G.I.Joe Retaliation Review

Four years ago the original G.I.Joe hit cinemas launched from the comics to the big screen; with all its bombastic, mindless action it failed to make a lasting impression. Three years (and another for 3D conversion) and the series returns with an altered focus; in some ways it can be seen as a slight improvement over its predecessor.

Picking up from where ‘’The Rise of Cobra’’ left off, the forces of Cobra have infiltrated the US government, taking the president hostage and disbanding the entire G.I Joe Special force, including those led by Duke (Channing Tatum) and Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson). After leading a routine mission in Pakistan the unit suffers an attack with Roadblock, Flint (D.J Cotrona) and Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) surviving. From here they journey back to the states to find those responsible for the deaths of their team. Far less goofy and ridiculous than the previous entry, Retaliation instead opts for a more militaristic and partially espionage themed story. The plot often jumps back and forth between Roadblock’s team who hook up with other comrades on their mission and Snake Eyes with newcomer Jinx (Elodie Yung) who initially train as samurai in the Himalayas. The constant flashback sequences from ‘’The Rise of Cobra’’ have been all but tossed out, allowing the main plot to proceed at a reasonable pace and the series clichéd nature has been toned down, even though the stereotypical master who ‘’guides’’ Snake Eyes and Jinx is difficult to engage with. Despite all these improvements Retaliation’s plotline continues to be standard action fare; offering few surprises and dropping an unsatisfying ending that forces a sequel.

The relationships between characters were weak and forced in the previous film and the same holds true for Retaliation; the screen time between Duke and Roadblock never builds much momentum making the former’s early death impossible to be sympathetic with. Rather it seemed Tatum and Johnson were fighting over who held the main character slot for the first twenty minutes of the flick. Flint and Lady Jaye aren’t much better, present more to fill in for Ripcord and Scarlett from ‘’the Rise of Cobra’’ than offer any emotional bonding. Snake Eyes and Jinx are both too simplistic to make their mark and ironically it is Storm-Shadow (Byung-Hun-Lee) that comes closest to development on the character front; this is down to the ample screen time he is given to bounce back and forth between allegiances, making it easier to stomach that we are never told how he survived being stabbed by Snake Eyes and falling into an icy pool. As for Bruce Willis’ appearance in Retaliation, it’s just as minuscule as the characterisation throughout the movie; the famous action star is directly involved in the action for a measly five minutes, another pointless move to bolster the film’s appeal. 

 

One of the more notable moves by the filming crew was to put Retaliation back a whole year to convert the movie into 3D; a decision that ended up serving no point other than to boost profits. Apart from some technological screen effects, Retaliation rarely uses 3D to properly immerse the audience as the technology should. This aside most of the vehicular and samurai styled action are both well-choreographed and edited. The mountainside battle between Snake Eyes, Jinx and numerous Cobra ninjas is the highlight of the film; vertigo and death defying stunts collide as the heroes attempt to ferry away a captured operative. On the other hand, close quarters combat between Roadblock and ex Joe agent Firefly (Ray Stevenson) lack impact, often resorting to disorienting close up shots as a pose to framing the action fully. Despite the Joe agents being heavily outnumbered, the sequences making use of light and heavy weaponry diminish any potential tension the film could have had.    

Retaliation does stand atop the film that came before it but that in no way means it gets any closer to the realm of solid, well-made action flicks. A few notable action sequences aside the G.I Joe franchise fails to be anything more than another average action film.

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars