Last night, I semi-watched the movie, The Expendables 2, starring what seemed like every action star of a few decades ago – Stallone, Van Damme, Lundgren, Willis, Schwarzenegger, to name a few. I have but one question – is this movie supposed to be a spoof of the bullet-flying, high-body-count movies of the 80’s and 90’s, or a legit action/thriller?

With dialogue such as “you must be known as a lone wolf” (paraphrasing here because I can’t quote it exactly) to Chuck Norris in reference to his role as Lone Wolf McQuade, Schwarzenegger’s famous line “I’ll be back”, a reference to Lundgren’s degree in chemical engineering, and someone commenting they should just get Rambo back, the whole movie seemed like a spoof of the stars’ earlier successes.

And then there’s the action – a few men take on hundreds and not one of them is hurt, much less killed. Yes, that’s typical of the genre, but really, can’t Hollywood at least throw in a casualty or two?

Needless to say, I won’t be in any hurry to see Expendables 3 (assuming there is one). Is it just me? Do I just not appreciate good writing? Do I expect too much from an action movie?

Have you seen it? What did you think?