It's been a while since I've seen a movie as my life has been kind of crazy but I finally got around to going and I am going to drop some truth on it. Today I will be reviewing "G.I Joe: Retaliation." As usual I'd like to give a shoutout to the Free Gamer's Alliance YouTube channel. Their videos cover everything from walkthroughs, glitches, easter eggs, and various amusing video game related content, all of which is delivered with some colorful commentary while they have buckets of fun doing it. Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/user/FreeGamersAlliance/.
For those of you unfamiliar with this film, here is the trailer:
- The movie started off very strong. I'd say that the first 15-20 minutes were easily the strong point of this movie as it gets you interested in what's happening.
- The special effects and other visuals were great! Every explosion, every piece of crazy technology, etc looked incredible.
- There was a dig at Fox News that made me happier than Homer Simpson is when he is eating a doughnut.
- There was a fight scene between Ray Park's character and Byung-hun Lee's character that was really fun to watch
The Bad:
- Dwayne Johnson essentially takes over as the main character. I don't know what it is about him as an actor but I never find myself believing anything he does. This is absolutely no exception.
- While Dwayne Johnson may have been the worst part of this as far as acting goes, the others weren't great either.
- The writing was about as bad as it gets. This especially showed in the dialogue where I did not believe that characters would actually say half of the things that come out of their mouths.
- The movie tried to delve into the background stories of some of the characters but it was done in a way the felt really lazy. I don't expect that kind of thing in a movie of this nature but if you are going to try you need to do more than just scratch the surface.
- The narrative in this movie was too much. It had a tendency to jump all over the place with several nonsensical side plots that became distracting and confusing.
- The 3D was awful. This is especially disappointing as this film's release was delayed to be converted into 3D. There were too many random things flying out of the screen at the audience. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the purpose of 3D is to put the audience in the world of the movie not to distract them with random things/people flying at them. Also there was a point where a giant light shines right in the audience's face in 3D which to me is the biggest 3D no-no.
- The main antagonist in this movie is so over the top and cartoonish that it is impossible to take him seriously. The purpose of an antagonist in any story is to raise the stakes for the main character(s). In order for this to work he has to be taken seriously even if there is a comedic element to that antagonist (a good example would be the Joker in the Dark Knight).
The Verdict:
While "G.I Joe: Retaliation" may have it's fun moments, the sloppy writing, the bad acting, and the terrible 3D turn what is supposed to be a fun movie into an experience that will leave you underwhelmed an feeling a bit empty.
Thanks for reading everyone!! Feel free to leave a comment.