‘G.I. JOE: RETALIATION’ REVIEW

‘G.I. JOE: RETALIATION’ REVIEW

BY IAN TAN

G.I. Joe: Retaliation marks director Jon M. Chu’s (Step Up 3D, Never Say Never) first foray into the action movie genre. It also serves as a kick-starter to this year’s serving of blockbuster action movies. So, how well does G.I. Joe: Retaliation fare as the first of many action flicks to hit the silver screen in 2013? The answer may vary for different audience members, but I for one, found this second adventure of the Hasbro-boy-dolls-turned-movie franchise installment to be a pretty fun trip to the cinema.

The movie starts off a few months after the events of its predecessor, ‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra’, and sees Duke leading a whole new team of Joes to get business done. Soon enough, the bad guys emerge, kill pretty much the whole G.I. Joe gang save Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) and Flint (DJ Cotrona) and plans are revealed as to how the villain, Cobra Commander, aims to strike nuclear war in order to rule the world yada yada yada… and the adventure begins for Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson) and what’s left of the Joes to stop Cobra Commander’s ever-so-typical quest to gain “it all”. The plot is hardly the stuff of great screenwriting, not that we expect it coming from a G.I. Joe movie anyways, but in terms of action sequences and a sense of fun, the movie does pretty well.

This time round, Dwayne Johnson leads the cast alongside Adrianne Palicki, DJ Cotrona and Bruce Willis, amongst others. Returning cast members include Byung-hun Lee, Ray Park, and a brief Channing Tatum. The new cast of actors, surprisingly, deliver their roles quite well and are definitely a step above the previous installment’s cast, bringing in more believability to their roles as Government Issue material rather than being mere good looking soldiers whose action sequences looked like they were performed by stuntmen. I can’t really tell, though, if Bruce Willis was actually having fun during the shoot of this movie or if he was simply slacking, as his performance in this film seems oddly forgettable and does not live up to the rank and stature the character was meant to be.

There are several things this film bests its predecessor at, and some it doesn’t. The action sequences for one, take on a less corny and cooler approach. Gone are the goofy rip-off Iron Man-wannabe suits, over-the-top and ever-so-CGI looking action sequences and in are the uber-cool ninja sword slinging, acrobatics, and good old gunfire action. Be sure to look out for the mountain swordfight featuring Snake Eyes and Jinx against Storm Shadow’s minions. That scene alone makes the added price for 3D worth it, especially when experienced in full IMAX 3D. The visual effects in this film are used to greater benefit by treating us to tech such as miniscule insect-sized spy bombs and motorbikes that split into multiple boosters. This definitely outdoes ‘Rise of Cobra’ in terms of the use of digital special effects, as the previous movie contained too many gizmos, ships and environments that felt too gadgetry and sci-fi for a G.I. Joe film. It’s nice to see how ‘Retaliation’ strikes a pretty good balance between high-tech tools, ninja swordfights and combat, as well as shootouts to provide a more G.I. Joe feel that is more faithful to the comics and TV show.

Although a number of supporting characters get little in terms of development, director Jon Chu does a pretty okay job at the characterizations of the more major characters (Roadblock, Lady Jaye, Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes), presenting them in a way I believe fans would be (somewhat) pleased with. The sense of urgency and teamwork are also more apparent and better done here than in ‘Rise of Cobra’, with fewer and probably more interesting/likable characters (that’s debatable) to follow and a simpler storyline that doesn’t try to be something more complex or convoluted than it should be as its first film did, which is a plus point of sorts.

One thing to note about ‘Retaliation’ is that it feels awfully disconnected from the first film. Aside from the Snake Eyes/ Storm shadow story and the president of the United States being impersonated, there is very little in this second venture into the G.I. Joe cinematic world that relates to the first movie. Duke’s relationship with his other buddies that don’t make a return in this film (Anna/Baroness, Rip Cord, Heavy Duty, Scarlett, and General Hawk) are not referenced at all, with the biggest plot thread of Duke’s continuing relationship with Anna/Baroness completely forgotten, which is a pity as it would have given more emotional impact to the character when the unfortunate happens ;). There’s also RZA who plays Snake Eyes’ master who seemed completely miscast. It almost felt like a joke. And certain action sequences do play out better than others in this movie. Some are very, very well choreographed while others seem quite shaky and distorting, most notably the shootout scenes with multiple rounds of bullets fired to who-knows-where. But then again, it’s forgivable considering the fact that this is the director’s first action movie.

Aside some of the typical flaws most action (or should I say Hasbro?) movies suffer from, ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ more often treats audiences with a fun-filled action extravaganza (as most Hasbro movies have) and an entertaining performance by leading man Dwayne Johnson (he’s dominating the entire action scene now, isn’t he?), who is basically the backbone of the movie and is probably the reason why this movie would fare well with most audiences. It’s definitely not a must-see action movie, but it does its job as a pleasing appetizer for us audiences craving for more action movies lined up this year. Next up, ‘Iron Man 3’…

6.7 out of 10 stars