The Expendables 2 (2012) is less insipid and annoying than its predecessor.  Sylvester Stallone has more vitality, but is still a frowning bore.  Most of the characters are bores too, although at least the woman-warrior named Maggie (Nan Yu) doesn’t go around acting like a man but displays a certain femininity instead.  The movie is rated R for its violence—there’s a compelling end-of-Bonnie and Clyde shooting of a lone bad guy, for instance—and the explosive action scenes, though well filmed, are less thrilling and interesting than what goes on in the TV shows, Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead.

66ème Festival du Cinéma de Venise (Mostra), 11ème jour (12/09/2009) Tapis rouge pour la soirée de cloture du Festival de Venise 2009 Sylvester Stallone (Photo credit: Wikipedia)