Film Review - G.I. JOE: RETALIATION ★★★☆☆

To address the elephant in the room, yes G.I. Joe: Retaliation is a marked improvement over its 2009 predecessor G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Not that you should be expecting Platoon from either entry, but director Jon M. Chu has taken the Hasbro toys based franchise and embraced its history to steer the series in the right direction.

Make no mistake, this is a film targeted firmly at Joe fans (guilty as charged), and these G.I.'s are more "Hell Yeah" than "Yo Joe." But us older kids (guilty again) won't be disappointed and will appreciate the sequel's grittier tone, conscious effort to streamline the cast of characters, and reverence given towards the old school source material.

Thankfully you won't need to check your brain as far away for this adventure. The action is a lot more intense and the stakes are higher. The Unites States government is infiltrated at its highest level and the world is put on alert with a little good old fashioned nuclear threat.

While it's not a necessity to see the first entry, Retaliation picks up where we left off. With the identity of the President of the United States (Jonathan Pryce) having been taken over by Zartan, Cobra's resident Master of Disguise (as seen at the conclusion of the first installment), upon his orders the Joes are blindsided in a brutal ambush, survived only by Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) and Flint (D.J. Cotrona). Luckily for our favorite black-clad armored ninja Snake Eyes, he is off perusing his Arashikage dojo comrade Storm Shadow, and spared the grim fate of most of his comrades.

Retaliation scores its biggest victory with less Channing Tatum as Duke and the addition of Dwayne Johnson's Roadblock, a fan favorite character from the comic books and animated series. Johnson brings the necessary charisma, brawn and big guns as the new Joe leader. It should also come as little surprise that once again he's found a role to effortlessly balance his tough guy side while knocking out one liners like nobody's business.

Returning ninja favorites Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee) have their own layered side story in the film that heavily plays to the mythos and history of the characters, culminating in a spectacular zip line and swords mountainside sequence. Ninja tales have fallen the wayside in the movies, and what we are presented with here is a satisfying jump back into their shadowy world.

Fans fearful of Bruce Willis overkill playing the original G.I. Joe, General Joe Colton, can rest easy. Willis brings his best Bruce Willis to the role, but is here to solely lend some extra star power to the film in what amounts to an extended cameo that also manages to lighten the tone in the right places. Another standout is Ray Stevenson as Firefly, a brutal straight shooter Cobra weapons specialist who is also physically capable of going hand-to- hand, toe-to-toe with Roadblock.

The first film was an unabashed loud CGI bombastic big screen cartoon, but despite Retaliation's best attempts to tone it down, by the time the film fully reveals Cobra's grand diabolical scheme, the weapon of destruction qualifies for the Doomsday Device Hall of Fame along side the Weather Dominator and M.A.S.S Device from the '80s animated show. However in a big screen PG-13 rated movie, there is an actual death toll, and its massive. Not only is this Cobra Commander not screwing around, but Chu films him like evil royalty, composing every shot as a glowing homage to the iconic chrome masked villain. But these are all necessary steps to successfully make it work as an enjoyable G.I. Joe movie.

Where the Joes are stripped down the basics (bye bye to those silly hi-tech accelerator suits, hello khaki civvies) Cobra is upgraded to its fully armed glory. HISS tanks make their welcome big screen debut along with a black painted armory that really finally bring the evil organization to life. 

After an eleventh hour decision to covert the film to 3D, the original release date was bumped from its initial May 2012 window. I can't say that all the effort to add the extra depth was worth the substantial delay. As more and more films are shot in native 3D, post conversion is tougher to visually compete with that, and it shows here. The mountain ninja sequence squeezes some mileage from the conversion, but overall the style of the film doesn't benefit from it with the quick cut editing, close up brawls, quick camera moves, and a director who saw his conceived-and-shot-in-2D movie taken away from him.

Despite being guilty of including an abundance of necessary cartoon plot elements that soften its harder edges, G.I. Joe: Retaliation is nonetheless a solid step forward for the series as a stripped down quasi-restart. When the film gains points with high octane grit, it will inevitably snap you back with comic book staples to remind you what its actually based on, but that's perfectly OK. This is a fun action packed ride if you allow it to be just that.

With its defined heroes versus villains, big guns, explosions, high flying ninja action and hi-tech tanks, what's not to sit back and enjoy? G.I. Joe: Retailation is what is to be expected if this is the type of film you expect to enjoy. Plus with the direction the series has taken, I would really like to see where a third film would go, especially with the untapped rich arsenal of characters still waiting to hit the big screen. Time for a call to duty for Shipwreck, Bazooka, Recondo, Snow Job, Blowtorch, Deep Six, and Wild Bill for the next mission.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation opens in 3D and IMAX on March 28th.

REVIEW RATING: ★★★☆☆
Directed By: Jon M. Chu
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, D.J. Cotrona, Ray Park, Byung-hun Lee, Adrianne Palicki
Studio: Paramount
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 100 minutes

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