The army toys from Hasbro – think Action Men but with bigger weapons – get their second movie, which picks up directly from where 2009's GI Joe: The Rise Of The Cobra left off. Unbeknownst to our macho heroes, including G.I.s Duke (Tatum), Roadblock (Johnson) and obligatory babe Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki), the bad Cobra guys have installed an impersonator in the White House, with the real President (Jonathan Pryce) tied up in a secret hiding place. Part of Cobra's plan seems to be to break their evil colleagues from a special underground prison, another part seems to be to annihilate the GI Joes, and there's also some nonsense about nuclear weapons. With the first movie's hero offed in the first half hour, it's up to Roadblock and pals to enlist the help of the original Joe (Willis) and start shooting everything in sight until they hit an actual baddie.
For a movie based on a range of toys, this is surprisingly violent, and parents should be warned that while very little blood is seen, the film is packed with punches, gunfight and even flying ninjas. Unfortunately, what it's not packed with is any humour. The script is witless, and any charm or amusement that's hinted at – the camaraderie between Duke and Roadblock, and later Roadblock's odd-couple sparring with Joe – is quickly glossed over in favour of more fighting, dull action sequences and forgettable 3D.
One for fans of the first movie only.
Is GI Joe: Retaliation suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...
This movie is only suitable for children over 10, and as mentioned in the review, is quite violent.
Children over the age of 10 won't find anything scary here.
If you like this, why not try: GI Joe: The Rise Of Cobra, Transformers, Iron Man, Battleship, X-Men,