G. I. JOE: RETALIATION REVIEW

About The Movie:

The G.I. Joes are framed for stealing nuclear warheads from Pakistan by Zartan (Arnold Vosloo) who is impersonating thePresident of the United States (Jonathan Pryce). The entire team is eliminated in a military strike with Duke (Channing Tatum) as one of the casualties. Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Flint (D.J. Cotrona) and Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) are the only survivors.

Meanwhile, Storm Shadow (Lee Byung-hun) and ex-Joe Firefly (Ray Stevenson) rescue Cobra Commander (Luke Bracey) from a penitentiary in Germany. Storm Shadow is injured during the escape and retreats to a temple in the Himalayas to recover. Upon learning that he is alive, the Blind Master (RZA), leader of the Arashikage Clan, sends Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and his apprentice Jinx (Elodie Yung), Storm Shadow's cousin, to capture Storm Shadow so he can answer for the murder of his uncle, the Hard Master.

Roadblock, Flint, and Lady Jaye return to the United States where they set up a base of operations in a rundown gym. After Zartan announces that Cobra will replace the Joes as America's main protective unit, Lady Jaye deduces that someone is impersonating the President and Roadblock leads them to General Joseph Colton (Bruce Willis) who provides them with weapons and helps them infiltrate a fundraising event that the President will be attending, where Lady Jaye steals a sample of his DNA and confirms that he is Zartan. They escape after a brief confrontation with Firefly and Zandar (Matt Gerald), the head of the Presidential Detail and a member of Cobra.

Snake Eyes and Jinx locate and capture Storm Shadow after a battle with ninjas and take him back to Japan where Storm Shadow reveals that Zartan murdered the Hard Master and he joined Cobra to avenge his uncle, embittered that the clan didn't believe in his innocence. Storm Shadow then accompanies Snake Eyes and Jinx as they join the Joes' efforts to stop Cobra.

Zartan invites the world leaders to a summit, where he blackmails them into disabling their nuclear arsenals, and reveals that he has created Project Zeus: Seven orbital kinetic bombardment weapons of mass destruction at his command. He destroys centralLondon to prove his superiority and threatens to destroy other capitals if the countries don't submit to Cobra. However, Storm Shadow betrays Cobra Commander and kills Zartan, revealing Cobra's deception to the world leaders. While Snake Eyes, Jinx and Flint fight Cobra's soldiers, Cobra Commander activates the remaining six weapons and instructs Firefly to protect the launch device. Firefly is killed in combat with Roadblock, who deactivates and destroys the orbital weapons. Meanwhile, Colton and Lady Jaye rescue the President.

Cobra Commander escapes during the battle and Storm Shadow disappears after avenging his uncle. The President initiates a global massive manhunt on Cobra Commander, who is now considered to be a terrorist, and reinstates the Joes with Roadblock leading Flint, Lady Jaye, Snake Eyes and Jinx, and recruiting more soldiers to join them. Roadblock swears to avenge Duke by capturing Cobra Commander.

What Is Good/Bad About The Movie:

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is a stupid movie. Its plot is razor thin, the structure is utterly bizarre, and the exposition-laden dialogue regularly borders on the ridiculous. But when you realize that you just watched Dwayne Johnson do his thing, how can one complain?

The film knows exactly what it is: a movie that’s meant to be watched and then immediately forgotten about. Retaliation operates in a black and white world where you just expect to see the heroes take their hits, get back up, and then beat down the bad guy. It feels choppy and rushed at times because it’s constantly on the move to get to the next action sequence. Obviously making a movie this way is a gamble, as there’s the ultimate risk of making a movie that’s both a mess and incredibly boring, but nobody will be able to accuse G.I. Joe: Retaliation of being the latter.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation has its ups and downs in terms of performances, but its bright spots are actually particularly excellent. Once again playing the role of “franchise Viagra,” Johnson once again proves that he is one of the best, most engaging action stars we have, and continues to look like he’s just having a ball on the big screen, wielding a big gun and taking out the bad guys left and right. And while Johnson doesn’t get a great deal of support on the hero side of things – as D.J. Cotrona, Adrianne Palicki and Bruce Willis’ characters are far too flat to do anything interesting, the villains are packed with plenty of bad goodness. Playing Zartan in disguise as the President of the United States, Jonathan Pryce has not only a surprisingly big role, but is one of the best things about the film, just chewing through the scenery and reveling in playing the bold, confident baddie. Add in elements like Ray Stevenson’s Firefly and a quick-but-excellent appearance by Walton Goggins, and you have a handful of actors who not only keep the movie going, but make it a lot of fun to watch.

Taking full advantage of the fact that the most popular characters in the franchise happen to be ninjas, the middle of the movie features a high-flying, dialogue-free sequence that has Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and Jinx (Elodie Yung) battling against a team of masked martial artists in a snowy mountain location that is a perfect big screen experience and thrilling to watch play out.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation isn't exactly a “good” movie thanks to its weak narrative, but nobody is going into the movie for a story. Buy a ticket, enjoy watching ninjas on zip lines and The Rock kicking ass, and when the lights go up try to avoid thinking about it on any deeper level.

Overall Grade: C-