G.I. Joe: Retaliation (PG-13)

        A heart-pounding action film, G.I. Joe: Retaliation is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. The sequel to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Retaliation continues the story of the military unit known as "the Joes". With almost an almost entirely fresh-faced cast and director, this film promises to be a different approach to the G.I. Joe franchise. Overall, Retaliation is an action movie that takes place on a huge scale. In the end, there were some elements of this film that I enjoyed and others that I just didn't understand.

Roadblock in action

        Retaliation opens with the Joes sent on a mission to Pakistan to retrieve a nuclear bomb. The assault on the warehouse goes smoothly and the Joe unit is bivouaced and waiting for further orders when they are attacked by their own air support. The only surviving Joes, Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki), and Flint (D.J. Cotrona) are now outlaws of their own nation with nothing to lose. Vengeful over the death of his best friend and commanding officer, Roadblock vows to find the person responsible for the massacre and bring them to justice. After much investigation with the help of another undercover Joe by the name of Snake Eyes (Ray Park), Roadblock and his team uncover that the attack was ordered by the terrorist Zartan (Arnold Vosloo, Johnathan Pryce), cleverly disguised as the president. Zartan is working with the Cobra Commander (Luke Bracey) who's goal is none other than world domination.
           My main issue with Retaliation is its originality, or rather, lack thereof. The basic story was one that has been done many times over. In fact, it reminded me a bit of the first Mission Impossible film except on a much larger scale. Another aspect of this film that wasn't very original was the villain, Cobra Commander. Allow me to digress a moment here. I absolutely love a good villain, in fact, they are often my favorite character in a story (i.e. the Joker, the Master, Darth Vader, Jim Moriarty, etc.). However, Cobra Commander was simply disappointing. He was, more or less, a reinvented Darth Vader in that he required a face mask to not only keep him alive but also to hide his disfigured face. He even had a deep menacing voice!
           Another problem I had with Retaliation was the "Joe" military unit themselves. Some of the members such as Roadblock and Flint were your stereotypical military commando. However Snake Eyes and the character Jinx (Elodie Yung) were ninjas. It was as if the Joes were split up between modern military and ninjas. I found this confusing and, in the end, pointless. However, this may just be a part of the G.I. Joe franchise that I simply am not aware of.
           Even though I have the aforementioned complaints about Retaliation, there were certain aspects that I did enjoy. One of these is the retired General Joe Colton played by none other then the unflappable Bruce Willis. Willis's dry humor and trigger-happy tendencies made Retaliation an action movie that was fun to watch. Another part of this film that was made well were the battle scenes. These scenes were filmed on an epic scale to match that of the movie itself. Advanced weapons and vehicles added to the grandeur. One such scene was when Snake Eyes and Jinx are battling enemy ninjas while swinging between Himalayan peaks.
          Although not the best action movie I have seen, G.I. Joe: Retaliation was certainly entertaining and filled with scenes that are sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. Overall, I rate Retaliation a 3 out of 5 stars. As always, thank you all for reading and keep a look out for my next review: Looper.


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