G.I Joe Retaliation

So far I have mixed feelings about this movie. I know the first one got a terrible rep, but I loved the hell out of it. And now a good deal of the old cast is gone. No Scarlet, no Ripcord, no Heavy Duty and no Baroness. On the positive side, Bruce Willis and the Rock are great additions. Some of the other G.I. Joe members are in like Tunnel Rat apparently. He wasn't in the original. I'll be seeing this movie.

Hopefully Snake Eyes and Stormshadow make this movie worth it.

So this movie is finally out and I'm gonna go see it either tonight or tomorrow night. I still remember that old topic where we all got hyped up for the first one haha. Will post my review after I've seen it.

Update: Going to the theater/cinema in a few hours to see it.

Mostly Spoiler Free Review with a few spoilers when indicated.

Past Overview: *Automatically thinks this in Spax's voice* So the first one got shit reviews by most standards. I thought the first one was great, so Rotten Tomatoes and all them can suck it. Next...


Story and Scripting: Spoilers below with how this film relates to the original.

Spoiler:

Take note that the above spoilers are the setup of the film, although I would not advise reading it if you plan on seeing it.

So anyway, the story was just okay. The plot twists that have come up based on the character focus switch are downright bad. The story didn't have a ton of substance to it, but there were some good storyline setups that were enjoyable. As a standalone film, it's not bad. With respects to the original, it doesn't do very well.

There were some funny scenes and they were well paid off.


Characterization and Casting: Alright, so here is the heart of the problem. The majority of the old cast has not returned and so the focus of characters is not on them. Not only is this a major let down, but it's an atrocity to the name of G.I Joe. I mean, I know the franchise isn't fantastic by any means, but I respect it enough. I have nothing against Bruce Willis and the Rock, but I feel like these guys were brought in to ease the pain of the character switch and carry the film.

Buuuuut, with that said, the Rock did a great job in his character. Bruce Willis did his thing as well. The new cast wasn't bad. Snake Eyes and Stormshadow, once again, were the best. They were the ones that truly saved this film's characterization.

Oh hey, we got Snake Eyes' female apprentice in this one (Jade, I think her name is?). That was a plus, although she didn't play the part of his apprentice in the film.

Once again, no Long Range, no Tunnel Rat, no Spirit.

The villains were fine. The cast change on Cobra Commander was not major, because the voice was kinda cool. It's not like we were going to see Levitt's face anyway if he reprised his role. Speaking of Cobra, he didn't have much time in the film, which is kinda whack.


Action: Oh boy, now this is where things got good. The action was great just like in the first film. The best part of the action? Oh, you already know. Snake Eyes and Stormshadow, obviously. Lee Byung-hun and Ray Park are well respected for these types of scenes. I heard that Byung-hun is very popular in Korea (Which is where he is from). The other action was pretty good as well. The gun fights and fist fights were cool and felt satisfying to watch.
I honestly don't have much to say, because it was just great.


Visuals: The visuals were standard. Not as much futuristic stuff as Rise of Cobra. But what I will comment on is a certain explosion scene that looked amazing. Anyone who sees it will know exactly what scene I am referring to. I didn't see it in 3D, so I cannot comment on that aspect.


Sound: Sound effects were fine and the music didn't stand out in a good or bad way. They decided on voice over for Cobra Commander with someone else doing the "choreography". And that voice over was good. The sound mixing worked with it.


Overall: I'm going to give it two ratings, based on a standalone film and a sequel/adaption. As a standalone film, I would say it's a great action movie. If you don't have any particular attachment to the G.I Joe franchise and want to see an action movie, give this one a go.

As a sequel and adaption, this gets a much more reserved and harsher rating. The fact that much of this movie messes with the chemistry of Rise of Cobra is just heartbreaking to be quite honest. Don't expect many G.I Joe stars, because there aren't many on the heroes' side. At least the major Cobra villains are in it though (most of them at least). It's worth seeing as a G.I Joe fan, but you are bound to be disappointed to a point.