“I refused to watch this movie in 3D, knowing that it was pulled from a summer release in order to convert it. I can’t believe people still think it’s a good idea, and I really don’t think my 2D experience was any less than it would have been. So while I may have had a bit of a skepticism towards the film to begin with, I really did wanna see it. I love these cheesy action movies.
I remember seeing the first one with the BFFF in the theater. It was a true “”popcorn movie””. I’m not a big popcorn eater, but for some reason we’d decided to split a bag. Normally, I’ll only eat like a quarter of it. Between the two of us, maybe half. But we were just so in the rhythm of the film, it was gone well before the film was over. However, since it’s been quite a while since I’ve last seen it, I was really fuzzy on the details. There was a really great character recap to start this one off, but I still had trouble keeping track of who people were.
The other thing worth noting about the original was that it was the film that first put Channing Tatum on my radar. Now, at that point, he was a only a pretty face to me. An incredibly incredibly pretty face, but it was a while before he proved his acting chops. For Retalliation, I _loved_ the rapport he had with Dwayne Johnson. That was certainly one bromance that I’d love to watch for an entire 21 Jump Street type comedic film. Retallitation could certainly have used more Tatum, but then again, isn’t that true of pretty much every movie ever?
To be completely honest, I was actually kinda impressed with this movie, at least as far as throwaway cheesy action flicks go. Michael Bay, take some notes here. There were some clever and unique action sequences (the thing on the side of the mountain? awesome). But all of them were incredibly streamlined. No extra shots or dragged out combinations. Each one was extremely efficient, but still had room for some flair. I loved the early scene with all the Joes in action. There were some bad ass moves and wonderful teamwork, but it didn’t go on for any longer than it had to. Even the big final fights were kept in check. I really don’t think I’ve ever seen that handled as well. There was also a great mix of military type fighting and martial arts. Kinda rare to have that combo in one film.
I actually kinda like that the film got a chance to shine in the spring as opposed to being lost in the summer shuffle. It accomplished everything it set out to, by being a fun action packed film. It also made me incredibly happy to see a couple of sets of dads and sons walking into the theater together. Because really, isn’t that what going to the movies is all about?
GI Joe: Retalliation – \m/ \m/ \m/ \n