Movie review: “G.I. Joe: Retaliation”

In the mood for action? G.I. Joe: Retaliation might be up your alley then. Based on characters of the very popular Hasbro toy line and 80’s TV show, G. I. Joe: Retaliation is a sequel to 2009’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

The movie is about a very elite U.S. military unit battling the evil Cobra group. After capturing the Cobra Commander, the group is ordered to secure nuclear warheads from Pakistan by the President. But the G.I. Joe’s are walking into a plot by the Cobra’s. Will the G. I. Joe’s save the world from being destroyed by the Cobra’s?

The ensemble cast includes Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jonathan Pryce, Bruce Willis, Adrienne Palicki, Arnold Vosloo, and Channing Tatum.

While still not a motion-picture masterpiece, G. I Joe: Retaliation is better than its predecessor G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, with better acting and a better plot. The action is still unrealistic but the movie is darker than G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Many of the actors from the first film did not return for the sequel, like Marlon Waynes, Joseph Gordon-Leavitt, and Dennis Quaid which leaves viewers wondering: what happened to them?

The movie is nostalgia, and it appeals more to males, especially those who have played with the action figures the characters in the movie were based off and who remember the 80’s animated series. Whether you remember G. I. Joe’s or not, the movie is still enjoyable.