GI JOE Review

GI JOE: RETALIATION

Director: John Wu

Starring: Dwayne Johnson(Roadblock), Jonathan Pryce(USA President), Byung-hun Lee(Storm Shadow), Ray Park(Snake Eyes), Elodie Yung(Jinx), Ray Stevenson(Firefly), D.J. Cotrona(Flint), Adrianne Palicki(Lady Jaye), Channing Tatum(Duke), Bruce Willis(General Joe)

Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of action-violence and some language)

Running Time: 110 minutes

Overall Opinion. (3 stars)

“YO GOE!” The common catch phrase of the world-known action –hero. Throughout the years GI Joe has had numerous makeovers. Starting from multi-jointed action figures (who some called dolls) as just plain real life military forces, they then became small multi-jointed action figures, soon spreading out into a comic series, cartoon series, and even into the big screen. Through that time, the military aspect changed from real-life to action-heroes, creators adding gadgets, individual outfits and unique names (ex-GridIron, Snake-eyes, Lobo, Duke,etc), giving the military its own version of super-heroes. The last movie GI JOE: Rise of Cobra, made its emphasis on the traditional series. Huge gadgets, non-human bad guy goons, and cheese one-liners. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it, the movie lost credit due to making the Joes more super-soldiers as seen in the cartoons, and less on the original bases of the franchise: that this was a military group. Retaliation improves on that. Taking after the comic series Renegades, Retaliation goes for a more down-to-earth, yet gritty interpretation of the GI JOES. Though keeping the code-names and such, the movie goes a bit extra in showing what war is. For this reason, the characters are also down to the basics, being more relatable personas of someone you might meet in the army. Also this time around, the ‘driver’s seat’ is switched around a bit. Where as Duke(Tatum) was the main guy in the first one, this movie more is Roadblocks take. Also, the story leans more on person of Storm Shadow rather than Snake-eyes(*see note at bottom of review), and despite equal screen time, Zartan is the more primal threat than Cobra Commander. This switch around adds more intensity, for now one is made to worry if main characters are no longer the main characters, are they going to last the movie?

Retaliation is a huge roller-coaster of action. The movie basically gives audiences what they love in action. This affects development and flow of the story. Every one of the actors is perfectly picked for the role (prime examples Storm Shadow, Firefly, and Roadblock). But while more realistic, the characters in the movie stay the same throughout. There is no development, or ‘moment of change’ for any of the characters. Again, this is meant to be an action movie, so not much thought is put into it. John Wu, having never before been a director of action movies, takes example from his older works (Step Up –dance movies) and seems to have the impression that things always need to be happening. This makes the dialogue, while less cheesy, more quick and to the point so that we can quickly move on to the next fight. Wu filled older movies with dances, so this one is filled with fights. The best place it comes in effect is the ninja fight on the mountains, beautifully choreographed and made like something out of a spider-man movie. But the necessity for more action chops up the story flow. The mentioned ninja scene is one of a small cluster of such scenes, happening in the middle of the movie. The ninja situation is quickly formed, confronted, and dealt with. This makes it seem as if the movie suddenly stopped half way and we had a short ‘ninja episode’ in the middle. I personally would have liked more to be endulged in that those scenes, as well as the scenes of the Joes during ‘hang out time.’

As stated, this time around, the movie tries to show Joes as a real military group. The movie tries to pay homage to our country’s military, bringing up the joys and pains of such a group living, working, and fighting together. At parts, like Roadblock and Duke having a shooting contest, Flint and Jaye sharing their reasons for joining the group, to even the sad moments of Joe (Willis) staring at the tags of fallen soldiers, this point drives home. But here again, the movie drives quickly past these points because the movie must give people what they want, which is apparently more fights (okay, which is true I guess).

Overall, the movie could have been amazing. It’s realistic approach made it a better film than its predecessor, but as it went along, further away from the people and more into the war and fighting itself, the humanity of soldiers that the movie seemed to be trying to go for gets lost. The movie quickly redeems itself with another salute to troops (one baring significant meaning to one of the soldiers) at the end, but only after giving audiences the full-frontal adrenaline that they seek.

Good Message/Bad Message:

- Know your leader, and your enemy

- Every soldier who dies, is a brother/sister in arms lost

Content:

Violence – Plenty! Shooting, ninja kills(swords), blowing up (one scene shown as a massacre), and nuclear destruction is involved. (oh, and this ain’t the kid show – all the cobra’s men are actually men, not robots)

Sex – Adrianne Palicki shows off her mid-rift at one point, and there is a scene of her changing, little shown, and treated ‘innocently’ enough. Pretty clean overall.

Language – A bit of the typical swear words, with one f-bomb being cut off before being said

Drugs: None.

Family Rating: Though not-graphic, this movie is put squarely in PG-13 viewing. Have them watch the first one first, and go from there.

Christian undertones: (SPOILERS in this paragraph)

I don’t like admitting it, but its hard to find Christian Messages in films like this. Many pure-adrenaline action movies (GI Joe, Van Helsing, Die Hard, etc) are just that. You watch it for the action and the unique characters, nothing else. So forgive me if I seem to stretch for ideas.

I guess the ones that made it through into my mind was Ephesians 6 and Revelation. The surviving Joes quickly realize they are fighting on a whole new scale. Where originally they dealt with foreign terror threats, the real threat to the nation they try to protect comes from the inside. The President is not the president, but Zartan, who uses the Joes own government against them. The evil of the world is not so clear-cut anymore, the Joes realizing they could not trust their own state. Ephesians speaks of Christian soldiers, reminding them that the real threat is not a physical one (“Flesh and blood”), that can be defeated by weapons, but rather a force of another realm. Cobra, like Satan (fitting since both of them are referred to as snakes/serpents), is enemy to those are free. His first attack (out-front assault) from the first one did not work, so the second go around does ‘behind-the-scenes’ work (Zartan being his ‘instrument’), and strikes when it is too late to counter. In Revelation, there is multiple pages about the anti-christ. Someone who will easily become a ruler, who will then bring untold destruction to the world. Zartan gives a small example of that. Using a disguise of someone well-loved and trusted (the President), Zartan quickly gives Cobra complete control over our countries greatest weapons. The climax of the movie has Zartan playing with nuclear disaster like it’s a joke. After gaining control of the skies, he at the push of one button, destroys all of England, and everyone in it. He is a being of pure destruction, with the reins of power in his hands. Like Satan, he is a force not to be taken lightly or ignored.

The good news of this comes in Cobras/Zartans, and Satans, greatest weakness: Pride (1 Timothy 3:6). With pride comes over-confidence and self-worth. Every bad guy in the movie takes pleasure in the deaths of others (prime example – Firefly in his glee of watching people blowup). They take over the country so quickly they don’t really bother believing they can be stopped. Roadblock, ever the soldier, does not do what others would do and run. He has a country in danger, and he just witnessed his brothers and sisters in arms get massacred. He does not care if the man responsible appears to be the president of the united states. He will fight. Christians are not guaranteed a ‘happy ending’ in this earth. Like Duke(one of the main characters of the comic series), we may think we are the main character who lasts to the end, but we may end up being the side-kick or partner who gets killed in the line of duty. That’s the other reminder of Ephesians, that this world does not matter, it’s the evil that one does not see that we need to fight. Zartan, master of disguise, creates havoc in more ways than one. But in his confidence he bites off more than he can chew. Along with the Joes, he attacks Storm Shadow and Snake-eyes home. This leads Storm Shadow on the hunt that after years of patience and waiting, soon finds the real person who killed his master, the devil behind the mask. Though not intended, there is symbolism found in the final showdown. One moment, Cobra is at the top of the world, than Roadblock and the team crash in, quickly take out the goons (now aided by Storm Shadow), both Zartan and Firefly are killed by their own weapons(“He who lives by the sword dies by the sword”), Nukes destroyed, and the Cobra commander is forced to flee. The table was turned, and they quickly suffered for their overconfident pride. Satan, like Cobra, once thought, and due to pride, still believes that he holds the cards. We are on earth, a place he can bring great pain, making us, like Roadblock witness death and destruction that is undeserved. But we take strength in Jesus Christ (John 16:33), who gives strength to persevere and find strength in the end, for in the end, His justice will be delivered, and we, the soldiers of Christ will emerge victorious, maybe not in this life, but the life to come.

Scripture: Ephesians 6:12, 1 Timothy 3:6, John 16:33, Revelation

Final Say:

A fun action movie, the ninja fights and big showdowns are worth seeing on the big screen to.

(Quick Note: Storywise, my biggest complaint for both movies has been their representation of Snake-eyes. While keeping his cool ninja persona they done multiple wrong things with him. a.)made it appear he picked snake-eyes for kicks b.) Him and Storm Shadow are not friends c.) Does not get the girl d.). Have him ‘choice’ not to talk. In the comic, snakes takes the code name from the last conversation with his dad. Snakes (being mid-20s) mentions how he hopes he has enough luck to last through the war, and his dad mentions you only get enough luck in dice games before you get snake-eyes. After the war, his family is killed in an accident. Afterwards, Snakes finds Thomas(Storm Shadow), who went from comrades in war to being like brothers in the comic, and they both try to form a new ninja clan under their master. Soon the master is killed, with blame falling on both ninjas, and the clan fails. Snakes soon takes to the code name being that he sees himself as bad luck to those around him (good and bad). Scarlett soon helps him see that’s not true. Snakes and scarlett (redhead from the first) actually become  a couple. In their first mission, Snake-eyes is injured while rescueing her from a helicopter crash, the injury being the cause for his loss of voice. Storm Shadow and Snakes later make amends, and both hunt down the killers of their master (Zartan and Firefly). Storm Shadow takes down Zartan, while Snake-Eyes manages to finish of Firefly. The movies, while keeping him cool, make the same mistake as the old tv shows did, making Snakes a ‘guest appearance’ with no real personality. This shows, for lack of a better word, laziness on the writers part. No one wants to trouble trying to make communication and a personality show from someone who can’t talk. Hence why in this past movie, Storm Shadow is given the reins more than snakes, because its easier to show what Storm Shadow is thinking. The only thing that gives snakes justice of late is the newest cartoon GI JOE: Renegades, diving into his origin story and at least trying to show through his actions what kind of man he is. Snakes deserves his due in a real life movie, and I hope they bump it up should they ever do a sequel.