While I can't really recall anyone crying out for further exploits of the big-screen action heroes based on the GI Joe action figures, that never stopped Hollywood from trying to squeeze a few more bucks out of a potentially lucrative property. So we have GI Joe: Retaliation, an oh-so-slightly grittier take on the toy soldiers that introduces a mostly new bunch of badasses taking on the evil cabal of Cobra, which has plans to – what else? – take over the world.
The grit starts early, with a fair few of our heroes bumped off by a military strike ordered by the President of the United States (Jonathan Pryce)... who's actually Cobra operative Zartan in deep-cover disguise!
Only Flint (DJ Cotrona, okay), Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki, not bad) and the intimidating, aptly-named Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson, enough said) are among the Joes left standing, and they set out to discover what's behind the death of their comrades. To help them out, they call upon the original GI Joe himself – Joe Colton, played by Bruce Willis with all the intensity and focus he brought to his recent role in A Good Day To Die Hard (that is, not a lot).
But will this small but brave band of warriors have what it takes to save the world from a despicable enemy that has both tiny flying robots and lethal ninjas at its disposal? Well, duh. But to Retaliation's credit, it does throw enough flak at our heroes that victory never seems like a completely foregone conclusion.
In cinemas now.
