Theater Review: G.I. Joe: Retaliation

The first film in this franchise probably didn't live up to the hype surrounding it, despite having such great star power involved. But, it was still enjoyable - despite the fact that Cobra Commander didn't look like the Cobra Commander we all hoped.

So, G.I. Joe: Retaliation was a semi-reboot, but still tied up loose ends that were left from the first film. Missing were Sienna Miller (Baroness), Rachel Nichols (Scarlett), Dennis Quaid (General Hawk), Marlon Wayans (Ripcord), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Heavy Duty) and Said Taghmaoui (Breaker).

Returning to the film as characters, but with different actors were Destro and Cobra Commander, so Christopher Eccleston and Joseph Gordon-Levitt did not return.

The only characters returning with the same actors were, Jonathan Pryce as the US President, Arnold Vosloo as Zartan, Ray Park as Snake Eyes, Byung-hun Lee as Storm Shadow and Channing Tatum as Duke.

(Spoilers of both films are involved)

The threat, however, remains the same - Zartan has taken over as the President, and no one knows it yet. He has framed the Joes for stealing nuclear warheads and has sent a strike team to destroy them - including their leader Duke.

As the dust settles, only Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) and Flint (D.J. Cotrona) were able to survive after jumping into a nearby well.

Storm Shadow and newcomer Firefly (Ray Stevenson) have located where Cobra Commander (Luke Bracey) and Destro are being held - and gets himself taken prisoner in order to break them out - though in the end, Cobra Commander decides against freeing Destro. Storm Shadow, though, is injured from a blast and goes to a temple to recover.

Snake Eyes and his new apprentice Jinx (Elodie Yung) set out to the temple to capture Storm Shadow and bring him back to Blind Master (RZA) to answer for the death of Hard Master.

Meanwhile, Roadbloack, Flint and Lady Jaye try stop the impostor President who is blackmailing other nations into submitting to him and his new weapon of mass destruction - which he uses as to destroy London. For help, Roadblock takes them to retired and original Joe - Joe Colton (Bruce Willis).

I have heard the grumblings - and by the ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, critics have let it be known that this is not a good film.

But, I feel it may be the perfect film. The perfect film to kickoff the summer.

Summer is about explosions, stupid one-liners and beautiful people. It usually isn't about the best script, or even the best actors. It's is mostly about having fun. And, G.I. Joe: Retaliation was fun.

I had a few complaints - for instance, killing off Duke. Now sure they can figure out someway to pretend he wasn't dead, but at the end of this film he was. Channing Tatum may not be an amazing actor, though I have come to enjoy some of his work, but he has become a start. And, unless you intend on bringing him back from the dead, he is now gone from this franchise. Which, may not have been the best idea. Even those characters from the first film can still return - they were not killed.

Second, RZA is a terrible actor. The scenes with him instructing Snake Eyes had to be the most painful to watch. They could have easily gotten someone else - someone way better to play that role.

Finally, the mountain-side fight featuring Snake Eyes was absolutely amazing to watch. And, Cobra Commander actually somewhat looked like Cobra Commander - I just wish Gordon-Levitt had returned.

So, yes I liked this movie. It was fun. If you don't like fun movies - why are you watching them? If you want to watch Oscar-nominated movies alone, you have that right. But, don't continue to blast these summer popcorn flicks - what the hell are you expecting them to be like?

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Theater Review: Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 3D

It's pretty much a known fact that I am a huge Star Wars fan, and although I do feel the prequel trilogy is a bit subpar compared to the original trilogy, I still find the need for them and have learned to enjoy what they do have to offer.

That being said, I know I am not going to chance anyone's feelings about the films. If you are like me and have learned to enjoy them, then you already enjoy them. But, if you like to pick things apart and truly hate the film, there is no way that I am changing your mind.

So, I was able to take my family to see Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D in the theater. Say what you want, but being able to experience a Star Wars film on the large screen is truly spectacular. The first time I heard John Williams' epic score as the crawl came on the screen always gives me goosebumps. And, it did again when I heard it this time.

My son has really started to enjoy the Star Wars franchise, much like I have. This was his first experience seeing one of the films on the big screen - and I am very excited that he was able to get that experience.

I guess I will just talk about a few parts of the film. The Phantom Menace, although needed in my opinion, is probably the worst of the six films.

There are two things, however, that The Phantom Menace has that may be superior to some of the other films.

First, the pod race. That is one of the most breathtaking scenes in the entire franchise. And, seeing it on the big screen - and in 3D - was spectacular.

Second, Darth Maul. I have said it before, but it is worth repeating, Darth Maul (Ray Park) is one of the best villains ever created. And, he hardly gets any screen time - and even gets killed off (though if you follow the Clone Wars this may not be true) near the end of the film. Maul was experienced in the Force, had martial arts training, and carried a double-bladed light saber - how cool is that?

Plus, he took on two of the most powerful Jedis - killed one and was surprised by the other. That is a great villain - and I am sad that we got saddled with Count Dooku over two films while Maul was limited to part of this one.

Now, the 3D portion of the film. If you are expecting crazy 3D like light sabers coming out of the screen at you, don't bother. This is the type of 3D that I enjoy - it shows the depth of the images and I felt it worked amazingly well.

I am truly excited to see each and every film in this franchise, and it is only going to get better as the movies progress. I wasn't expecting for these releases to take six years to finish, but I guess they are trying to coincide with the 40th Anniversary of the original Star Wars when Return of the Jedi is finally released.

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