Parents' Guide to

The Expendables 2

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

The Expendables are still very violent but much improved.

Movie R 2012 102 minutes
The Expendables 2 Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 15+

Based on 12 parent reviews

Rarityfan
Rarityfan Adult
October 10, 2018
age 18+

Christmas is coming!

Not to be taken too serious classic all star action movie that spoof the endless row of 1980's rental VHS action movies. Heavy on violence and swearing, and good for a man's night out on a saturday. If you like old school action you can look yourself blind on the Youtube longplays channel of 80s and 90s action games for hours. I think we can say there is no hope for an so much hyped Expendables 4 with a long list of other all stars we want for that.
Mr. Swenson
Mr. Swenson Adult
January 23, 2014
age 7+

Great Movie for 7 Year olds

Great movie took my 7 year old son to it, and it was Great! Was not violent at all, and set a good example for him. I think the acting was great, and Language was at a minimum.
See all 12 parent reviews

What's the Story?

After an explosive "teaser" to kick things off, Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and his team of "Expendables" (Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, and Liam Hemsworth) are called in to pay off a debt; their mission is to retrieve some classified information from a safe in the wreckage of a downed plane. Martial artist Maggie (Nan Yu) comes along to help. Unfortunately, the sinister Jean Vilain (Jean-Claude Van Damme) steals the intel -- the secret location of a store of plutonium -- and puts it to use. Worse, he also kills one of Barney's team members. So the team vows revenge, hopefully saving the world at the same time. Jet Li, Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger join the fun from time to time.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (12 ):
Kids say (45 ):

THE EXPENDABLES 2 is less cruel and vicious than the first movie, concentrating more on explosive, cartoony violence; consequently, the action is much clearer and more effective. Director Simon West (The Mechanic) replaces Stallone at the helm for this sequel to The Expendables, although Stallone still co-wrote the screenplay. Whatever the dynamic of this new combination, it magically fixed most of the problems of the first movie.

Characters are also given more time to interact and banter, which seems impossible given that there are even more of them this time around. Stallone and West give the team plenty of downtime between shootouts to talk about things like last meals. Strangely, the soundtrack is peppered with rather gentle old pop tunes ("Groovin'," "Crystal Blue Persuasion," etc.), which works wonderfully with the movie's flow. Some silly jokes turn up from time to time, and Stallone still has nothing to say about the action genre in general, but The Expendables 2 is a great deal of fun.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the movie's violence. How did it affect you? What impact did it have?

  • Is this sequel more or less violent than its predecessor? What expectations do you think audiences/fans had after the first movie? What's the appeal of these action heroes, whose careers range over several decades?

  • Is Maggie a female role model? Does she present an unrealistic body image?

Movie Details

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