Running Length:
1:50
Cast:
Dwayne Johnson, Jonathan Pryce, Byung-hun Lee, Elodie Yung, Ray
Stevenson, D.J. Cotrona, Adrianne Palicki, Channing Tatum, Ray Park, Bruce
Willis
Director:
Jon M. Chu
Screenplay:
Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick
I was never that big into G. I.
Joe during its run in the mid to late 80's. I didn't have any of the toys or
watch the animated series. I had a neighbor though who was and I was very much
aware of all of it at the time. In 2009 I saw a preview for the then upcoming G.
I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and my initial reaction to it was that it looked
ridiculous. After having seen that movie my opinion hadn't changed. Still, the
movie made some money right next to Hasbro's other big franchise, Transformers.
It was inevitable that there would be a sequel, albeit one that needed to tweak
the formula to maximize the audience that the last film didn't quite manage to
reach.
Flash forward to 2012. Some
things had changed between '09 and '12. One of them was the sudden stardom of
Channing Tatum who played Duke in the previous film. While the new Joe film was
being filmed this hadn't happened yet and his character was written out of the
film early on. With Tatum suddenly becoming a Box Office draw studio heads felt
that that was one asset they no longer wanted in such short supply and the film
was significantly delayed while more scenes involving Tatum could be filmed. The
result is exactly what you'd expect from such a decision, extra scenes that are
disjointed from the rest of the film and serve to bloat the running time up
unnecessarily. None of the new scenes really belong in the film. something that
is noticeable even without knowing why they're in the film in the first
place.
As for the rest of the film?
It's safe to say that it is a better film than the last time around but not by
much. The action scenes, of which most of the film is made of, are competently
directed, don't resonate because there aren't around characters we can emphasize
and therefore feel for. With a little character build-up this could have been
remedied but instead it is nearly one explosive action scene after another and
what little else we are given is only there to tell us in as little screen time
as possible why it's all happening at all.
The story this time around is
somewhat of a continuation of the last film. Zartan (Arnold Vosloo, Jonathan
Pryce), disguised as the President of the United
States London
This film is a classic example
of too much all the time. There are references to North Korea that are decidedly
poor taste in light of current events, as well as acts of terrorism that hit too
close to home for a film that should be escapist fare. There are also entirely
too many characters to keep track of. While this might be fine for G. I. Joe die
hards it is too much for the rest of us and bogs down the entire film,
especially when it delves into back story and motivations. This was a big
problem with the 2009 film and it hasn't been dealt with here any better.
This
could have been a descent action yarn, exciting yet forgettable had it actually
reached out to a larger audience than it does. Instead it is another 100 minute
long commercial for Hasbro that alienates non-fans of the Joes in favor of
focusing on those who grew up with the toys and still take time to watch the
cartoons or read the comics. This is a narrow audience. All others might find a
smidgeon of fun in this film but will come away knowing that there is a ton of
stuff that went right over their heads.
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