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Film Review – G.I Joe Retaliation

Director: Jon M. Chu
Screenplay: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick
Cast: Dwayne ‘the rock’ Johnson, Channing Tatum, Byung-hun Lee, Bruce Willis, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Park, D.J Cotrona, Arnold Vosloo
Genre: Action
Rating: *** and a half
Venue: Ster Kinekor Maerua Mall Cine 2

The G.I Joes are back and this time they are bigger, badder and a little slow. In the latest installment of the much-loved soldiers, not only are they fighting their mortal enemy Cobra but also their government when Zartan played by Arnold Vosloo kidnaps the president of the United States of America and impersonates him.
At first I thought that this sequel would be a flop, ten minutes into the film and I was getting irritated and kept wondering if I was in the right cinema hall. I ran a mental checklist just to make sure that I was in the right venue: Dwayne Johnson,(check), the ever yummy looking Channing Tatum (check), so I was sure that I was watching the sequel to G.I Joe Rise of the Cobra. Five minutes later I started to get back the excitement I first felt when I found out that the film is coming out.
The G.I Joe Retaliation is everything but boring. Power packed action scenes, out of this world stunts and some of the best lines, make this a great movie. Kudos to Rhett Reese, and Paul Wernick. It is most definitely better than the first movie. What makes this one so special is that there are no flash backs like in the previous one which gives one an even bigger package of the best fight scenes , lots of gunfights and buildings exploding. This combination is what makes up good action movies.
The fight scene between Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and Storm Shadow(Byung-hun Lee) and the one between Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson (Roadblock) and Ray Stevenson (Firefly) are really exciting and visually awesome. Johnson is badass Joe with a soft spot for his daughters, he reinforces his badass persona when his captain Duke Hauser (Channing Tatum) loses his life in combat and he has to be the leader of the remaining G.I Joes. Another actor that reinforces his persona is Bruce Willis (General Joseph Colton). When the Joes realize that their enemy is their own government they go to the only noble and yet no-nonsense soldier that has ever served as a Joe, (Willis) to help them. Willis is a ticking time bomb,not only in how he does his things but also in what he says.
The killing of Duke Hauser was a let-down. I feel the movie would have been so much better with him in it until the end. Another let-down was the role of Zartan. In Retaliation he is weak, all he does is impersonate the president, even when it is discovered that he is a fake, and is faced with an angry Storm Shadow who is out to settle a score Zartan does not fight. Instead he is a helpless old man who seems not even to know how to pull the trigger of a gun.
It is safe to say that Adrianne Palicki (Lady Jaye) and D.J Cotrona (Flint) did a good acting job. It helped to convince me to stop doubting Palicki’s acting skills since her terrible role in Red Dawn.
Much as it is a little bit slow in the beginning and has very little suspense, it turns out to be a really awesome movie. Like a really good stew, one first has to let the meat boil, then simmer to allow the different ingredients to blend together to deliver an explosive taste.
Saying that this is a good movie is an understatement, I is an awesome movie. It lives up to my expectations, a good storyline that’s straight forward and coherent, great special effects, big explosions and cars,great fighting scenes – I couldn’t ask for more.

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