G.I. Joe: Retaliation: Movie Review... I saw the Jon M. Chu-directed sequel to the 2009 hit film yesterday, and needless to say, G.I. Joe: Retaliation didn't take as much a leak on my childhood as The Rise of Cobra did. For starters, the visual effects were a lot better in Retaliation than in Cobra. There were no embarrassing shots of the Eiffel Tower getting melted by some cartoonish green goo this time around, but we do see some cool images of London (sorry to all the British folks reading this review) getting completely disintegrated by a projectile launched by an orbiting satellite that was sent up into space courtesy of Cobra Commander and company. (Industrial Light & Magic created the VFX for Retaliation...while the usually-reliable Digital Domain was responsible for the work done on The Rise of Cobra.) Secondly, the looks of the characters and military vehicles used in Retaliation were more faithful to what was in the 1980s cartoon—with Cobra Commander wearing his ominous helmet (though it's black instead of blue in this movie) and its trademark face-hiding silver visor, the helicopters and other weaponry used by Cobra and the Joes appearing just as high-tech as the toys I used to buy when I was in 3rd grade (more than two decades ago, FYI), and Snake Eyes looking more badass and mysterious without those stupid fake lips that director Stephen Sommers put on his mouthpiece in The Rise of Cobra. And finally, Retaliation had some welcome moments of humor (Adrianne Palicki's Lady Jaye looks like Miley Cyrus? Who would've thunk it) without actually casting funny but out-of-place actors like Marlon Wayans in it. Sorry Ripcord.
As stated above, the good thing about G.I. Joe: Retaliation was that it's more faithful to the cartoons. It didn't steal action sequences from fellow Hasbro property Transformers [as in that Rise of Cobra scene where two Joes (Ripcord and Channing Tatum's Duke) impersonate Ironhide from the 2007 Transformers film by doing somersaults and flipping around incoming missiles], or other properties like Xbox's Halo (the armor that Ripcord and Duke wear during the scene mentioned above) and even The Dark Knight, X-Men and The Matrix (the black full-body outfits that all the Joes end up wearing by the end of The Rise of Cobra). Cobra Commander had a Darth Vader-ish voice in this movie [which was more preferable to the high-pitch vocals provided by Chris Latta (no offense) in the cartoons; Latta also voiced Starscream in the classic Transformers animated series], but at least he looked convincing as the guy who became in charge of the global organization hellbent on destroying the Joes (though I'm sure he'll have more to do in the third flick than in this one). And in case you were wondering, Joseph Gordon-Levitt didn't play the character this time around...because there's no need to.
In terms of the other members of Cobra, Ray Stevenson's Firefly remained faithful to his animated counterpart, Arnold Vosloo's Zartan was still disguised as the President of the United States and Byung-hun Lee's Storm Shadow still kicked ass (though it may not necessarily be a Joe's ass he kicked in this film... Spoiler alert) in his white ninja outfit. Destro was, in the words of Cobra Commander, "out of the game." You'll have to see the movie to know why; but I'm guessing Destro will have a vendetta against both Cobra Commander and the Joes when he's freed from captivity once the third flick rolls around.
In regards to the heroes themselves, Dwayne Johnson was convincing as the Joe's heavy machine gunner, Roadblock. As shown with his previous film Snitch as well as past movies such as The Rundown and Fast Five, Johnson is showing what a formidable actor he has become...especially when it comes to high-octane action flicks. Speaking of high-octane action flicks, Bruce Willis followed his stint in A Good Day to Die Hard with his role as General Joseph Colton in Retaliation. Hip-hop music artist RZA apparently likes playing kung fu-related roles (he played the title character in last year's martial arts film The Man with the Iron Fists) as he portrayed the Blind Master of Snake Eyes (once again played with quiet lethality by Ray Park) and Jinx (portrayed by the lovely Elodie Yung). D.J. Cotrona was cool as Flint...though we may see a romance scene or two between him and Lady Jaye in the next movie installment. Speaking of Lady Jaye, Adrianne Palicki's tough and sexy presence (also conveyed by Yung) as the red-headed Joe made up for the loss of Sienna Miller and Rachel Nichols from the previous flick. Oh well. What Retaliation lacked in um, eye candy—estrogen-wise—it made up for in kick-ass vehicles and weaponry.
From Firefly's explosive fireflies and a motorcycle that can break up into a series of deadly missiles, to the all-terrain assault vehicle that Roadblock used to take out Cobra weaponry at the end of the film, G.I. Joe: Retaliation remained true to the type of military hardware that was seen in the cartoons. Cobra helicopters had jet engines where their tail rotors should be, and Roadblock used obscenely-big machine guns in this movie just as he did in the cartoon. There were no stealth fighters in this flick as in The Rise of Cobra (the jet that Ripcord flies at the end of that film was like a toy that my brother bought, and subsequently broke, when he was young), but if Jon Chu directs the next movie and delves more into the war machines of G.I. Joe, then fans should be in for a treat. G.I. Joe: Retaliation was an enjoyable flick to watch...and I can't wait to see if Roadblock is able to use that custom-made handgun that General Colton gave to him in the final shot (pun unintended) of the film. Won't mention who the target this is meant for, though. But let's just say... He dresses in black and has a really shiny visor. 'Nuff said.
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