G.I. Joe: Retaliation is action packed and features many of your favorite Joes, however, I feel like my brother does like they edited out some scenes that would have really helped the plot in favor of the action scenes. I felt a disconnection between the action, the plot and the characters. I enjoyed this film, but not as much as I could have if the action, plot and characters had come together better.
In the first movie, Destro and Cobra Commander were caught and placed in some kind of detainment facility. The G.I. Joes are now a valuable part of the US Military and all seems right with the world. That is until the Joes go on a mission to retrieve some nuclear warheads. All goes well with the mission but then the Joes are attacked. Roadblock, Lady Jaye, and Flint find themselves, as the remaining Joes, alone without any help from any sector. The Joes have been framed for treasonous activities and have been terminated by the president. Roadblock, Flint and Jaye need to figure out why the Joes were attacked, and if and how the Cobras are behind the tragedy. They go back to Roadblocks home turf to operate out of an abandoned rec center. They find themselves facing off against a US government that is under Cobra control. Where can they find help? Are they the only Joes left? Can they defeat the Cobras before they take over and destroy the world?
While G.I. Joe: Retaliation is better than the first G.I. Joe movie; I still have some problems with it mainly in the area of the plot. It has a good base with a Cobra impersonating the President and nearly wiping out the Joes, and even the plan for world domination using a missile system called Zeus is decent. However, between all the action scenes there is no time for this plot to develop or for any character development. If you didn’t know anything about the Joes coming into the movie, then you would still know nothing when you left. You don’t get connected to the characters and the plot never has a chance to evolve, it just bounces around like a hyped up bunny. I also take exception to the fact that we are missing some essential Joes in my opinion. Where is Scarlett or the Baroness? How about General Hawk? Or even Ripcord? And why is Roadblock suddenly Duke’s best buddy and second in command instead of Flint?
Now the action is great. It has all the guns, explosions, tanks, high-grade weaponry, fights, and chases that any heart could desire. Throw on top of that some ninja sequences, and what is not to love. All the action seemed nicely choreographed and well done. I just wish there had been a plot to go with it. There is also some pretty nice scenery and some nicely done CG in this film.
The acting is just okay. I am not a huge fan of Channing Tatum but he plays a decent Duke. He has the look and he plays the decent father figure we expect him to be. However, I have always thought Duke had more gravitas than Channing did in the movie, and I always thought that he was a bit older than that. Dwayne Johnson is a perfect G.I. Joe character. I completely understand movie wise why they tossed Flint aside in favor of his character. He would have been a perfect Flint; alas we already had Flint from the previous film. Representing the original roadblock well, not so much considering the original Roadblock was African American and a chef. He was very strong and that’s were Dwayne Johnson does fit the bill. Dwayne did do a good acting job. It is not his fault he was cast in the wrong role.
D.J. Cotrona is useless as Flint. He might have well been obliterated with the rest of the Joes. They don’t give him much in the way of lines; he is not essential to the plot. He is just there. Not really D.J.’s fault but it is what it is. Adrianne Palicki was decent as Lady Jaye. She does as well as any female character in these types of movies. She is pretty and plays a nice decoy when necessary.
Byung-hun Lee as Storm-Shadow is probably the best character in the film. We know more about him than anyone else and actually, even as a bad guy, he has a back-story we can connect to. I thought Byung-hun did an excellent job at making the character believable for us. Elodie Yung was good as Jinx. I mean who doesn’t love a female ninja? She doesn’t have a large role except for the great action sequence that she shares with the silent Snake Eyes who is played by Ray Park. Snake Eyes is a difficult role to play since he cannot speak and you must do all your acting with body language and gestures. I thought Ray did a good job with the role.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie but it is a one watch for me. I was hoping that the second time around G.I. Joe would get a better shake because I like this franchise, but unfortunately it didn’t. It tried too hard to work off the failing first film. I think if they had just started fresh, they might have done a better job with it. There is just too much action so the story takes a hit and some of the acting is a little lackluster. If you are a die-hard fan of G.I. Joe then you should see it, otherwise give it a pass.