynamic of handling such seriously unrealistic moments alongside genuinely dramatic events; its failures really showed just how much improvement needed to occur to become truly successful.

The humor was key! The ridiculously outlandish aspects in The Expendables 2 – making its over-the-top plot work way, way better than the previous one. It simply didn’t bother to shy away and embrace that craziness. Its creativity demonstrated the importance of simply doing the initial idea— fully using those funny aspects, those creative flourishes. That made a far superior outcome!

The Expendables storyline didn’t really begin as an Expendables project; a screenwriter (David Callaham) made it – then Stallone adopted it; adapting it to the cast of A-List stars. This created a fundamental conflict because this original vision got hampered and lacked all those things making it original! Yet with The Expendables 2, Stallone got creative from the very beginning – creating the storyline around these elements of action combined with the previously utilized elements that showed their comedic prowess – producing the ultimate outcome that created its famous blend.

Also Read: The $7.3 Billion Franchise Success of Jason Statham makes 'The Italian Job' Revival Essential.

The Expendables 3 (2014) and Expend4bles (2023): Where It All Went Wrong

Those sequels couldn't capture that amazing magic, the tone; its later entries show obvious failures of achieving this, producing some very disappointing and unimpressive results! Those subsequent Expendables Movies went back into that kind of seriousness, lacking humor; those intense action scenes are incredibly underwhelming.

The Expendables 3 added more amazing stars ( Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford!) Yet the lack of fun made them completely ineffective. And Expend4bles ?(that disastrous sequel with a 13% Rotten Tomatoes score). This only failed to capture the key element and that is a strong cast, getting rid of most people and bringing on Megan Fox and 50 Cent— totally missing the charm and comedic timing. And it has an unimpressive storyline: Preventing World War 3— a truly epic and creative opportunity lost. That amazing and totally gripping idea got completely squashed by bad writing.

Also Read: James Bond Film Cancelled Would have delivered Daniel Craig's 007 almost ten years earlier.

Conclusion: Remembering What Made the Expendables Great

The Expendables had the right elements. Yet its inability to fully achieve that original, intended result only occurred in its sequel; showing its limitations, It was mostly an awesome showcase of those amazing actors and some of the finest action ever made – especially The Expendables 2 – proving just how important simply sticking to that initial premise of creating a truly original film – a film paying respect while mocking—could make a truly enjoyable, creative and fun work that completely outperformed later attempts to fully emulate the greatness from The Expendables 2 , proving that this approach should’ve become a fundamental aspect for every film released subsequently.