Review: G.I. Joe Retaliation

When GI JOE: RISE OF COBRA came out all the way back in summer 2009, after the credits rolled I thought:

"What the hell was that, because that was awesome"

To my dismay, it seems not too many people were totally satisfied with Rise of Cobra, mainly with it's handling of characters. I thought it was a big stupid mess that was quite literally a live-action cartoon come to life, and I hoped that tone would stay the same for it's sequel, Retaliation.

GI JOE: RETALIATION is hard for me to describe.

On one hand:

The action is top-notch, the costumes and cerography are spectacular, and the special effects are superb (unlike moments in Rise of Cobra where the movie looked lie a SyFy movie from 2004).

Retaliation's fresh cast of characters is wholly welcome, as well as giving returning characters new life, mainly Cobra Commander who finally gets to be the ultimate badass everyone wanted in the first film, now thankfully without Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

The movie itself plays out almost like a bunch of really rich cosplayers got together to make a fan film, from Commander's helmet and persona, to the totally fucking badass Snake Eyes v. Storm Shadow fight, to the crazy vehicles and gadgets that scream GI JOE.

The writing in Retaliation is like Shakespeare compared to the first film, and even if it's not, the actors all bring their characters and world to life fantastically, with the stand-outs being Friday Night Light's alum Adrianne Palicki as Lady Jaye, Byung Hun Lee as Storm Shadow, and Jonathan Pryce, playing Zartan playing POTUS.

Now, on the OTHER hand:

The film lacks a certain something, and I'd almost be willing to say it's the cartoonish stupidity of the first film. While I mentioned earlier this looks a big budget fan film, that's also it's problem.

The story is good; but it seems to be caught up in trying to play itself like a serious political thriller AND a ridiculous action movie. Some plot-parts seem to drag on, and that might be because for about 30 minutes Jaye, Roadblock, and Flint don't really do anything except some espionage which is never quite intense enough to work.

Character development is also almost nowhere to be found except, ironically, with Storm Shadow, which worked out very well.

Speaking of casting, RZA as Blind Master was....well, strange, and that's about the only way I can describe it.

All in all, RETALIATION, despite some pacing and tone missteps here and there, is still loud and fun to watch, with a good-looking cast, and some amazing visuals, the movie is a fun popcorn experience, while never reaching the pure child's play of the first film, this gives hope that by GI JOE 3, they'll have it nailed.