After GI Joe is betrayed and branded a terrorist organisation, a group of surviving Joes led by Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson) go on the trail of their old enemy Cobra, and their ally the President of the United States (Jonathan Pryce).
G.I. Joe: Retaliation really should have been called G.I. Joe: Reaction. This is one of the most obvious examples of a half-reboot I have seen in recent years. The Bond franchise is famous for being reactionary, and this is somewhat similar - although that franchise has gone for 20-something instalments and this ran for 2.
Purge: Anarchy managed to bring that franchise to life, but even that instalment feels more consistent to the tone and style of its predecessor than this movie. Maybe this shift would be less obvious had there been a G.I. Joe 3, 4 and 5. These kinds of shifts are not uncommon (Rambo and Fast and Furious are obvious examples), but since there are only two movies, the change really stands out.
Straight off the bat, there are a few elements in this movie's favour - in contrast to the CG-heavy original, the filmmakers spend more time focusing on real stunts and explosions. There is a vague theme of back-to-basics action filmmaking.
There is also an attempt to give the core crew more personality - there is a silly little scene showing the bond between Duke (Tatum) and Roadblock (Johnson) that is far looser and more alive than any of the "character" beats in the previous movie. It is not great, but Tatum especially is far more at ease as one half of a double act with Johnson.
The other thing I vaguely liked about it was that, despite the change in production team, the story still tries to follow and pay off the plot threads from the original movie: Snakes Eyes learns the truth about Storm Shadow; and Zartan's (Arnold Vosloo) plot of impersonating the president (Jonathan Pryce) is pushed to the foreground.
The key problem with this movie is that it is just kinda rote. Despite the aesthetic changes, this movie feels a bit shallow, and visibly cheaper than the original. Even the inclusion of Bruce Willis is a wash - mainly because it is Bruce Willis circa-2010s rather than Willis circa-giving a crap.
Despite this movie's financial success - it grossed a good deal more than the first one - Paramount decided to scrap the franchise and start from scratch.
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