How do you make a follow up to 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra a worldwide box office hit but reviled by critics and fanboys alike. Simple: add in some star power in the cast (Bruce Willis), someone who can reinvigorate a stale franchise (Dwayne Johnson who as one of the cast members of Fast Five, made the fifth installment of The Fast and The Furious series the best of them all), get a younger director (34 year old Jon M. Chu of the Step Up 2 and 3D) and add more ninjas. G.I Joe Retaliation got them all!
The premise is nothing new - someone wants to rule the world by destroying it to gain power and it's up to the G.I Joe team to save it even though the President of the United States (Jonathan Pryce) unexpectedly terminated their service after being framed by the usual suspects (Cobra Commander, Zartan and Firefly). Channing Tatum as Duke has more better chemistry with the new cast members. Willis and Johnson are at their usual selves when acting on an action flick and Byung-hun Lee as Storm Shadow was better utilized in this film rather than in the first. Some scenes are also fun to watch, the meeting of world leaders for one was inspired. It even puts North Korea in an unexpected good light.
The movie is beautifully shot too and some scenes were greatly executed that serves it's purpose in watching it in IMAX and/or in 3D but unless you're a die core fan, it's fine to watch the film in the regular format.
There's nothing groundbreaking about G.I. Joe Retaliation but it is entertaining and it is way better than it's predecessor and the other sequel based on another of Hasbro's toys: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
