When it comes to movie mayhem, nobody holds a candle to Sylvester Stallone.  In the movies he has destroyed people on a very personal level (the brutal Rocky fights, the underrated Nighthawks, even the first Rambo movie, First Blood), and then, over the years, expanded his murderous ways into full-blown massacres (the later Rambo films and the two Expendables adventures).  With 2008’s Rambo and the pair of Expendables pictures since then, Stallone has apparently concluded that modern movie adventure entertainment must be awash in blood and guts to succeed.

The violence quotient in Rambo was startling; it may be a sign of the times that it doesn’t seem so extreme now.  Yet when Stallone and his fellow senior citizen action stars (Willis, Schwarzenegger, Norris, et al.) shoot, stab and strangle every bad guy in sight — complete with spurting arteries, exploding heads, and the like — it feels like the 1980s again, only this time on steroids.  The Expendables 2, directed by Simon West, has its share of cool action sequences and memorable stunt work, but unlike The Dark Knight Rises, it refuses to let character development (or character angst) derail its train of destruction.  This movie is flat-out revenge-fueled action, with just a couple of slow spots to permit the aged stars to catch their breath.

And as much as I was impressed by the opening sequence and the nuclear bomb chase in the Batman movie, I’ve got to admit that I liked this movie just a little bit more.  It isn’t as pretentious, and despite the gallons of fake blood it isn’t as dark; its knights are kind of warm and fuzzy underneath their razor stubble and rippling muscles.  I would not call The Expendables 2 a good movie, but what with its action and humor it is a bloody good time.  ☆ ☆.  23 August 2012.