I can understand why many of you out there loathed the first G.I Joe: Rise of the Cobra but luckily for you, you can go into this one pretending it never even happened. Channing Tatum returns as Duke and although it does carryover a few basic elements from the previous film, director John M. Chu’s vision feels like a breath of fresh air with the result being hugely entertaining.
The film has two main plots which eventually merge for one final action sequence. The first involves Zartan posing as the U.S. President as he attempts to eliminate all of the Joes and make the world bow before Cobra Commander. Roadblock (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson) and a couple others survive the attack and attempt to figure out what’s really going on. Meanwhile, the second plot is loosely based on the classic and popular ‘Silent Interlude‘ tale which involves lots and lots of ninja awesomeness.
One of the many complaints people had with Rise of the Cobra was Tatum’s robot acting, but he has great chemistry with Dwayne in this film and the two have some legitimately hysterical interactions. The “Rock” manages to bring the perfect mesh of charisma and badassery to Roadblock. Additionally, all of the supporting cast (Bruce Willis, D.J. Cotrona, Adrianne Palicki, Byung-hun Lee, Jonathan Pryce, Walton Goggins) do an able job with their roles as well. The movie as a whole is packed with tons of solid comedy and while Retaliation is sure to keep you laughing, the real highlight is the incredible amount of over the top action. There’s just about everything a Joe fan could love here. The 3D tends to be hit or miss but if you have a few extra bucks to spare…why not? The main narrative is a complete mess at times and there are some cringe worthy lines here and there, but overall G.I. Joe: Retaliation is a ridiculously entertaining ride.
G.I. Joe Retaliation opens tonight! Thursday 3.28.2013. So grab a few friends and make this a movie night!
