Review: G.I. Joe: Retaliation
PLOT: After Cobra Commander takes control of the United States government, the G.I. JOES find that they have enemies in high places. This brings down a deadly ambush upon our heroes leaving the Joes under fire. In order to fight back they must band together to fight a battle that places the entire earth in jeopardy.
REVIEW:
What do you do when you have an epic scale action movie that didnât necessarily thrill audiences like it was supposed to? Well, for starters, you could add Dwayne Johnson to the cast like Universal did for FAST FIVE. He helped reinvigorate that tired franchise thanks to his solid on-screen presence. Of course, this is exactly what Paramount did for their franchise hopeful, Hasbro based feature GI JOE: RETALIATION. This slick and stylish (and still a little dumb) summer blockbuster is an improvement over the first for several reasons. The first being a stronger cast. Many of the original actors are gone â besides Channing Tatum, Ray Park, Arnold Vosloo Jonathan Pryce and Byung-hun Lee, all of whom stuck around â and the chemistry between the actors is infinitely better this time around. Johnson and Tatum make for a match made in action flick heaven, especially since the chemistry between Tatum and Sienna Miller in the first film was non-existent.
The story here is â not terribly surprising â pretty standard for a movie such as this. Some bad guy wants to destroy the world and blow everything up to gain supreme power. It is always fun to see this kind of cliché mocked in other films like DESPICABLE ME or recently on an episode of âAmerican Dad.â Of course any self-respecting G.I. JOE fan is well aware of Cobra Commander (Luke Bracey/Ladson Deyne) as well as Zartan (Vosloo). Then you have Storm Shadow (Lee) and the fantastic Ray Stevenson tearing things apart as Firefly, definitely giving our heroes a run for their money. Loyalties are tested and one character questions his own beliefs, and London, England is royally screwed thanks to a preposterously deadly weapon.
Aside from Stevenson, it is great to see Mr. Bruce Willis again, in a flick which is more fun than his other recent franchise entry. There is a real sense of camaraderie with this cast that also includes the lovely Adrienne Palicki, the always terrific Walter Goggins and of course Jonathan Pryce as the President. Most of the film revolves around Johnson however and he was absolutely the perfect choice for G.I. JOE. He is a natural at playing a hero and clearly is built for it as well. He also has the ability to work well with others thanks to a believable bond he shares with Tatum as well as the rest of the cast. It is a noticeable improvement.
Source: | JoBlo.com |
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