“G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” a 2013 science fiction action film directed by Jon M. Chu, is based on Hasbro’s G.I. Joe comics and is a sequel to 2009’s “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.” The film stars Bruce Willis as General Colton, Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock and Channing Tatum as Duke.
As the title suggests, the main plot consists of two major retaliations by two individuals. Roadblock swears to avenge Duke’s death by capturing Duke’s killer Cobra Commander. On the other hand, Storm Shadow, played by South Korean actor Byung-hun Lee, avenges his uncle the Hard Master by killing Zartan and revealing that Zartan of Cobra murdered the Hard Master, and that he joined Cobra to avenge his uncle.
First of all, I would like to call this movie a film full of showy actions decorated by fancy graphics with a disappointing storyline. I am amazed at how a $135 million-budget film with fast-paced non-stop action and splendid graphics failed to develop an engaging storyline. The story in a nutshell is basically these government-issued soldiers fight the terrorist group Cobra and save the world from nuclear war. Owen Gleiberman of “Entertainment Weekly” called the film “well-executed, technocratic action fluff.”
“In its dehumanized and trivial way … Hollywood has now evolved to the point that it can deliver these kinds of thrills with maximum brute force and keep the impact so light that the result can still be regarded as a ‘harmless’ diversion for 14-year-olds,” Gleiberman said.
Another element of the movie I found distracting and unnecessary is the ninja fight scenes. Hollywood has an affection for ninjas apparently thinks ninjas can appear in any type of action movie, regardless of plot or storyline. Likewise, the ninjas do appear in this G.I. Joe movie when Storm Shadow is captured by its clan to answer for the murder of his uncle at a temple in the Himalayas (of course, a temple). Just to add my opinion, I hate ninja costumes because they are ugly.
Despite the weaknesses, one aspect of the movie I do find interesting is a scene which portrays a glimpse of what nuclear war would be like. This is the scene which persuaded me why it is important to have an internationally cooperative act as in the Nuclear Security Summit to go “beyond security toward peace.”
To sum up, “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” is an easy-watch and “harmless” diversion film rated PG-13 due to its “dehumanized and trivial” content with a light impact.
