G. I. Joe Retaliation

[Megalodon]

So you would rather everyone only talk about the things they like?

Complaining about how this is "Not like the comic" "Costume isn't right" really??? This is a LIVE action movie...The MOTU Movie was different than the cartoon granted it could have looked better but who actually thinks that a live action movie should look exactly like the toy,comic or cartoon that it came from??

[Rhanen]

I wished so much this movie to be far better than ROC but it doesn't. It seems to be better because it has more military op scenes, but it falls short.

What it bothers me most, is that there's not a single nod (except for Snake Eyes that now has an Uzi on pretty much every scene) to the most iconic looks of the characters, something that can be easily included in this film or any other with similar franchises.
They could have roll out the movie credits with Joe song from the cartoon as a nice wink to the fans, but no. Joes they even don't say Yo-Joe but bu-ha all the time. Even Willis says so when it is established that the Joes are called because of him; never exposed why he has such merit

Flint never wears a beret, Lady Jaye never handles a camera o throw a lance, Roadbloack does not cook except 2 jokes that hints that he is a chef and as for Jinx... she is there because.. I don't know really, but she alongside SE & SS have the best action scenes but she barely has a dialogue, however she is really well cast.

 

Can someone explain to me why the Joes did not stop Zartan from destroying London?

[adol]

Complaining about how this is "Not like the comic" "Costume isn't right" really??? This is a LIVE action movie...The MOTU Movie was different than the cartoon granted it could have looked better but who actually thinks that a live action movie should look exactly like the toy,comic or cartoon that it came from??

Japanese Film Makers.

[GeologyMule]

I hated Rise of Cobra. However, I am a fan of Bruce Willis, the Rock, and Adrianne Palicki. So against my better judgement I went to watch it.

I liked it better than Rise of Cobra, but still sucked something terrible. Apparently GI Joes have to wear body armor, but are not cool enough for a helmet. I could go on and on and blast this movie but I'll just sum it up to "it sucks".

[SCB]

Well after a nine month reshoot, the sequel finally comes out. If you followed why the movie was reshot regarding Tatum's character, then you'll wonder why they bothered reshooting the movie in the first place. Seriously.

On to the movie. It's average at best. The comedy, action, emotional moments all fall flat. Seemed like the director could not solve the puzzle of making Bruce Willis and The Rock interesting in an action movie other than showing up on screen.

I'd say the best parts involve Storm Shadow and he's barely in it. They also improved upon Cobra Commander now that he looks like Cobra Commander. And lastly Adrian Pallicki looks great on camera. Those are the positives, other than Firefly kind of being cool at times.

The movie is easily better than the first, but only because it was missing many of the poor elements. It's entertaining, but forgettable. Which is a shame because this lightweight is directing the next He- Man and my expectations are extremely low now.

See it for fun, but you're not missing anything.

[Dr Kain]

Only thing I didn't really cover here was Bruce Willis, who was just Bruce Willis playing Bruce Willis using the name of Joe Colton. Oh, and the Blind Master was absolute garbage!

[Megalodon]

You know they should quit making movies based on toy properties because all of them are not academy award winning mind you but the "Fanboys" are killing them stop already!

"Flint didn't come on to Lady Jaye" really??? That's a reason to go...Wow!

[Rhanen]

"Flint didn't come on to Lady Jaye" really??? That's a reason to go...Wow!

In franchise films like Spider-Man and even X-Men, the love story sub text is well anchored and give some sort of extra angle to a blockbuster movie as it is. Even in Transformers.
IMHO, I think that the movie did not do enough in that and many other course of action opportunities with the sheer potential of the Joe brand, which is a pity

I may be in the pose of angry fanboy and I'm quite disappointed with what Retaliation ended up being, but I completely understand if someone find it appealing, even more if it is a 9 year old boy.

BTW: "...they confused me with this loser over here..." & "...Passing through..." are the best review of those characters in G.I.Joe: Retaliation Dr. Kain. You made me giggle

[MegaGearMax]

I liked G.I. Joe II. This movie is way better than Rise of COBRA, but it still feels like a stripped down Joe flick.

• The Ninja fight in the mountains was awesome. No voices either...a homage to the Silent Issue #21.
• Adrienne Palicki was hot. And she did her intelligence gimmick well.
• COBRA Commander was awesome. He didn't have much screen time, but what little he did was impressive.
• Why was Bruce Willis in this thing again?
• Jinx training blind is a cartoon homage and the Blind Master being her sensei is from the comics.
• Roadblock with a browning heavy machinegun...another homage.
• No beret for Flint?
• So in the Joe movieverse, COBRA destroyed the Effiel Tower and then nuked England.
• Channing Tatum is leaps and bounds better here than in ROC.

[Megalodon]

In franchise films like Spider-Man and even X-Men, the love story sub text is well anchored and give some sort of extra angle to a blockbuster movie as it is. Even in Transformers.
IMHO, I think that the movie did not do enough in that and many other course of action opportunities with the sheer potential of the Joe brand, which is a pity

I may be in the pose of angry fanboy and I'm quite disappointed with what Retaliation ended up being, but I completely understand if someone find it appealing, even more if it is a 9 year old boy.

BTW: "...they confused me with this loser over here..." & "...Passing through..." are the best review of those characters in G.I.Joe: Retaliation Dr. Kain. You made me giggle

So in saying that Duke & Scarlett should have been an "item" like they were in the cartoon/comic when will people realize that this is NOT that "universe" I don't think these movies are perfect but in saying that the Avengers was an awesome movie but it was not 100% true to the comics nothing is look at the LOTR movies comapred to the books they are NOT the same so going crazy over love stories,color of the uniform etc. they make these movies for the "general" public the fans that know the property know that it's not the true story it's the "movieverse" when's the last time a video game,comic book or toy movie was 100% TRUE to the source material in all ways...Never

[Dr Kain]

You know they should quit making movies based on toy properties because all of them are not academy award winning mind you but the "Fanboys" are killing them stop already!

"Flint didn't come on to Lady Jaye" really??? That's a reason to go...Wow!

No, Flint sucked because that was not Flint. He was some greenhorn kid who did absolutely nothing in the entire movie but hit Firefly with a car.

And I'm sorry, am I supposed to like the movie because it has GI Joe in its title? A garbage movie is a garbage movie regardless of what it is called. If Mattel ever does a MOTU and it sucks, I am going to call them out for it.

I don't expect academy award winning movies I expect GOOD movies. GI Joe should have no reason to have a bad movie if they actually cared about the source material. There is no reason Transformers should have been bad, but they are. I am tired of this standard that we should like a movie for its brand name just to support the brand name. I am not expecting every movie to be Clockwork Orange, Pulp Fiction, or Lawrence of Arabia, but I expect them to be at least as good as The Dark Knight, Skyfall, and Dredd.

GI Joe sucked because it was all action, poor acting, no character development, cliche scenes, redundancy, bad editing, and trying to outdo the previous movie by blowing up a city and then never mentioning it again.

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So in saying that Duke & Scarlett should have been an "item" like they were in the cartoon/comic when will people realize that this is NOT that "universe" I don't think these movies are perfect but in saying that the Avengers was an awesome movie but it was not 100% true to the comics nothing is look at the LOTR movies comapred to the books they are NOT the same so going crazy over love stories,color of the uniform etc. they make these movies for the "general" public the fans that know the property know that it's not the true story it's the "movieverse" when's the last time a video game,comic book or toy movie was 100% TRUE to the source material in all ways...Never

Uh... Snake-Eyes and Scarlett were the item, NOT Duke and Scarlett.

And the fact that you are comparing GI Joe to LOTR is outrageous. LOTR was full of characters, character development, building up the plot, putting in suspense, etc. GI Joe was about killing a team just to kill them, then have them beat the bad guys. Nothing more, nothing less. LOTR had a full length epilogue. Retaliation had a quick unfinished cliche of them walking and then being presented awards even though they did not actually stop the bad guys.

BTW, who the **** puts a self destruct button on their satellite weapons in the frigging case?!

[markatisu]

BTW, who the **** puts a self destruct button on their satellite weapons in the frigging case?!

My wife said the same thing

I loved the movie though, it was much better than the first one and more in line withe what I expect a GI Joe movie to be about. They had to clean up the huge stinker that Rise of Cobra was, because of that the narrative was not as great as it could have been I think. COBRA was at least threatening in this one and seemed like a group you would be intimidated by, not the mess it was in ROC where we spent more time starring at Baroness then caring about what COBRA was up to.

Channing Tatum was actually good, or at least tolerable in this. I was sad to see him go which was totally NOT the case after the first one

but I expect them to be at least as good as The Dark Knight, Skyfall, and Dredd

Then you have way too high expectations and just like your feelings on many toys you are going to be greatly disappointed a lot I think

[Bri-Man]

Then you have way too high expectations and just like your feelings on many toys you are going to be greatly disappointed a lot I think

i don't think those expectations are unrealistic, or too high. Dr Kain is right- there seems to be a prevailing attitude about certain brands, that just because the original source material was aimed at kids, the studio doesn't have to try very hard in producing the adaptation and they can just slap together a sub-standard, fluff film.

the only reason this keeps happening, is because studios have convinced fans that their cherished franchises aren't worth the extra effort it takes to create an excellent film. they've convinced them to settle.

there's no reason that both joe movies couldn't have ended up being classics of the genre. none. the only reason they weren't is because of laziness or incompetence. so yeah, i probably will be disappointed by a lot, because i refuse to settle. chu is now on my "wait until i hear lots of good word of mouth about their films before i go see them" list. if he really is on MOTU, i hope he severely steps up his game.

[eddie3429]

What it bothers me most, is that there's not a single nod (except for Snake Eyes that now has an Uzi on pretty much every scene) to the most iconic looks of the characters, something that can be easily included in this film or any other with similar franchises.
They could have roll out the movie credits with Joe song from the cartoon as a nice wink to the fans, but no. Joes they even don't say Yo-Joe but bu-ha all the time. Even Willis says so when it is established that the Joes are called because of him; never exposed why he has such merit

Flint never wears a beret, Lady Jaye never handles a camera o throw a lance, Roadbloack does not cook except 2 jokes that hints that he is a chef and as for Jinx... she is there because.. I don't know really, but she alongside SE & SS have the best action scenes but she barely has a dialogue, however she is really well cast.

Flint wore a berret at the end, (and not all versions of the toy had a berret although it was the most iconic )
Jaye had the camera bullet, It talks about his cajun cooking and he serves cajun food to Flint and Jaye, Jinx is there for expostion since SE dont talk.

You also got alot of other hints like Jinx fighting blind, the silent issue, Hell cobra comander was nothing more then his iconic look, and Roadblock got to use his BFG! its aint a perfect movie but as a fan of alot of joe incarnations this days pay tribute ALOT, there not always obvious but they are there.

[MegaGearMax]

Uh... Snake-Eyes and Scarlett were the item, NOT Duke and Scarlett.

If you followed the Sunbow cartoon, then Duke and Scarlett are the item. Even G.I. Joe has Era Wars.

And the fact that you are comparing GI Joe to LOTR is outrageous. LOTR was full of characters, character development, building up the plot, putting in suspense, etc. GI Joe was about killing a team just to kill them, then have them beat the bad guys. Nothing more, nothing less. LOTR had a full length epilogue.

He's saying even the LOTR movies had differences from the original source material. Such is to be expected from movies. If you're expecting straight translations of the action figures or cartoon, then you might be disappointed from jump.

Retaliation had a quick unfinished cliche of them walking and then being presented awards even though they did not actually stop the bad guys.

They did stop the threat of the Zeus weapon from destroying the other six countries, killed two main COBRAs and saved the president in the process.

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i don't think those expectations are unrealistic, or too high. Dr Kain is right- there seems to be a prevailing attitude about certain brands, that just because the original source material was aimed at kids, the studio doesn't have to try very hard in producing the adaptation and they can just slap together a sub-standard, fluff film.

the only reason this keeps happening, is because studios have convinced fans that their cherished franchises aren't worth the extra effort it takes to create an excellent film. they've convinced them to settle.

there's no reason that both joe movies couldn't have ended up being classics of the genre. none. the only reason they weren't is because of laziness or incompetence. so yeah, i probably will be disappointed by a lot, because i refuse to settle. chu is now on my "wait until i hear lots of good word of mouth about their films before i go see them" list. if he really is on MOTU, i hope he severely steps up his game.

I don't think the costume designers and such are lazy, but the issue is that they aren't comic or toy geeks who are held to making direct live-action versions of the toys. They make movies for the casual movie-goer. Imagine casual movie-goers seeing Bazooka or Quick Kick in this movie if the movie had used their action figure appearances? Laziness wouldn't be creating an all new look from scratch. Hollywood thinks too hard about the source material like a casual fan would (such as why would transforming robots need spaceships), whereas a hardcore fan accepts the material without question.

If some fans had their way, we would see Transformers-More Than Meets the Eye parts 1, 2 and 3 in live action or The Diamond Ray of Disappearance.

Judging from HISStank.com, G.I. Joe fans seem really happy about this movie. Mainly because it's more of a G.I. Joe movie than the last one.

[Dr Kain]

Then you have way too high expectations and just like your feelings on many toys you are going to be greatly disappointed a lot I think

How is that too high? Should I not be able to enjoy a greatly plotted, well written movie?

Let me say this, The Hurt Locker was a better GI Joe movie than the GI Joe movies.

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Judging from HISStank.com, G.I. Joe fans seem really happy about this movie. Mainly because it's more of a G.I. Joe movie than the last one.

Just because it was better than ROC does not make it a good movie. Again, I should not have to force myself to enjoy it just because of its brand name. Doing that is one of the reasons no one in the movie industry is taking these types of movies seriously. Look at how long it took comic movies to be taken seriously. They used to give us garbage like Batman & Robin, the 90s Captain America, the tv Nick Fury movie, the tv Generation X movie, etc. It wasn't until the first X-Men movie that things started to change, but it was Batman Begins and Iron Man that really showed people want these movies to be good.

[MegaGearMax]

Just because it was better than ROC does not make it a good movie. Again, I should not have to force myself to enjoy it just because of its brand name. Doing that is one of the reasons no one in the movie industry is taking these types of movies seriously. Look at how long it took comic movies to be taken seriously. They used to give us garbage like Batman & Robin, the 90s Captain America, the tv Nick Fury movie, the tv Generation X movie, etc. It wasn't until the first X-Men movie that things started to change, but it was Batman Begins and Iron Man that really showed people want these movies to be good.

Joe fans, the camp that should be the most critical of the movie, are celebrating Retailiation as good because it is a step up from what they originally got. They appreciate a better movie than Rise of COBRA, a movie that had such a bad reputation that it almost sank the brand. To them, this movie is a sign that things are on the track to getting better.

[Krueger]

I posted this in the MOTU forum, but I figure it’s more appropriate here.

I’m pretty sure I prefer it to the first one, although I did miss the sheer cartooniness of the first instalment. Although, this did feel like a live-action Saturday morning cartoon at times. For any other film, that would be a big strike against it. For this, though, it is well suited, IMO. I mean, Cobra Commander’s voice and lines were pure 80s cartoon. I liked that. I thought the characters were handled okay, but nothing groundbreaking. There just wasn’t enough bad guy action for my liking.

I think Jon Chu has shown that he is very adept at handling action. In fact, I would go as far as to say that I think he’s a lot better than a lot of “action directors” working today. I can only assume that comes from his background in dance. The two genres have more in common than you would think. I thought the ninja mountain sequence was phenomenal and definitely one of the best action sequences I’ve seen in the last few years.

However, the whole film just felt very small. Too small for my liking. To me, that was the biggest strike against it. I suppose that would have been down to the budget. The final action scene was just very boring with not a lot going on. The whole of the film’s budget clearly went to destroying London (which looked spectacular) and the whole ninja action sequence.

Is Jon Chu a good fit for MOTU? Well, I’m heavily into film in general, so I could pick at least twenty other directors who I would rather see calling the shots on a new MOTU film. However, Chu has shown here that he can handle action well and that he knows how to get you excited. I think he just needs to be given a better script. Hopefully he gets that with MOTU. I have no doubt that action-wise and visually he would make MOTU absolutely stunning. In a way, if he can do that, he’s half way there, IMO.

I would give it about a 6.5/10.

[Megalodon]

Joe fans, the camp that should be the most critical of the movie, are celebrating Retailiation as good because it is a step up from what they originally got. They appreciate a better movie than Rise of COBRA, a movie that's reputation which almost sank the brand. To them, this movie is a sign that things are on the track to getting better.

QFT you know what puzzles me is that alot of people that are not fans are don't really care about G.I. Joe are hear bashing the film...Do people only pick out parts of a post instead of the whole thing? I stated that even though I personally don't care for Twilight and the Harry Potter movies why would I pay $10-15 at the movies to see them if I don't like them?? So I can complain on a message board about it? If I acutally liked a property I'll go see it and yes they are not perfect but that's to be expected when you make a movie out out of a cartoon or comic book property you can't include everything and still tell a story that makes sense...

Here's a question who that actually saw the movie:

1) Liked the property
2) Read the Marvel Comics & Watched The Sunbow Cartoon (Source Material)
3)And doesn't go in thinking that it has to be to their standards because they understand #1 & #2

[markatisu]

Here's a question who that actually saw the movie:

1) Liked the property
2) Read the Marvel Comics & Watched The Sunbow Cartoon (Source Material)
3)And doesn't go in thinking that it has to be to their standards because they understand #1 & #2

That would be me , and I found the movie to be entertaining

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Doing that is one of the reasons no one in the movie industry is taking these types of movies seriously. Look at how long it took comic movies to be taken seriously. They used to give us garbage like Batman & Robin, the 90s Captain America, the tv Nick Fury movie, the tv Generation X movie, etc. It wasn't until the first X-Men movie that things started to change, but it was Batman Begins and Iron Man that really showed people want these movies to be good.

You are not even realizing what you are saying, comic book movies had to have stinkers to get to the point we are now. GI Joe had GI Joe ROC and already you are expecting the Avengers to come out of it or even James Bond.

Toy related successful movies (not related to Marvel or DC because as I said above those had the benefit of decades of trial and error) would be Transformers and TMNT, and even then some of the movies in those franchises are cringe worthy

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/...adaptation.htm

That list speaks volumes, its apples and oranges and a lot of people refuse to recognize that. Hollywood has not figured out how to make a toy based movie properly yet. They will figure it out but in the meantime we will have to endur our subpar movies unless you all would like to fund them yourselves which none of you can

[Optimus Prime]

I said this elsewhere, but I like Retaliation better than the first film. However, as a former soldier in the US Army, I highly despise the stupid rank and even military branch changes made in this movie. Sure, it's nitpicky, but when it comes to the Army and military stuff in general.

Lady Jaye was Army, not Navy and no damn officer either. And don't get me started on the completely unregulation hair when she was in her dress uniform at the end.

Flint was listed as an E-5 on one of the computer screens that showed the group, yet supposedly he's a W-3, and I'm sorry, but no Chief Warrant Officer 3 I've ever known was a green as the one shown in the movie. As such, Roadblock would have fallen under his command after Duke was killed.

And I never forgave them for making Duke an officer in the first place, but Tatum would never made sense as a 1st SGT anyway, he was too young.

I don't mind a stretch of the imagination and inexplicable abilities (like Flint's acrobatics in the movie) but there are things you just don't mess with.

Roadblock was a Sergeant Major? Then he sure as heck wouldn't have reported to a mere Captain. SGT MAJ is a battalion level or higher NCO post and as such would have dealt with a LT. COL or COL.

[Lord_Of_Destruction]

the ranks always confused me, though not being a military man myself I have little knowledge on such things. I'm not sure how the movie handles it but other media halfway explained it away in that GI Joe recruits from military branches, but is not a military branch itself so someone's army rank is not a reflection of their position in the organization (which is an anti-terrorist group) Of course if that's the case why bother mentioning the military ranks at all?

I haven't seen the new film yet, but fully intend to because I just don't trust reviews anymore. Not even among the geek community who would be the experts on movies like this. (see I loved the Star Wars prequels and can't understand the hate) I went in to the first film with low expectations due to feedback and actually liked it better than I expected. It wasn't perfect, it needed one more script revision, (Loose the Sigma 6 suits, drop the Baroness is Cobra Commander's brother and Duke's ex-fiance angle, build up romance between Scarlett and Snake Eyes, make Storm Shadow less of a jerk, have Ripcord die, ) but it wasn't as horrible as it had been made out to be. So if this one is better (which even among haters seems to be the consensus) then I should like it.

[Megalodon]

See comparing real life to a movie of a cartoon/comic book character....

[SCB]

Anyways, how forgettable was Flint? He could have been any generic military guy. Yeah Duke sucked in the first one, but at least he was established as someone important.

I think that's the main problem with this movie. Most of the characters lack any unique skill or identity to make them cool and memorable/useful, other than Storm Shadow/Snake Eyes/Cobra Commander with his more accurate look. Not sure being hot is a skill for Jaye.

Firefly is a good example of how to do it right. He had a specific look and set of skills and actually looked like a cartoon/action figure with the ski mask and nano firefly weapons.

Destro would have been an instant win. Just have him stand next to Cobra Commander in every scene with his metal mask. That would have gone a long way.

[Megalodon]

Debating Megalodon is a very enjoyable experience =)

True but alot of us know that it's a movie not real life and yes some of the characters could have been better....Funny thing is alot of movies are not "believable" but we still watch and enjoy them..I could spend hours tearing down these properties I love that were not 100% like the material:

Resident Evil
G.I. Joe
LOTR
Transformers (I really could go on this series!)
And Marvel/DC Film lately
Doom

But why??? it would make me hate the property more I have more important things to do than be an amateur movie critic...