I rented "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" last night

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

I'm a fan of the franchise. I watched the cartoon every day after school as a kid, and had every issue of the Marvel comic book. I was looking forward to seeing this movie but I never got a chance to in the theater. I finally rented it on Blu-Ray last night


This movie was f*ckin' great. Now, it's not a film, nor does it aspire to be. It's based on a toy and has no fear that it's going to use names like "Storm Shadow," "Roadblock," "Cobra Commander" etc. without being ashamed of them. And I can list its flaws and that would take a huge amount of space, but it was never dull (unlike such "films" like Skyfall) and delivered what fans wanted to see, cheesy or not. I liked the first film well-enough, and appreciated that this was also a sequel as well as alternate take on how a Joe movie could be done.

A fun time, indeed.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Cool. I liked the original movie too and also couldn't get away to see Retaliation in theaters. Still, I knew it was going to join the original in my DVD collection.

I can still remember going into my local toy store--the defunct Children's Palace--in 1982 and seeing the original A Real American Hero figures hanging on the pegs. Nearly 30 years and multiple incarnations later, I'm still having fun with G.I. Joe.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

I think you will like it. It has that spirit to it.The motivations are clearer in this film too. And: Cobra Commander looks pretty much like he's supposed to (black outfit with helmet instead of blue) and that makes it both bad-ass and cheesy. Allow yourself to enjoy it, and it will be bad-ass!

Look for the reference to Xomat and Tamot's Extensive Enterprises (the front company for Cobra)

I just had a great time. I embraced it. It was fun seeing the Cobra symbol all over the place (one of the coolest 80's symbols along with the Decepticon symbol).

 

[JD]

I never got a chance to see this, but I liked the first one, so I've been looking forward to renting it. Glad to hear that other fans of the first movie are liking this one too.

 

[Mister Fandango]

This one at least tried to be a G.I. Joe movie, unlike the first, so I enjoyed it for that if nothing else.

 

[Forbin]

I've never gotten over the transformation of GI Joe from a 12" articulated tribute to actual soldiers, to teensy weensie superheroes with funny names. Ain't nothing "GI" about them!

 

[lurok]

Surprisingly enjoyed this as well. Though Willis was really phoning it in.

 

[JarodRussell]

Surprisingly enjoyed this as well. Though Willis was really phoning it in.

When has he not been phoning it in in the last 15 years?

 

[JariM]

I liked this one much better than the first part. This time it actually felt more like the old comic books from the 80's. And ninja's are always a bonus.

 

[lurok]

Surprisingly enjoyed this as well. Though Willis was really phoning it in.

When has he not been phoning it in in the last 15 years?

Well, this probably explains a lot

Bruce Willis 'bored' with making action movies

 

[USS Firefly]

I was only with the death of Duke a little disapointed

 

[kirk55555]

I watched this movie yesterday. I liked the first GI Joe movie, and this one was just as good, if not a bit better. It had its problems

Spoiler: GI Joe Retaliation

Duke, the main character from the first movie, dies very quickly and its very anti-climactic

But I still think it was a solid, entertaining action movie. I do wish a few more of the actors/characters from the first movie returned. We don't even get a throwaway line about the whereabouts of Ripcord (Marlon wayans) or scarlet. You could even conclude based on events later in the movie that they're killed offscreen, although I'd think that would have been mentioned, and their names aren't said even once. We get Snake eyes back (Ray Park) but he's in full costume and doesn'ty talk, so I didn't know if it was the same guy until looking it up on wikipedia today. Still, the movie does have improvements over the first. Cobra Commander actually looks cool instead of really lame. The Rock (aka Roadblock) is honestly a more interesting main character than Duke. Of the three main joes, he's the best and Lady Jaye is decent, while Flint is pretty boring. The action in the movie is done well, and there are some really cool moments. Overall, this was an enjoyable action movie.

 

[Konata Izumi]

I like how the plot seems made up on the fly and very light emotionally. Like someone's making up vaguely exciting events while flinging his G.I. Joes against each other.

Deep, deep portrayal of the above.

 

[Gojira]

I bought it on DVD sight unseen last week. I really liked the first movie a lot. This movie picked up where the other one left off and it felt so different from the first movie. Other than that I really loved it. It was a fun action adventure science fiction movie. Good movie to pop the popcorn and just have fun and go along for the ride. I really liked the mountain scenes with all the ninjas.

 

[Konata Izumi]

I wish artistic merit was estimated on uniqueness and execution of idea rather than reminiscence of established cliches.

Can't process anything beyond those though. Forgot for a moment.

 

[JD]

Finally saw this on Netflix streaming this morning, and I loved it. Sure it wasn't the smartest movie, but I knew what it was going in, and it met those expectations excellently. It's just a big, kinda goofy, action movie. I was actually kind of surprised how much of it did actually pick up from the last one. I was also shocked by how big of a role Cobra Commander played here, I was expecting maybe just a quick cameo. This is only my second GI Joe experience, but from comments I saw when the movie came out, I've gotten the impression that this version of CC is much closer to what we see in other arms of the franchise?
I thought the cast in the first one was pretty good, but I honestly liked this cast better, so I really hope if we get a third one we at least get Roadblock, Lady Jaye, Gen. Colton, and Snake Eyes back. Flint and Jinx weren't really bad, they just didn't leave much of an impression.

 

[Corran Horn]

I enjoyed it. Hell, as a child of the 80s I'm still amazed they made live-action GI JOE and Transformers films.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

I love the shit out of this movie. After struggling to get through Man of Steel, ASM, and even through the first act and a half of The Avengers, this film comes along and knows exactly what it wants to be.. it \pulls of the comic book tone. I've been a Joe fan all my life. I came home last summer from my father's funeral and rented this film.. and it offered me a brief escape of loud, comic book action when I really needed it!

 

[Gaith]

Yeah, who cares about those assholes in London anyway?

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

By the way, I have always had a soft spot for Jinx. She gets some more to work with in the extended cut.