Blu-Ray/Movie Review: G.I. Joe: Retaliation

 

This movie is kind of a sequel to the first GI Joe movie, Rise of Cobra, continuing part of that storyline and then branching way off of it, so it then mostly becomes a reboot. Some of the cast members from the first movie do make an appearance, but most of them amount to extended cameos. Some roles were recast, and some of the characters, such as The Baroness and Destro were not used in this movie. This one stars The Rock as Roadblock and Adrienne Palicki as Lady Jaye, the two main Joe characters (along with Snake Eyes, played by Ray Park). The bulk of the story involves the plot by Cobra to use Zartan to impersonate the President of the United States and bring down GI Joe. There is a large parallel story that involves Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow and goes into their rivalry.

The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray is very good. The picture looks great, and the special effects are seamless. The extras include a commentary track on the movie by the director and producer, then there are just over an hour's worth of making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, as well as a few deleted scenes. So if you like watching the bonus material there is a decent amount.

Overall, the movie is a good action movie, but not great. Not even as good as the first movie (in my opinion). I would have liked more of the characters to come back and not just have small roles. I am fine using the additional characters but I would have liked more of a conclusion to Duke and Baroness' storyline and bring back characters like Scarlett and Ripcord. I also think that expanding the role of Cobra Commander with Joseph Gordon Levitt and bringing back Christopher Eccleston as Destro would have been a wise move. Obviously, like the first movie, this is not an academy award-winning drama. It is a summer blockbuster action movie, and it most definitely stays in that lane. But, if you are looking for an action movie with tons of explosions and great fight scenes, this is definitely a good one.