A Zip-Line, Machine Guns And A Flipped-Over Jeep? Yep, 'The Expendables 2'

If a vehicle gets totaled and a handful of bad, armed men meet their maker in a matter of seconds, then any clip shown of Aug. 17's "The Expendables 2" has delivered no less than every expectation.

This will probably go down among the tamest moments from Sylvester Stallone's sequel to his 2010 blockbuster ode to testosterone-bathed action, but that makes it no less satisfying. There's not much explaining why he and Jason Statham are riding a zip-line through jungle treetops with machine guns a-blazin'. But it's a safe assumption that whoever is behind them is shooting first, the shooting again later before asking questions.

Of course, the two get the expected welcoming committee upon landing of nameless henchmen who don't realize how dead the script truly says they are. Just as sure as Stallone breaks them all down like a fraction, it becomes apparent that someone's got a bird's-eye view through a sniper's scope.

Like its predecessor, this just is what it is. There's no subtext and nothing attempting to be especially clever. it's shut-your-brain-off fun the likes of  doesn't get made often anymore, shot straight-forward with old-school stars and new-school throwbacks doing lots of their own stunts.

Of course, it doesn't hurt at all that "The Expendables 2" stars not just Stallone and Statham, but also Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenneger, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth and Jean-Claude Van Damme (among others.)