G.I. Joe: Retaliation

"Let's move! The world ain't saving itself!" - Roadblock

release year: 2013
genre: action/adventure
viewing setting: home Bluray 2/9/15 and 8/6/13

synopsis: Evil organization COBRA wipes out almost all of the G.I. Joe team, leaving just a few to stop them before they destroy the world.

impressions: Like the first one, this was over-the-top, with weapons far more advanced than they have any reason to be, action sequences that border on impossible, and characters/events that exist simply because they did in the toy line. I rank these movies with the Transformers series: big, loud, fun without much brainpower required to view. There's definitely an overload of action here, including a healthy dose of martial arts.

activation point: 18:30 - this is the beginning of the end for the Joes

body count: dozens, too many to keep up with

something this movie has that no other movie has: A ninja cutting a moving bullet in half.

acting: Dwayne Johnson is charismatic as always, playing the main protagonist. Channing Tatum appears in the early part of the film as the former main protagonist. Bruce Willis appears in the latter part of the film as the original Joe. Ray Park says nothing but fights well as ninja Snake Eyes. Byung-hun Lee has a similar role as evil ninja Storm Shadow. Elodie Yung is a female ninja. Ray Stevenson is the main evil henchman. Adrianne Palicki is Lady Jaye, the main female protagonist. Walton Goggins has a brief but fun role as a prison warden.

final word: Quite entertaining, if you don't over-analyze it.

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