Review of G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013) by Sam V — 23 Sep 2013

The sequel we didn't think we would get to see, GI Joe Retaliation was what I expected from a typical "popcorn" action flick. It had explosions, sword fighting and plenty of gun action. In some ways, I felt this movie was more grounded in providing an action movie rather than a sci-fi experience. To me, this was one of many departures from the first film for which I also enjoyed a basic action film level.

The things they did right. The cast was great and seemed to correct some wrongs from the first film. However, it appeared to me that the film quickly dismissed the events of the earlier film and was in a hurry to replace the original cast (as much as possible) with a new "A-team" and leave them behind. Regardless of your feelings toward the first film, I think it was important that they try to bridge the good from the previous film and not ignore it. I think they lost an opportunity here to instill more clout for the continuing plot and provide more weight to the movie's events by linking them to the heroes and villains we enjoyed from the first installment.

The story seemed to large for a single movie and relates more to a saga...then a single movie. It seems to me that there is little in the way of a story arch and they would have done well to make the second act a bit darker and less "happy ending" at the conclusion. Sometimes the audience doesn't need all the ends tied up nicely. It gives us something to look forward in for the next movie.

Overall, I enjoyed this film quite a bit. While I thought it was superior to the previous, I don't think it won out by much. I think the previous movie had better pacing and picked up on the sci-fi aspects of GI Joe. GI-Joe Retaliation did a great job with the new characters and provided deeper insight into Storm Shadow, whIch I found interesting. However, I thought the movie was more about the team and not an individual. And to me, the movie seemed too focused on Storm Shadow's "story".