G.I. Joe Movie Review

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This past weekend I went and saw G.I.Joe: Retaliation. My sister is a huge Dwayne Johnson fan, so she wanted to see it. I certainly didn't mind being 'dragged' to the movie theater (poor me, right) but I'll admit I wouldn't have been so gung-ho about seeing it if she hadn't been.

That said, I enjoyed this film far more than I would have guessed. I only saw the first G.I. Joe film once in the theaters, so I've forgotten a lot of it. With that film, it got a lot of flak, from critics especially, for being shallow, cheesy, and having less-than-stellar acting. I remember being surprised at the bad reviews. A little cheese? Yes. But nothing I minded. The special effects were especially cool (who didn't want one of those metal suits that could jump entire city blocks and get hit by trucks without incident?)

This second G.I. Joe film was much better than the first, though. I thought the acting was very good, and the story line was just better. I found it very engrossing. I will warn you: this is an action film to its core! My sister isn't actually big on action films, and the amount of action in it was almost too much for her. I don't share line of thinking myself, but if you aren't big on action films, this one probably isn't for you.

Don't u just love the tiny, dark ninja  figure in
the background? "Hi-yah!"
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If you are, however, you'll LOVE this! Big guns, great special effects, fun actors (Bruce Willis continues to be great, alongside Johnson) and eye-popping sequences. One of my faves was a ninja vs. ninja scene, high atop snow-covered mountains. It took place entirely on a network of zip lines, and the way the two sides flew around and through one another's lines was almost reminiscent of a marionette dance. Uh, you know, one using ninja's with covered faces and mid-air kick tactics, all while guiding the body of a prisoner along in front of them. I promise it's super-cool! Cut to the body bad ho-humming it's way along the zip line over a ten-thousand foot drop while an epic battle takes place behind it. I couldn't help but smile.

And then there's a missile "demonstration" the bad guys put together by targeting London. That was the coolest effect I'd seen in a long time. Let's just say, Buckingham palace go ka-freakin'-boom. And that's not doing it justice by half. My jaw was on my chest when that image dominated the screen!

I was never that big on G.I. Joe as a kid. I remember my younger brothers watching the cartoons, but I never got very heavily involved. Because of that, I'm not very familiar with the details of the world of G.I. Joe. Names like Cobra and Snake Eyes are familiar, but I could tell there was a lot of wink-wink-significant mythology that was lost on me.

Anyway, enough raving. Not a terribly deep film. Like I said, action to it's core. But fun and entertaining, and more likable than I expected. I'd definitely recommend it. Gotta love those action flicks! :D

Have YOU seen any good films lately?

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