GI Joe Retaliation Movie Review

After making over 300 million dollars at the box office with G.I. Joe: The Rise of The Cobra, the G.I. Joe franchise was expected to hit the stratosphere in 2013 with the release of G.I. Joe Retaliation.

However, the movie failed to live up to expectations with many adults, teens, and children all over the world finding the unrealistic, rather lame explosions and overwhelming nonstop action far too much to bear and completely nonsensical.

GI Joe Retaliation Movie Review

With a cast that includes The Rock, Channing Tatum, Bruce Willis, and Adrianne Palicki, this was a surprise to many.

We must admit, even we found it quite baffling that such a good film franchise could take such a disappointing direction. Therefore, we gave it a watch for ourselves to see what we thought.

Sadly, we share many of the same views as most viewers and critics. In this post, we’ll share our thoughts and feelings about the film, and give you a brief overview of what to expect.

G.I. Joe Retailiation (2013) – Movie Overview

The second film in the G.I Joe film franchise, this movie follows the G.I Joes on a mission into Pakistan.

Once again led into the mission by Duke, played well by Channing Tatum, the team soon finds out that they’ve been set up. 

After an action-packed surprise attack, only Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) Flint (D.J. Cotrona), and Roadblock (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson) survive.

After the attack, the film follows the squad’s efforts to avenge their fallen friends and comrades. The trio soon discovers those behind the evil plot, with those right at the top of the United States government playing a part. 

Battles ensue against the remaining Cobra members, with the G.I. Joes trying to prevent ultimate carnage.

With a new weapon at their disposal, it’s down to the remaining G.I. Joes, their new allies, old friends, and even some old enemies to try and save the world from certain doom.

The Good

In all honesty, the film isn’t that great. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of things that make it worth watching.

If you love the G.I Joe franchise, you should definitely give it a watch. Besides, the film is quite easy to follow and doesn’t require all of your focus.

The best things about the film relate to how the film tells the story. In all fairness, the story moves pretty well. With the odd surprise here and there and lots of laughs, the film doesn’t take long to tell us the story and never takes itself too seriously. 

The first G.I. Joe film was directed by Stephen Sommers. G.I. Joe Retaliation was taken over by Jon M. Chu. This was a good decision as the film has a lot more goodwill and grace than the first film.

While the dialogue and plot seem absolutely crazy, the film seems to know that. In fact, it embraces it. This makes the film a lot easier to watch as it offers more laughs than groans.

Fortunately, the movie moves fast too. This stops us from having time to ask questions like – Did the whole of London just explode?

The cast is also brilliant, making the film much more enjoyable and entertaining. For those of us that don’t follow the franchise, the film is okay. 

The Bad

Unfortunately, there is more bad than good when it comes to the second installment of the latest G.I Joe franchise. For starters, the dialogue and plot are ridiculous.

There are attempts to humanize the characters and make them more than just fighting machines, but with that comes potholes in the logic of the story.

Diehard G.I Joe fans will be disappointed by how this film virtually ignores any of the characters or events from the first film. For a follow-up film, this makes little sense.

G.I Joe Retaliation is also massively overwhelmed with constant battles, explosions, and gunfire.

While this is expected in an action film, we couldn’t help but feel that there was too much overkill. On top of that, the explosions in the film are well over the top and totally unrealistic. 

For example, one missile manages to destroy the whole of London. This deflects away from the work the film has tried to do in terms of building character backstories.

The antagonists in the film also leave a lot to be desired.

Dressed in ninja suits, the main ‘bad guys’ are a little too cliché and boring for our liking. It certainly seems like they could have been better thought out.

Final Thoughts

Overall, G.I. Joe Retaliation is a disappointing film. Overwhelmed with action, which isn’t that exciting or believable, the film fails to live up to the hype the first G.I. Joe film created. 

Having said that, there are things to like about the film. Easy to watch and follow, the story unfolds quickly and is well told through excellent acting.

The fact the film doesn’t take itself too seriously is also a bonus.

On top of that, there are a number of twists and turns that make the film more interesting.

All in all, this is a film to watch if you want something quick and easy to watch or if you love G.I. Joe. Just don’t get your hopes up!

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Max Roberts