Considering THE EXPENDABLES 2 is the manliest, most masculine film of 2012, where better to hold the press conference than the very decadent, feminine Regency Room of the Simpsons-In-The-Strand hotel. Yes, six of the film’s biggest stars (Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Scott Adkins) spent 30 minutes bantering between themselves, giggling like naughty school boys and replying to the questions we all wanted answers for.
In the cheeky words of Mr Arnold Schwarzenegger (who returns as Trent) ‘it’s good to be back’, with the returning cast members nodding in agreement. When asked how the bar had been raised for the sequel, Arnie continued that the film,
‘Has funny scenes…the movie made me laugh a lot…it’s bigger, better than the first one. I thought that everyone’s performance was great. I thought that the first one was almost impossible to top…but this one is even bigger than the first one and I think it’s going to be very successful.’
Continuing on that upward peak, the film’s newbie – Scott Adkins – described his fellow cast members as ‘action legends’. And they truly, truly are. When Stallone (Barney Ross) was asked about the injuries he received during the filming of THE EXPENDABLES (including several surgeries), he replied that he ‘threw common sense out the window’ and that he can’t help himself. Being one of the biggest action heroes in the history of film, we can understand why!
Of course, it’s always great to get to know what the cast members really think of each other. However, not a bad word was spoken here, as Schwarzenegger said that working with Jason Statham (Lee Christmas) was brilliant because,
‘He’s such a talented actor. He’s believable on the screen. He really shines in this movie.’
But getting a group of grown men together to talk about their new film was never going to be without some laughs. When Statham was asked what he thought his most memorable line was from this ever expanding career, he jibed,
‘You’ve got to go with a movie people have seen and I don’t think I have one!’
Later on that day at the premiere, which was held in London’s Leicester Square, we managed to get some words from Van Damme who – along with fellow EXPENDABLE newcomer Chuck Norris – is one of the names fans are most excited for. When asked what it was like working with such a big cast, Jean-Claude replied,
‘Great. For me it was like a kid and a big candy store because I’ve been growing with those people. So I was never dreaming in my life I would do one film with one guy like that…So now I’ve got all those guys and I was chasing them in the theatre, buying a ticket, and guess what? They’re chasing me.’
It sounds as if THE EXPENDABLES 2 is not only making film fans’ dreams come true, but also its legendary cast members!
THE EXPENDABLES 2 is out in cinemas from Thursday 16th August. You can read our review of it here.
