The Expendables 2 2012

David Hiltbrand, Philadelphia Inquirer: Nice to know America's action stars, no matter how old they get, will never lack for gainful employment. Read more

Steven Snyder, TIME Magazine: [A] saggy, rickety and occasionally winded geriatric action thriller ... Read more

Neil Genzlinger, New York Times: Pleasantly dumb fun if you watch it with the right mind-set. Read more

John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: Does it all have to be so tedious? Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: The Expendables 2 makes a franchise out of a novelty item, and the nostalgic kick is gone: It's a reminder that most of those '80s actioners were xenophobic and dumb, that many of its stars had more muscle mass than charisma. Read more

Tom Russo, Boston Globe: "The Expendables 2" is lazily satisfied with repeating the first movie's formula, shortcomings and grisly strengths alike, just as the first movie was content to slavishly, ploddingly cover the hits of the '80s. Read more

Amy Nicholson, Boxoffice Magazine: The screen practically stinks of Old Spice and sweat Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: The movie is excellent crap, fine junk, an exercise in campy movie nostalgia, and a demonstration of American supremacy in the field of nutty cosmetic enhancements for aging movie stars. Read more

William Goss, Film.com: For better and worse, this ultra-violent follow-up gives the audience what it wants in full force. Read more

Justin Lowe, Hollywood Reporter: Taut, humorous and attractively packaged, the sequel is both fleet footed and engaging enough to captivate audiences with more than just nonstop action. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: What gives "Expendables 2" its charm is the film's unabashed nostalgia for the genre's best B-movie moments. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Chuck Norris is also in this movie, although you should know that he gets roughly five minutes of screen time, half of those devoted to his telling of a Chuck Norris joke. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: Yeah, yeah, I get it: "The Expendables 2" is a fun-loving throwback to the gloriously bad action films of the 1980s. Here's what I don't get: Why couldn't it be a throwback to the good ones? Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, NPR: The Expendables 2 is reasonably cathartic in a fall-down-go-boom way, and if the picture's self-conscious riffing becomes tiresome after a while ... it's still much wittier than its predecessor. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Stallone is once more an amiable host. He even pulls off heroics despite having an ill-advised 'stache laying over his mouth, which nowadays looks like a squished octopus. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: It's hard not to like a movie in which Bruce Willis' toupee-less CIA agent accuses Stallone's ragtag band of mercenaries of engaging in "male pattern badness.'' Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Does exactly what it's supposed to do - no more, no less. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: I wanted to like this movie. Really. But this sequel doesn't wear down your resistance; it just wears you out. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: At least it's efficiently and breezily forgettable. What's more, there are laughs too and here's the best part - one or two of them are actually intentional. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: They all take turns playing the clown - and for the most part, it's fun to watch them at it, even if the body count is distressingly high. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: If someone told you that the negative was found on the shelf of a studio that went bankrupt in 1991, you'd most likely believe them. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: The Expendables 2 is corny, barbaric and sometimes visually murky. But humor and self-deprecating macho charm make this male pattern badness crowd-pleasing fun. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: Redundant, bombastic and cheekily self-aware, The Expendables 2 is also savvy enough to supply its own auto-critique. Read more

Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice: Has the parallel between the actor and the mercenary's trade ever been so overt? Read more