G.I. Joe – Retaliation
Billed as an action/adventure, G.I. Joe, Retaliation, hit the theatres this past weekend, and managed to top the box office to the tune of $15.5 million on Friday alone.
The first installment, G.I. Joe, Rise of the Cobra, brought in $302 million world-wide.
The opening scenes can get a bit confusing; however, even the befuddled will “get it” by the end of the show, which pits good versus very evil as the G.I. Joes face their toughest assignment after being the target of a total betrayal by their own government which leaves a trail of death and suspicion.
This was a Paramount/MGM production in association with Hasbro, the company who created G.I. Joe the toy figure. Hasbro began in 1923 in Providence, Rhode Island, started by two brothers who made school supplies. By 1940 they were making their first toys and by 1952 they were looking for backers for a new toy they called, Mr. Potato Head (how many remember that one?!).
The G.I. Joe idea came from the TV show The Lieutenant and the brothers started producing an action figure called G.I. Joe because the show was about the U.S. Marine Corps.
Hasbro has since gone on to become one of the largest and most successful toy companies in the U.S. (There’s a little history for you.)
This Jon Chu film has a cast which includes Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock, the leader; Jonathan Pryce in a dual role as President of the United States; Byung-hun Lee as the mysterious Storm Shadow; Ray Stevenson as Firefly; Channing Tatum is Duke, Ray Park is Snake Eyes, the Cobra Commander is Luke Bracey and Bruce Willis has a lessor role as General Joe Colton.
I am a big action film fan, so I enjoyed it, although it might have been more enjoyable had I seen the first film in the franchise or at least had familiarized myself with the characters, but it was a really good couple of hours of movie enjoyment.
I was particularly interested in the fact that when the world is at the brink of destruction (yes, once again at the brink of destruction!) and all the world leaders are gathered, Canada isn’t at the table, and in fact no one mentions Canada at all—even though we are actually attached to the United States, and there’s all that “True North, Strong and Free” that, in all its whiteness, is above us all.
I always wonder why the first person the President calls is Britain—hey, weren’t they all big on being independent back in 1776 and likely they only won because the Americans could fire 60 rounds between having to sharpen their flints, while the British could only fire six rounds.
Anyway, I’ve forgotten all that now that we’re getting a Target, it doesn’t matter who won.
See G.I. Joe if you’re a fan of the franchise, it’s worthy of three reels.
