- IMDb page: G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
- Rate: 6.3/10 total 29,871 votes
- Genre: Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller
- Release Date: 27 March 2013 (UK)
- Runtime: 110 min
- Filming Location: City Park, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
- Budget: $130,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross: $104,765,905 (USA) (17 April 2013)
- Director: Jon M. Chu
- Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Byung-hun Lee, Adrianne Palicki | See full cast and crew
- Original Music By: Henry Jackman
- Soundtrack: Good Ole' Days
- Sound Mix: Dolby Digital | Datasat | SDDS
- Plot Keyword: Gi Joe | President | Self Destruction | Video Game | Mexican Standoff
Known Trivia
- The film was originally to be called "G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes".
- Cobra Commander has a different helmet from the last film: a black one bearing a snake design. He now looks more like Cobra Commander from the original Action Force.
- Roadblock was originally to appear in the first film.
- Jinx is seen training with Snake-Eyes dressed in a red outfit, as in her original appearance in Action Force: The Movie. Later on the mountain she is seen in her black and yellow ninja suit from G.I. Joe: Sigma 6.
- As a wrestler, Dwayne Johnson ("The Rock") was known for the line "Do you smell what The Rock is cooking?" In this film, he plays Roadblock who in the original comics was a chef.
- This film was originally scheduled to be released on June 29, 2012. Paramount had begun a substantial ad campaign which began in February with an expensive ad during the Super Bowl. But in May 2012, Paramount announced they were delaying the film's release until March 29, 2013 in order to to add 3D effects. It was later revealed that the real reason for the delay was for reshoots including more scenes with Channing Tatum. Test audiences wanted more scenes between Tatum and Dwayne Johnson and Tatum suddenly became a box-office star with the successes of The Vow and 21 Jump Street.
- Only 5 members of the cast appeared in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. They are Byung-hun Lee, Ray Park, Arnold Vosloo, Jonathan Pryce, and Channing Tatum.
- During the run of the 1980s animated series Flint and Lady Jay had a bit of a romantic relationship with each other. In the comic book series, they are an actual couple. This relationship is foreshadowed in the scene after Jay infiltrates the presidents party.
- General Joe Colton (Bruce Willis' character) enters the code 1776 to open one of his numerous hidden weapons cabinets in his home.
- The vehicle driven by The Rock in the final action sequence is a relatively new U.S. Military vehicle called the Badger. At the time of the film's release it is deployed in a display capacity for the U.S. Army. It can reach top speeds of above 80 mph, and an amphibious version is in the works.
Goofs: Factual errors: In the French president's suitcase are two buttons respectively labeled "avorter" and "bras". Avorter is French for abort, but that word is usually only used in relation to pregnancies. The correct word in that context is "annuler".
Plot: The G.I. Joes are not only fighting their mortal enemy Cobra; they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence. Full summary » »
Story: Framed for crimes against the country, the G.I. Joe team is terminated by the President's order, and the surviving team members face off against Zartan, his accomplices, and the world leaders he has under his influence. Written byAnonymous
{tab=Synopsis}
Synopsis: DMZ, North Korea; The G.I. Joes are infiltrating a military base. Duke (Channing Tatum), Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), and Flint (DJ Cotrona) go sneaking in while Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) is keeping an eye out and Mouse (Joseph Mazzello) is their sniper. Mouse shoots the coffee mug of one soldier to cause a diversion. Suddenly, Roadblock is alerted and surprised to see a flag of the Joes standing at the base.
There's a brief narration explaining how the Joes caught Cobra Commander and Destro (in the previous film), and they are now locked in a maximum security prison. Duke is the captain leading Roadblock, Flint, Jaye, and the masked mute Snake Eyes (Ray Park). However, Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee) and Zartan (Arnold Vosloo) are still at large. (Note: no mention is made of the Baroness whom is presumed to be still incarierated.)
Sometime later, Duke and Roadblock are playing video games at the latter's home. Duke gets jumped by Roadblock's two daughters. The men see on television that the Pakistani president has been assassinated.
The President of the United States (Jonathan Pryce, but really, Zartan still in disguise) meets with his men and has the choice to wait it out or head right in. He makes the decision to send the Joes out to Pakistan to obtain nuclear weapons.
The Joes go down to the base in Pakistan where they are keeping the weapons. They start shooting at the bad guys and eventually get the weapons and disable them. Duke contacts the White House to confirm this.
Zartan goes into an underground facility where they are hiding the real President. He taunts him and shows off the nanomites that keep his disguise together. He claims that the people of America are more fond of the way he is running the country with his eagerness to blow things up.
Duke and Roadblock share a bonding moment where they make a bet on who can shoot a cupcake on a stand. Roadblock wins because he distracts Duke and brings out his own big-ass gun. Suddenly, the men notice jets coming in, thinking it's security. The jets start shooting down on the Joes and dropping bombs. The team scrambles for protection while firing back. Duke jumps in to save Flint, but he is killed in an explosion. Roadblock, Flint, and Jaye hide in a well and manage to fool the villains.
The next morning, as the trio try to get out of the well, Zartan (as the President) addresses the nation regarding the attack. He frames the Joes for the attack in Pakistan and frames Snake Eyes for the assassination of the Pakistani president. The surviving Joes find that all of their guys are dead. Roadblock takes the dog tag off one Joe's corpse.
At the maximum security prison, Snake Eyes is being taken in. He is greeted by Warden James (Walton Goggins) and is brought down underground where it is shown that Cobra Commander (Luke Bracey) and Destro are being contained. They are in a tube filled with materials that paralyze every part of their body but keep their hearts and eyes functioning. James boasts "Welcome to hell" and Snake Eyes responds boastfully. His mask is removed, and it is really Storm Shadow underneath.
A Cobra mercenary known as Firefly (Ray Stevenson) comes by the facility and sets out little explosive fireflies to break into the place. As this is happening, Storm Shadow makes his heart stop to alert the guards after he's been placed in the chamber. He manages to break out and kill most of the guards. He breaks Cobra Commander from his chamber, but they leave Destro, saying he is out of the band. They meet with Firefly, who comes in as James shoots a gas chamber, causing an explosion. James is killed by the Commander and the explosion's flames severely burn Storm Shadow's back.
The villains go to an industrial complex where a large weapon known as Zeus is being constructed. Zartan comes in and informs the Commander about the three surviving Joes. Firefly says they'll be taken care of.
Roadblock, Flint, and Jaye drop by Roadblock's old neighborhood. They take shelter in an old gym/arcade that he used to come by.
In Tokyo, Japan, the real Snake Eyes meets with his mentor, Blind Master (RZA), and a Joe ally, Jinx (Elodie Yung). Blind Master tells them they must find Storm Shadow and get him to reveal Cobra's plans.
Lady Jaye does some observations with the President's speech pattern and mannerisms to deduce that someone is impersonating him. Flint asks Roadblock who they can trust now, and he responds there is one man he knows.
The trio go to the home of General Joe Colton (Bruce Willis), the original G.I. Joe. Roadblock explains the situation after showing Colton the dog tags of their fallen brothers. Together, they come up with a plan to prove that the President is a phony.
Jaye goes out as a jogger and gets the attention of a man on the President's detail. She tricks him into helping her out with groceries, and Roadblock gets him to find them a way to the President.
Somewhere in the mountains, Snake Eyes and Jinx have located the place where Storm Shadow is being treated. He is healed up by an old woman, and they notice that several ninjas are falling from great heights. Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow bitterly reunite and engage in a fight, while Jinx fights the old woman. She and Storm Shadow are neutralized, but the ninjas go after Snake Eyes and Jinx. Snake Eyes gets rid of them by causing an avalanche that sends the ninjas off the mountain to their deaths.
At a gala that Zartan is attending, Jaye goes in disguised as a member of the President's detail. She gets in with a sexy red dress and gets Zartan's attention. One of his men, another Cobra ally, is suspicious and starts to do a scan on Jaye's face. She gets out after getting a hair sample from Zartan's coat and sends it to Roadblock. After scanning the sample, they learn Zartan's identity, just as Firefly comes in and tries to attack. He fights Roadblock and almost kills him until Flint and Jaye come by and ram him with their truck. Firefly gets out in time.
Back in Tokyo, Storm Shadow is questioned by Blind Master, who hands him his sword. In this moment, it is revealed that, as a child, it was not Storm Shadow who killed his and Snake Eyes' master, but it was Zartan in disguise as a man who would mentor Storm Shadow into the assassin he became. He gives them the information they want.
Firefly is beating the President up in the underground chamber. Cobra Commander comes in with a briefcase that would activate the Zeus weapon and scans the President's eye.
In the gym/arcade, Snake Eyes, Jinx, and Storm Shadow come across the Joes, who are initially suspicious, but they join forces. They go back to Colton's place and meet with some of Colton's men to come up with a plan to stop Cobra's plans. Colton shows them his HUGE collection of weapons all over the kitchen and they start preparing.
At Fort Sumter, Zartan meets with the other world leaders. At the same time, the Joes and Colton's men come in, taking out Cobra allies and other men. Zartan tells the world leaders to give up their nuclear weapons, but they say he has gone mad. He releases America's nukes into the air and detonates them as they are high above the sky. The other world leaders follow suit. Cobra Commander comes in with the Zeus briefcase, and it is revealed that Zeus is a series of satellites containing powerful rods. They drop one rod down onto London, almost completely destroying it, and sending the other world leaders into a frenzy. By this point, Cobra has officially taken over the White House. Storm Shadow and Jinx begin drawing their blades and start attacking. The Commander tells Firefly to be wary of the briefcase.
Roadblock comes in on a large tank shooting the other villains' tanks while Jaye and Colton go retrieve the President. After shooting their way through dozens of goons, the duo find the underground chamber as one Cobra ally holds the President at gunpoint. Jaye shoots the President in the arm and Colton kills the goon.
Flint goes in pursuit of Cobra Commander, but he escapes on a helicopter, just as his men are preparing for the other Zeus rods to hit other major cities around the world. Roadblock finds that Firefly is holding the briefcase. He nearly escapes on a motorboat, but Roadblock rams into it with another one. He and Firefly begin fighting again, but Roadblock manages to defeat him. At the very last second, he overrides the sequence and causes all the Zeus satellites to explode.
Somewhere underground, after having escaped other ninjas, Storm Shadow finds Zartan pointing a gun at him. He tells Zartan he made him what he has become, and Zartan pulls the trigger, but Storm Shadow slices the bullet in half with his blade and throws it into Zartan's chest. As he dies, the nanomites wear off, and his real face is visible.
Roadblock is walking away from the scene, but Firefly is about to set one of his firefly bombs on him. He reaches into his pocket for his detonator, but Roadblock is holding it. With the push of a button, the firefly explodes, and Firefly is killed. The Joes walk together triumphantly while Storm Shadow respectfully acknowledges Snake Eyes and walks away.
The real President is put back into power and addresses the nation at a ceremony where Roadblock, Jaye, Flint, Jinx, and Snake Eyes are commemorated as heroes. Colton thanks each of them, but when he gets to Roadblock, he presents him with the gun of General Patton, so that when they finally catch Cobra Commander, they will be ready. Roadblock proudly raises the gun in the air and lets out one shot.
There's a brief narration explaining how the Joes caught Cobra Commander and Destro (in the previous film), and they are now locked in a maximum security prison. Duke is the captain leading Roadblock, Flint, Jaye, and the masked mute Snake Eyes (Ray Park). However, Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee) and Zartan (Arnold Vosloo) are still at large. (Note: no mention is made of the Baroness whom is presumed to be still incarierated.)
Sometime later, Duke and Roadblock are playing video games at the latter's home. Duke gets jumped by Roadblock's two daughters. The men see on television that the Pakistani president has been assassinated.
The President of the United States (Jonathan Pryce, but really, Zartan still in disguise) meets with his men and has the choice to wait it out or head right in. He makes the decision to send the Joes out to Pakistan to obtain nuclear weapons.
The Joes go down to the base in Pakistan where they are keeping the weapons. They start shooting at the bad guys and eventually get the weapons and disable them. Duke contacts the White House to confirm this.
Zartan goes into an underground facility where they are hiding the real President. He taunts him and shows off the nanomites that keep his disguise together. He claims that the people of America are more fond of the way he is running the country with his eagerness to blow things up.
Duke and Roadblock share a bonding moment where they make a bet on who can shoot a cupcake on a stand. Roadblock wins because he distracts Duke and brings out his own big-ass gun. Suddenly, the men notice jets coming in, thinking it's security. The jets start shooting down on the Joes and dropping bombs. The team scrambles for protection while firing back. Duke jumps in to save Flint, but he is killed in an explosion. Roadblock, Flint, and Jaye hide in a well and manage to fool the villains.
The next morning, as the trio try to get out of the well, Zartan (as the President) addresses the nation regarding the attack. He frames the Joes for the attack in Pakistan and frames Snake Eyes for the assassination of the Pakistani president. The surviving Joes find that all of their guys are dead. Roadblock takes the dog tag off one Joe's corpse.
At the maximum security prison, Snake Eyes is being taken in. He is greeted by Warden James (Walton Goggins) and is brought down underground where it is shown that Cobra Commander (Luke Bracey) and Destro are being contained. They are in a tube filled with materials that paralyze every part of their body but keep their hearts and eyes functioning. James boasts "Welcome to hell" and Snake Eyes responds boastfully. His mask is removed, and it is really Storm Shadow underneath.
A Cobra mercenary known as Firefly (Ray Stevenson) comes by the facility and sets out little explosive fireflies to break into the place. As this is happening, Storm Shadow makes his heart stop to alert the guards after he's been placed in the chamber. He manages to break out and kill most of the guards. He breaks Cobra Commander from his chamber, but they leave Destro, saying he is out of the band. They meet with Firefly, who comes in as James shoots a gas chamber, causing an explosion. James is killed by the Commander and the explosion's flames severely burn Storm Shadow's back.
The villains go to an industrial complex where a large weapon known as Zeus is being constructed. Zartan comes in and informs the Commander about the three surviving Joes. Firefly says they'll be taken care of.
Roadblock, Flint, and Jaye drop by Roadblock's old neighborhood. They take shelter in an old gym/arcade that he used to come by.
In Tokyo, Japan, the real Snake Eyes meets with his mentor, Blind Master (RZA), and a Joe ally, Jinx (Elodie Yung). Blind Master tells them they must find Storm Shadow and get him to reveal Cobra's plans.
Lady Jaye does some observations with the President's speech pattern and mannerisms to deduce that someone is impersonating him. Flint asks Roadblock who they can trust now, and he responds there is one man he knows.
The trio go to the home of General Joe Colton (Bruce Willis), the original G.I. Joe. Roadblock explains the situation after showing Colton the dog tags of their fallen brothers. Together, they come up with a plan to prove that the President is a phony.
Jaye goes out as a jogger and gets the attention of a man on the President's detail. She tricks him into helping her out with groceries, and Roadblock gets him to find them a way to the President.
Somewhere in the mountains, Snake Eyes and Jinx have located the place where Storm Shadow is being treated. He is healed up by an old woman, and they notice that several ninjas are falling from great heights. Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow bitterly reunite and engage in a fight, while Jinx fights the old woman. She and Storm Shadow are neutralized, but the ninjas go after Snake Eyes and Jinx. Snake Eyes gets rid of them by causing an avalanche that sends the ninjas off the mountain to their deaths.
At a gala that Zartan is attending, Jaye goes in disguised as a member of the President's detail. She gets in with a sexy red dress and gets Zartan's attention. One of his men, another Cobra ally, is suspicious and starts to do a scan on Jaye's face. She gets out after getting a hair sample from Zartan's coat and sends it to Roadblock. After scanning the sample, they learn Zartan's identity, just as Firefly comes in and tries to attack. He fights Roadblock and almost kills him until Flint and Jaye come by and ram him with their truck. Firefly gets out in time.
Back in Tokyo, Storm Shadow is questioned by Blind Master, who hands him his sword. In this moment, it is revealed that, as a child, it was not Storm Shadow who killed his and Snake Eyes' master, but it was Zartan in disguise as a man who would mentor Storm Shadow into the assassin he became. He gives them the information they want.
Firefly is beating the President up in the underground chamber. Cobra Commander comes in with a briefcase that would activate the Zeus weapon and scans the President's eye.
In the gym/arcade, Snake Eyes, Jinx, and Storm Shadow come across the Joes, who are initially suspicious, but they join forces. They go back to Colton's place and meet with some of Colton's men to come up with a plan to stop Cobra's plans. Colton shows them his HUGE collection of weapons all over the kitchen and they start preparing.
At Fort Sumter, Zartan meets with the other world leaders. At the same time, the Joes and Colton's men come in, taking out Cobra allies and other men. Zartan tells the world leaders to give up their nuclear weapons, but they say he has gone mad. He releases America's nukes into the air and detonates them as they are high above the sky. The other world leaders follow suit. Cobra Commander comes in with the Zeus briefcase, and it is revealed that Zeus is a series of satellites containing powerful rods. They drop one rod down onto London, almost completely destroying it, and sending the other world leaders into a frenzy. By this point, Cobra has officially taken over the White House. Storm Shadow and Jinx begin drawing their blades and start attacking. The Commander tells Firefly to be wary of the briefcase.
Roadblock comes in on a large tank shooting the other villains' tanks while Jaye and Colton go retrieve the President. After shooting their way through dozens of goons, the duo find the underground chamber as one Cobra ally holds the President at gunpoint. Jaye shoots the President in the arm and Colton kills the goon.
Flint goes in pursuit of Cobra Commander, but he escapes on a helicopter, just as his men are preparing for the other Zeus rods to hit other major cities around the world. Roadblock finds that Firefly is holding the briefcase. He nearly escapes on a motorboat, but Roadblock rams into it with another one. He and Firefly begin fighting again, but Roadblock manages to defeat him. At the very last second, he overrides the sequence and causes all the Zeus satellites to explode.
Somewhere underground, after having escaped other ninjas, Storm Shadow finds Zartan pointing a gun at him. He tells Zartan he made him what he has become, and Zartan pulls the trigger, but Storm Shadow slices the bullet in half with his blade and throws it into Zartan's chest. As he dies, the nanomites wear off, and his real face is visible.
Roadblock is walking away from the scene, but Firefly is about to set one of his firefly bombs on him. He reaches into his pocket for his detonator, but Roadblock is holding it. With the push of a button, the firefly explodes, and Firefly is killed. The Joes walk together triumphantly while Storm Shadow respectfully acknowledges Snake Eyes and walks away.
The real President is put back into power and addresses the nation at a ceremony where Roadblock, Jaye, Flint, Jinx, and Snake Eyes are commemorated as heroes. Colton thanks each of them, but when he gets to Roadblock, he presents him with the gun of General Patton, so that when they finally catch Cobra Commander, they will be ready. Roadblock proudly raises the gun in the air and lets out one shot.
Produced By:
- Dwayne Johnson known as Roadblock
- Jonathan Pryce known as President
- Byung-hun Lee known as Storm Shadow
- Elodie Yung known as Jinx
- Ray Stevenson known as Firefly
- D.J. Cotrona known as Flint
- Adrianne Palicki known as Jaye
- Channing Tatum known as Duke
- Ray Park known as Snake Eyes
- Luke Bracey known as Cobra Commander
- Walton Goggins known as Warden Nigel James
- Arnold Vosloo known as Zartan
- Joseph Mazzello known as Mouse
- Nick Erickson known as President Picture Double
- RZA known as Blind Master
- Naim Alherimi known as Pakistani President
- Ravi Naidu known as Chief Advisor
- Matt Gerald known as Havoc
- Douglas M. Griffin known as Doctor
- Joe Chrest known as Chief of Staff
- Bruce Willis known as General Joe Colton
- James Carville known as James Carville
- Ryan Hansen known as Grunt
- DeRay Davis known as Stoop
- Nathan Takashige known as Young Storm Shadow
- Joanna Leeds known as Intern
- Elana Justin known as Intern
- Ilia Volok known as Russian Leader
- Dikran Tulaine known as U.K. Leader
- Robert Catrini known as Israeli President
- Marcelo Tubert known as French Leader
- James Lew known as Chinese Leader
- Ajay Mehta known as Indian Leader
- Augustus Cho known as North Korean Leader
- Raja Deka known as Indian Expert (as Raja Chandra Deka)
- Tiffany Lonsdale known as British Expert
- Terry Dale Parks known as Greeter
- Jun Hee Lee known as North Korean Captain
- Afemo Omilami known as Chairman Joint Chief of Staff
- W. Dante Ha known as Kim Jong's Nephew (as Dante Won Ha)
- Carrie Wong known as Jhankri
- Benjamin Blankenship known as Systems Officer
- Adam Vernier known as Weapons Officer
- Jim Palmer known as Clutch
- Amin Joseph known as Cobra Secret Sevice
- Rey Hernandez known as Cobra Secret Service
- Grant Goodman known as First Son
- Mikal Vega known as Arch Angel Joe
- Luis Echagarruga known as Arch Angel Joe
- Brelyn Plumbar known as Roadblock's Daughter
- Amaya Plumbar known as Roadblock's Daughter
- Dustan Costine known as Cobra Trooper
- Michael Howe known as Cobra Trooper (as Michael D. Howe)
- Geoffrey Howe known as Cobra Trooper (as Geoffrey S. Howe)
- Erik Howsam known as U.K. Staff
- Timothy Bruns known as Honor Guard
Production Companies:
- Paramount Pictures (presents)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (presents) (as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures)
- Skydance Productions (presents)
- Hasbro (in association with)
- Di Bonaventura Pictures (as di Bonaventura Pictures)
- tacticalproshop.com tactical equipment and uniforms
- Alternative Rentals camera equipment provided by
- BT Industrial Supply expendables
- Building Studios ADR Facility
- Canada Film Capital tax incentive consulting services
- Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment camera car
- Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment camera cranes
- Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment camera dollies
- Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment hydrascope telescoping crane arm
- Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment stabilized remote camera systems
- Chef Robért Catering catering
- Cineworks Digital Studios HD dailies telecine transfer
- Cineworks Digital Studios digital dailies and grading
- Cineworks Digital Studios digital screening facility
- Cineworks, New Orleans HD dailies and digital previews/ telecine transfer
- Company 3 digital intermediate
- Digital Media Services (DMS) digital marketing asset management
- Digital Media Services (DMS) on-line promotional material creation
- Direct Tools & Fasteners expendables
- Dolby Laboratories sound mix
- Event Restroom restrooms
- Film Art artwork
- Hollywood Trucks transportation
- Howe and Howe Technologies hero vehicle (Joe Tank aka Ripsaw) developers
- PIC Agency titles
- Panavision Remote Systems Supertechno cranes provided by
- Performance Filmworks Edge Crane System
- Pictorvision Eclipse aerial camera system
- Pivotal Post Avid HD editing equipment provided by
- Prologue Films main titles
- Silver Screen Supply climate control
- Silver Screen Supply location equipment/rentals
- Silver Screen Supply portable power systems and cables
- SoundWorks Houston sound post-production (additional adr recording)
- Stereo D 3D stereoscopic conversion
- Varèse Sarabande soundtrack
- Forum Cinemas (2013) (Lithuania) (theatrical)
- Paramount Pictures Entertainment (2013) (Canada) (theatrical)
- Paramount Pictures (2013) (Germany) (theatrical)
- Paramount Pictures (2013) (France) (theatrical)
- Paramount Pictures (2013) (UK) (theatrical)
- Paramount Pictures (2013) (Japan) (theatrical)
- Paramount Pictures (2013) (USA) (theatrical)
- Solar Entertainment (2013) (Philippines) (theatrical)
- United International Pictures (UIP) (2013) (Argentina) (theatrical)
- United International Pictures (UIP) (2013) (Poland) (theatrical)
- United International Pictures (UIP) (2013) (Singapore) (theatrical)
- Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2013) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
- Zon Lusomundo Audiovisuais (2013) (Portugal) (all media)
Special Effects:
- Base FX
- Digital Caliber (stereoscopic clean-up)
- Digital Domain
- Gimzi Studios (visual effects)
- Illusion Industries (special makeup effects)
- Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)
- Lidar Services (visual effects)
- Lola Visual Effects
- Luma Pictures (visual effects)
- Method Studios (visual effects)
- Pixel Liberation Front (previsualization)
Visual Effects by:
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of combat violence and martial arts action throughout, and for brief sensuality and language
Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database
Ever since the movie's release was postponed from last year & rumoursof the reason doing rounds, it did stir up the expectation. Like onemajor one was Duke's extended role & re-shot of some scenes. But I mustsay the movie was disappointing. Duke's role ends very early as seen inlast year's trailers ending a short but sweet bromance with roadblock.The movie's screenplay is kinda confusing. There is no continuation &subsequent scenes appear disjointed. Roadblock has been entertaining &bit emotional too. There are some inexplicable flashbacks that appearfar from plausible. Like storm shadow , who has implicated formurdering his Master at a young age is now revisted with the realkiller being zartan in disguise. I mean at that tender age, why wasstorm shadow chosen even before the joe's recruited snake eyes. I feltthe flashback a bit awkward. So the twist here is storm shadow helpsthe joe's. It was interesting one. You have flashes of individualbrilliance in certain scenes & sequences. But collectively the movieisn't engaging & sadly stale. All this even after a year's delay inrelease is all the more surprisingly annoying.
ReplyDeleteTwo things happened as G.I. Joe: Retaliation progressed: the scriptrevealed itself as being written by a ghostwriter literally, a ghost,and, secondly, I had a ton of fun.
ReplyDeleteWhile the first part can be written about any of the Transformersfilms, the second is far from accurate to those terrible films. I don'tknow what it is, or how they could of screwed up that franchise sobadly; the Transformers were higher on my list of toys I grew up withthan the G.I. Joe action figures, even though I played with both.
I haven't seen the first G.I. Joe film since it came out in 2009, soit's hard to make a current comparison. But, I can say, I had anentertaining ride during both. Perhaps it was the same kinds of actionthat was in the original series' cartoons, or maybe, the cast alwaysseems to have the right amount of charisma. Here, in the (hopefully,first of many) sequel(s), I loved the cast, including the DwayneJohnson and Bruce Willis. That last choice rarely makes a mistake inmovies, so when he did in the previous 2013 Willis release, A Good Dayto Die Hard, it was nice to see a little, ah-hem, retaliation in thismovie.
As stated, the screenplay was just the pits and it got progressivelyworse as the movie concluded, but just for review's sake, the movie isthe same ole scene: the elite and patriotic soldiers, or "the Joes,"are framed and the President's being duplicated and run by the evilCobra villains. Their plan? Well, kinda, sorta, rule the world? What isthe evil plot of any cartoon race of bad guys?
The Joes, now outnumbered and outgunned by approximately 99 to 1, stillmanage to use their resources to fight the enemy.
My synopsis is a very basic retelling of the many-times-over retellingof dozens of films but that's incidental to the action.
The fighting, gadgets and choreographed scenes weren't anything newthemselves, aside from the great mountain fight with my favorite Joe ofall-time: Snake Eyes, but they were still wildly engaging. And thereare more than enough of them. Once you get a tad bit bored or confused rightfully so with the multiples of plot holes with the story, theythrow another action segment to get you by.
This is a life-action cartoon, nothing more. It's for people who grewup on the animated series, the comic books and action figures like me.But, that wouldn't have been enough for me. If not for the action, thefun characters by the actors, or the humorous lines yeah, I did laughout loud a few times, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed this as much.
Yes I do recommend G.I. Joe: Retaliation. If, again, you fit thatpersona I described in the previous paragraph.
¨Call me JOE¨
ReplyDeleteAs a kid I was a huge fan of the GI Joe cartoons and had a vastcollection of the action figures, but I never thought it was a verygood idea to bring the franchise to the big screen. I didn't like thefirst film despite all the great special effects because the entireconcept was just way too silly, and I didn't like this film all thatmuch either despite the fact it had a better story and some moreinteresting characters. What really saved this film for me was a tenminute action scene in the mountains which was pretty amazing and madethe entire movie worthwhile. It was one of the best action scenes I'veseen all year. This second film was directed by Jon M. Chu (JustinBieber Never Say Never and Step Up 2) and the screenplay co-written byRhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Zombieland), but very few actors are backfrom the original movie (only five) so this felt like a totallydifferent movie. Retaliation is much better than Rise of Cobra but itstill felt a little light due to the nonstop action. It's one of thosemovies you can enjoy for two hours but forget about once it's over.What it does have going for it is that is includes better action starslike The Rock and Bruce Willis. The Rock is probably one of the bestcontemporary action stars and he already brought the Fast and Furiousfranchise back alive again. He doesn't quite do the same with GI Joe,but he still makes this movie a little more enjoyable than the originalone. Despite all the cheesiness of the plot I still had some fun, andthe producers knew that the premise couldn't be taken seriously so theyjust played around with it.
The Joes continue to serve and protect the world under the leadershipof Captain Duke (Channing Tatum) and his team which consists ofRoadblock (Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock), Flint (D.J. Cotrona), and Jaye(Adrianne Palicki). They have a couple of successful missions until theteam is betrayed by the US president (Jonathan Pryce) who is actuallyZartan (Arnold Vosloo) infiltrated as him. Thus the Joes are forced tofight enemy forces inside their own government and are forced toreceive help from the only person they can trust: retired General JoeColton (Bruce Willis). Meanwhile Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee) hasconceived a plan with Firefly (Ray Stevenson) to free their imprisonedCobra Commander (Luke Bracey). Snake Eyes (Ray Park) is determined tostop him with the help of Jinx (Elodie Yung), but the Joes are runningout of time with the President threatening the world with a nuclearwar. Will the Joes be able to stop the Cobra team before they destroythe entire world?
Channing Tatum and The Rock shared some funny scenes together and hadgreat chemistry, but I would have enjoyed more screen time with them.Adrianne Palicki looked great in that red dress and was a good additionto the film. Cotrona and Willis didn't do much, but the highlight ofthe film was the mountain action sequence between Park and Lee. Thefilm had its extremely cheesy moments, and I couldn't believe they evendidn't care about the explosion of London. They continued as if nothingever happened and celebrated the success of the mission withoutconsidering the devastating loss. I think that was probably the worstpart of the film and the entire scene was probably used to attractpeople through the trailers. Retaliation is big and loud, anticipationfor what is to come in the blockbuster summer movies. By the timesummer gets here we will probably have forgotten all about this movie,but it was still a fun and entertaining two hours. Even those peoplethat will end up hating this film will have to agree that the tenminute action scene between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow was prettyentertaining. As long as you don't think too much about what's going onyou might enjoy this senseless film.
Not to give too much away but the story is weak and can be summed upwith this equation:
ReplyDelete4 GI Joes - 3 ninjas = 1 movie you wish you'd never seen!!!
My wife and I sat and waited for action, and waited, them waited somemore... It finally came like my brother melting my Duke action figurewith a lighter and Aqua-Net. Horrible plot, good special effects, and astereo-typical ending. The next DirecTV add will say cable is worsethan... Sitting thru GI Joe 2.
If you don't believe me, waste your money, then contact me for an "Itold you so!"
I had 50/50 hopes for this movie and felt a bit bummed out when it wastold that it will be delayed to March 2013 but I thought maybe it wasfor the best so I decided to give it chance. Now after nearly a year ofwaiting, I have to say I was a bit disappointed. First off, theypromised to explain what happened to the characters in the previousfilm that didn't show up (ripcord, Scarlett etc.) but no explanationwas given whatsoever as well as wanting to strengthen Duke and Baronesscharacter but nothing was ever explained. 2nd storywise, it was notthat very interesting in my opinion and there some parts which I find abit illogic and not explained like how did Storm Shadow survive. Theguy just like appeared out of no where. Character wise, Cobra rulescompared to the Joes. Lady Jaye and Flint were not really thatinteresting to watch and the romance between them didn't really lookthat convincing. Killing off Duke Hauser (Channing Tatum)and lettingRoadblock (The Rock) take over as team leader for me was the biggestletdown in my opinion since he never really looked that great playingthe lead role. Bruce Willis was OK a Joe but nothing exciting but forme the best Joe out there would have to be Snake Eyes (Ray Park). Hisperformances were great as usual and really made the movie lookedexciting. As for the villains, I really wanted to see Zartan fight withsomebody but that didn't happen. Destro was the biggest disappointmentfor me since they killed his character off just like that. CobraCommander looked better in this outfit that the previous one but therewas really nothing from him but in my opinion, the best villain andcharacter of the entire movie has got to go to Firefly (Ray Stevenson)His character was so wicked cool and I really loved how those nano flyswere used as his explosion device. Though a villain, he stood out themost in the film for me I can't say much for the rest of the cast likeStorm Shadow and Jinx since there wasn't really anything much fromthem. Also I find it kind of hard to believe that this is a G.I Joemovie since apart from Snake Eyes, there wasn't really anything thatmade me feel that these guys were the G.I Joes since it felt like therewere very little connection between this team to the previous G.I Joeteam in the first movie. Overall a bit of a letdown compared to thefirst movie and it didn't seemed like it was a sequel to the first G.IJoe movie and it wasn't really worth watching it in 3D either
ReplyDeleteWith Channing, Dwayne,Lee, Bruce and most importantly Palicki in thisone, you'd expect real fast-paced action with great visuals. On thelatter, it delivers as the visuals are great and one of the best of therecent. On the prior, not so much as the storyline drags unnecessarilyaround the US Prez. Palicki brings in the much needed eye-candy for thehardcore action fans though only in glimpses while Channing, being thechick-magnet gets one big anxious sigh from the ladies in the firsthalf of the movie. Dwayne does what Dwayne does - kicks ass! Cotrona,however looks like he's done this one for free as he hardly has much todo and beats me why he's even there. Snake eyes, Jinx, Zartan & Fireflyentertain as characters with purpose. RZA is a big LOL.
ReplyDeleteThere's muscle,hard-hitting physical combat action, sensuality,technology, star-appeal and pretty interesting automobiles. All youneed if you're an action fan. Now if only they could somehowmysteriously put in an interesting and not-so-predictable storyline,then we'd have a real blockbuster hit worth your ticket money!
As a film buff, I love seeing films alone on Saturday afternoons orFriday nights. As as result of my frequent attendance, I have come toknow not to expect much from action blockbuster films. Yes, you getyour usual incomprehensible hand-to-hand fights, buildings explodingand enemy gunfire as inaccurate as ever, with the inevitably minimalplot and screenplay. As the ending credits rolled, I stood up thinking"ehhh". The film definitely had some amazingly entertaining actionsequences and awesome special effects, but you know, you can't reallybe THAT amazed with an action film. Not gonna lie, the screenplay inthis film was pretty well written, and it included quite a fewpleasantly surprising laughs. Dwayne Johnson has a big few months aheadof him with the release of Snitch (which I give a 7/10), the next Fastand Furious movie, and Pain & Gain. With this film, he did reinforcehis true acting credentials, even though not much notable acting isobserved in such a genre. All in all, if you're expecting somethinglike Olympus Has Fallen, you might be dissatisfied. If you go in likeme, with no true expectations other than hoping for some entertainment,you might like what you see.
ReplyDeleteG.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra feels like it belongs to a different age ofblockbusters. It had a hard time fitting in to the modern generationthus most moviegoers never find it as appealing as the other films thatwas released on that year. Those rants can be true only in somereasons. The film is undeniably silly and dumb but it was never boringand has its own quality. Since people are now asking for darker andmuch serious blockbusters, this sequel reduces all the silliness thatwas displayed on the original. G.I. Joe: Retaliation is cooler and lesscartoony. Unfortunately, it is also less exciting and terriblyuninspired. The action may be better looking but the lack of fortitudeand creativity made it fall short into another visual showcase stress.
ReplyDelete"Awesome" is the main goal of this sequel. While the original was toocorny to impress, this film darkens the tone and made it a bit down toearth. It abandons the silly gadgets and the ridiculous laws of physicsthat was shown in the original. But the film fails to be both dark andrealistic. Not only because of those robotic fireflies and the massannihilating missiles but the secret prisons and the government areunbelievably dumb to manage their job. Well, it's a blockbuster basedon toys so it will never be too realistic. Deal with it while we arehere for the fun. The dark aspects aren't dark at all. What they onlydo is to be serious. This seriousness blocks the potential joy andturns it into standard blockbuster bland.
The storytelling is quite messy. It's like an uninteresting version ofMission Impossible: Ghost Protocol with uninteresting characters. Thestorytelling from the first movie wasn't great either since it iscluttered with cheesy flashbacks. But it's worse here because it takessome twists that are absurdly incoherent. And so, it's all pretentious.The characters are boring and even the performances can't bring them tolife. Dwayne Johnson is the only good thing among them though, BruceWillis is trying to make fun of himself again as a crazy grandaddy, andthe villains ham it up which isn't suppose to be a bad thing but theycan't give enough personality to them.
The action scenes are acceptable enough to call awesome at least. Withall the explosions and the none CGI-ed machines, it seems to be reallyexciting, but it's not. It does a fine job to be pretty but there's adifference between good looking and exciting. There's only a littlesuspense. If there is actually suspense and joy then it would be foundat the mountain ninja fight but it's just mild and still glosses someslow motions in it. For the rest of the action, the heroes are alwayssuperior. Plus more explosions and slow-mos. The action is stylishlydirected anyway. The fight between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow remainsto be the only action that excites and one part of the climax has anutty scene with The Rock riding huge vehicles and shooting like abadass. The production designs, special effects, and costumes getsbetter. What else to talk about it?
The absence of the Joes' ridiculous transportation and weapons,holograms, and other snazzy gadgets may please our modern viewers butit also forgets why this material is interesting anyway. Now we onlyget typical military stuff. It still has some crazy devices but it'slimited compare to the first film. Rise of Cobra wasn't a classic. It'snothing more than a simple guilty pleasure. Same with Retaliationexcept this one can't even be completely pleasurable unless you wantsome endless visual coolness. Cool is not a bad thing but it could havebeen creative and much more exciting instead of showing off slow-mos onscreen. To be fair, it's mildly entertaining and good to look at. Ifthe film wasn't this visually awesome, it would have been an emptycinema. The series still fails to justify its source material.
It sucks that they had to put up a poster of this movie with Duke(Channing Tatum) and Joe (Bruce Willis) so grossly misleading when Dukeshowed up about what 10 mins or so then dies and Joe shows up when halfof the movie is already finished, and not getting much burn at that (Ishould have known, how many of Willis's recent movies has been likethis already). For an average movie goer like me (i'd like to think ofmyself like that) that doesn't normally go researching(goggling stuff)before watching a movie, I was sucked up by the poster itself expectinga whole lot of Duke and Joe in action. In my opinion, The Rock is not abad actor himself but sadly he is not able to carry the movie byhimself. I believe the movie producers/marketers or whoever isresponsible for creating that misleading poster cheated people fortheir money. To be honest I am not sure I would be going to watch themovie in theater had I known I would be only getting this much, It'sone of the movies I could have waited to be available on HBOTV or onDVD. I did like the special effects though, especially the mountainaction scenes.
ReplyDelete