As far as I’m concerned, ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ marks the first time that the G.I. Joe franchise has actually appeared on screen in live action form. That garbage in the ‘Rise of Cobra’ movie bore no resemblance to anything I know as G.I. Joe. Sadly, being a quantum leap improvement in every level still only means that the new film rises to the level of mediocrity. Whether that’s all the fault of the writers and director, or too much studio and Hasbro corporate interference, I can’t say. I wish it were a better movie, but at least I can recognize it as G.I. Joe. Hopefully, it’s successful enough to pave the way for improvement in future sequels.
For its part, the 2D Blu-ray both looks and sounds pretty spectacular. The 3D is largely wasted and not essential, but has its moments. Bonus content is fair, if not as illuminating as one might hope. I’ll rate this a qualified recommendation for G.I. Joe fans. General viewers will probably have less patience for it.