"G.I. Joe: Retaliation" is an exciting and entertaining blockbuster that outshines most other run-of-the-mill action sequels.
The movie follows the story from the original 2009 film but with almost an entirely new cast. Channing Tatum ("Magic Mike") reprises his role as the leader of the Joe, but soon Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson ("Snitch") takes the lead for a majority of show.
Johnson is joined by newcomers D.J. Cotrona ("Dear John"), Adrianne Palicki ("Red Dawn"), Ray Stevenson ("The Three Musketeers"), Elodie Yung ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo") and legendary Bruce Willis ("A Good Day to Die Hard").
The new cast adds to the story but leaves viewers of the franchise with many questions. Namely, what happened to everyone else from the first movie? Little to no mention is given to the main characters, other than Duke (Tatum), from the last film. Since "Retaliation" is a direct sequel, its hard to take in the the different cast.
The main plot is unoriginal but well-executed. Cobra Commander (Luke Bracey, "Monte Carlo") wants to take over the world, and the Joe's are the only ones that can stop him. Simple enough.
Nonetheless, director Jon M. Chu ("Justin Bieber: Never Say Never") does a surprising job of constructing exhilarating action scenes, despite not having done an action film before. The ninja fight scene on the mountain offers a new type of combat that doesn't rely on the typical shoot-em-up clich
