Expendables 2 - Movie Review

The Malaysian movie censorship is pretty strict. Even after censorship, you still can see the gore and blood in the most recent installment of Expendables. Expendables see Jet Li who plays Yin Yang, being featured in the first few scenes and he actually spoke some decent lines (if you can call them decent) and bade farewell to the gang by jumping out in a parachute with a Chinese billionaire, that's it. And he was replaced by a Chinese woman, who isn't exactly a girl and by the reaction I gauge from those seated near me in the cinema, the consensus is she isn't attractive. Sorry Yu Nam. We would expect a prettier face. Maybe Westerners view Asians differently. Anything Asian is 'exotic beauty' I guess.

TO MAKE THINGS WORSE, whoever bought the license for this movie in Malaysia, I hope you will take note that your translator did a 'out of context translation' for the Bahasa Malaysia subtitle.

During the shoot out where the gang ran out of ammo/bullets, they said: "I'm out", and the translation was "Saya pergi" which literally translate to "I am going (out)."

A funnier one which I feel is a disgrace: Arnold Schwarzenegger: "I am almost out"
Subtitle: Saya hampir pengsan.
Translates to: I am nearly fainting/will pass out soon.

This is what happens when translators do not get to watch the movie to get the context and just get thick scripts of dialogues to translate. I don't blame the translators, I blame the decision maker, whoever it is in the company who gains the license to bring this movie into Malaysia. At least check that the subtitles tally before airing it to the Malaysian public?

Back to the review, after censorship by the authorities, the movie only took one hour and 30 minutes and we left the cinema quite dissatisfied. With heavyweight legendary (read: aged and aging) action men except for maybe a man or two, I cannot help but think that their acting could have been better.

Yeah, I admit the old men still got it in the action and buff department, as their bodies could still flex their famed muscles, I still feel Expendables 1 is way better than Expendables 2. Sylvester Stallone, Arnold, Jason Statham, Bruce Willis, Jean Claude Van Damme, Jet Li (appeared for less than 15 mins), and my fav Chuck Norris with his signature music in the background when he appeared, which are more like a cameo - Sorry peeps, you need to find a different genre to diversify or maybe don't accept offers or agree to star in a single movie with too many action heroes, we are confused on who is the real hero in the movie. Nah, as if I'd be confused. But usually the hero will be the last man standing, and we are talking about a gang of men.

Anyway, I digress, for the record, I am a woman so I may be biased when it comes to gore and excessive violence.

Only watch it I'd you are a gamer. Hubby had a field time watching the action and shooting. However he also agrees that it could be better. It certainly isn't the best movie released this year or even this month!

Sorry to say that I have one word to describe the movie and it's actually NOT bad, it's "juvenile".

Enough said.

Pix below grabbed from Wikipedia.