Saw it last night. I was one of seven people in the theatre.
The Bad
- The story was half-baked. There was a lot of jumping around between different plot threads making it seem like several movies in one and the characters were poorly developed.
The Good
- They tried to inject some new energy into this franchise and they succeeded to some degree. It really felt like a live-action G.I. Joe movie with all-american soldiers and villains in attire reminiscent of the action figures and vehicles that looked like they could be part of the toy line.
- Cobra Commander was there and they got him and his costume right. This was an issue when the first movie came out. Joseph Gordon-Levitt wasn't there, but they didn't need him since the character was wearing a helmet with a visor covering the face.
- They did away with the bad CGI we saw in the first film.
The Mixed
- Not having a number of the main characters from the first movie made this feel a bit disconnected from that first installment, but I liked seeing Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis head up this movie and it was good to see Jonathan Pryce return.
- There was a ninja fight sequence in the mountains that was pretty impressive. Unfortunately the execution of moments like that is what made it seem like this was several movies in one. A lot of the movie went back and forth between soldier stuff and ninja stuff in ways that made them seem unrelated.
- I was disappointed that Destro wasn't going to be part of the action, but he at least got some mention and a little screen time with a throwaway line that would explain why he wouldn't be along for the ride. Maybe he'll be back next time. He's a major character and shouldn't be left out.
The Ugly
- If including more scenes with Channing Tatum was the reason for the year-long delay, then they did all that for nothing. He was hardly there anyway and they didn't even rework the movie to let him live like I thought they were going to do. That's unless they accidentally showed the original cut of the movie.
The Verdict
A weak sequel that looked pretty decent as a G.I. Joe movie. C+
Looks like I actually graded this lower than the first movie, which got an
"above average" from me. I'd say that a lot of that is due to the weak and scattered story, and too much of a character shake-up. As far as being true to the spirit of G.I. Joe, this one was a little better than the first.
That quote above makes it sound like a lot more than it actually is.