G.I. Joe: Retaliation Movie Review

💡 This post is both a summary and review of G.I. Joe: Retaliation. That is to say, it may contain spoilers.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is a 2013 movie that is part of the G.I. Joe enterprise that is named after the threat of retaliation by the Cobra Commander. The G.I. Joes go against an enemy within and have to find a way to root him out. The world is also at risk of nuclear extinction and the Joes have to do everything they can to prevent that from happening.

Pakistani President Assassinated

The Pakistani president is assassinated and the country's nuclear arsenal is at risk of falling into the wrong hands. The G.I. Joes are sent in to retrieve a nuclear warhead and after doing so are told to sit tight and wait for instructions.

Things, however, go awry as their base is attacked and their captain Bruce, played by Channing Tatum, and most of the Joes are taken down. Their new commander, Roadblock, played by Dwayne Johnson, takes over and leads the remnants of his team in finding who set them up.

Joes Down

Roadblock and only two other members of the G.I. Joes remain, i.e Flint, played by D.J Cotrona, and Lady Jaye, played by Adrianne Palicki. They seek the help of former G.I. Joe Captain General Colton, played by Bruce Willis, to help them find their attacker.

By this time, they suspect that the President is compromised and that he is not himself. Even more, the one who looks like the president is an impostor. The team has to send Lady Jaye in to get a hair sample from the president for DNA sequencing. As it turns out, it's Zartan who is impersonating the president.

Cobra Commander Breaks Out

Destro and Cobra Commander are held in an underground maximum-security prison. Stormshadow impersonates Snake Eyes and gets himself into the prison. He is caught after the fake president blames Snake Eyes for the Pakistani President's assassination. Zartan also blames the G.I. Joes for the events leading up to the assassination of the Pakistani president; also justifying the attack on their base.

Nuclear 'Disarmament'

Zartan, now the pretend president of the U.S., calls for a summit of the 8 nuclear powers in a push for nuclear disarmament. In effect, he wants to launch Cobra Commander's new weapon system that quickly destroys London. The system is set to launch in the 8 nuclear power countries and, in effect, end the world. The fake U.S. president [Zartan] also forces the 8 world leaders to shoot and later self-destruct their nuclear missiles.

The G.I. Joes Go to Work

The G.I. Joes do everything in their power to stop Cobra Commander and Zartan from effectively ending the world. They attack the summit of the leaders of the 8 nuclear powers. Roadblock and his team go after Cobra Commander and his cronies, with the help of Stormshadow who, for this once, is on their side.

Stormshadow was Framed

The G.I. Joes realize that Stormshadow was framed for killing his master by Zartan, a master of disguise. In truth, it was a disguised Zartan that killed the master. Zartan later took Stormshadow in as a child, after Snake Eyes and the others chased him [Stormshadow] away as they thought he killed his master. On realizing the true killer, Stormshadow, Snake Eyes, and the G.I. Joes team up to go after Zartan and the Cobra Commander.

Averting the Apocalypse

The G.I. Joes with the help of General Colton and some of his veteran friends succeed in averting Zartan and Cobra Commanders' plan to end the world. Roadblock is able to get to Cobra Commander's briefcase in time, to disarm the weapons. The G.I. Joes once again come to the world's rescue and are the heroes of the day.

Our Rating

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is a well-done and well-storied part of the G.I. Joe franchise. It comes action-packed with a wonderful introduction of Dwayne Johnson to the franchise. The movie is solid and we rate it 7.5/10. It also has some cool tech that we can't wait to see more of in future G.I. Joe movies.

FAQ

Is G.I. Joe: Retaliation the Latest G.I. Joe Movie?

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is the second installment from the G.I. Joe franchise to date. It is the sequel to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra released in 2009. The latest movie from the franchise is Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins which was released in 2021.

When will the next G.I. Joe Movie Come Out?

The next G.I. Joe movie, G.I. Joe: Ever Vigilant is expected to be released in 2024.