G.I. Joe - Retaliation (UHD Blu-ray) review

[David Vaughn]

Studio: Paramount
Release Date: July 20, 2021
Rating: PG-13
Film: 4/5

Plot
The G.I. JOE team has been set up to take the fall for a terrible crime they didn’t commit.  Now, ROADBLOCK, DUKE, and the rest of the team must once again face their mortal enemy COBRA, as well as dangerous new threats operating within the government. When all else fails, one option remains —RETALIATION.

My Thoughts
After a very tough day of putting our family dog to sleep, none of us wanted anything too serious to watch on Friday night. Our initial choice was a comedy, but then we thought of all the laughs we had watch G.I. Joe – The Rise of Cobra the night before and thought we’d give the sequel a spin.

Our expectations for the film were extremely low but within the first five minutes of the film we realized this film wasn’t got to be anywhere close to the disaster the first was. In fact, by the end of the first act we were all commenting on how good this film was—the story, the acting (believe it or not), and the special effects, that looked great compared to the rudimentary effects in the first film.

As one would expect, the story is a bit far-fetched but there’s some actual intrigue to it. The majority of the cast is new, highlighted by Dwayne Johnson and Adrianne Palicki (who looks stunning in a red dress), but there are a couple of hangovers from the first film as well. The dialog is much better and there are multiple LOL lines throughout the film to break up the tension. Finally, one of the action scenes was amazing to watch as Snake Eyes and Jinx make a daring escape from a mountain fortress.

The upgrade from Blu-ray to UHD isn’t groundbreaking, but I found this to look slightly better than the first film. The image had a bit more depth and detail and the color palette had a bit more vibrancy. The TrueHD 7.1 track is outstanding featuring plenty of surround activity and a copious amount of LFE.

Video 8/10

Audio 9.5/10 (Dolby TrueHD 7.1)

Special Features:

   ·        Commentary by director Jon M. Chu and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura
   ·        G.I. JOE: Declassified
        o Mission Briefing
        o Deployment
        o Two Ninjas
        o The Desert Attack
        o COBRA Strikes
        o The Lone Soldiers
        o The Monastery
        o Fort Sumter
   ·        Deleted Scenes
   ·        UHD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy





Conclusion
With Johnson as the face of the franchise I’m surprised another sequel didn’t come out. The film did a respectable $375 million worldwide, but the film was roasted by critics (not this one) and maybe the producers decided to book their profits and move on to other projects. It’s been eight years and a new Snake Eyes film is hitting theaters, but I’m not sure if the character can carry a film considering he never speaks, but maybe I’m wrong. If you haven’t seen this one and want to avoid the first, you may want to read a story synopsis of The Rise of Cobra in order to pick up where the first film led off. I believe this was meant to be a trilogy and the way the second film ends definitely sets things up for a conclusion, but I’m not sure we’ll ever see it on the big screen.


Reference Review System:
JVC DLA-RS2000 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
(Calibrated with Portrait Displays CalMAN color calibration software & C6-HDR Meter from Portrait Displays)
Stewart Filmscreen - Firehawk 88” 16x9 Fixed Screen
Trinnov Altitude 16 Audio/Video Processor
ATI AT527NC Powering Bed Channels
ATI AT524NC Powering Atmos Speakers
Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
System Controller: URC MX-990
M&K S-150 THX Ultra (R-C-L Speakers)
M&K SS-150 x4 (Surround Speakers)
Atlantic Technology IC6-OBA x 4 Overhead Speakers
SVS PC-Ultra Cylinder Subwoofer
HSU VTF-15H MK2 Subwoofer
JL Audio Dominion F110 Subwoofer x 2
Mini DSP HD controlling all subwoofers
Audioquest and Monoprice - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling
PureAV PF60 Power Conditioner

[Ralph P.]

Greetings,

Yep! Totally agree across the board although, I would rate the two films closer. I enjoy the first a bit more than you and the second a bit less. Nice job Dave!


Regards,

[David Vaughn]

Greetings,

Yep! Totally agree across the board although, I would rate the two films closer. I enjoy the first a bit more than you and the second a bit less. Nice job Dave!


Regards,

Thanks Ralph. For the record, Lori, Madison, and Mario all agree with me. We win 4-1

[bmoney]

I think they should have been nominated for best picture. Lol

[Ralph P.]

Thanks Ralph. For the record, Lori, Madison, and Mario all agree with me. We win 4-1

Greetings,

Oh brother, I am guessing that they didn't have a stake in it either way and figured it was easiest to go along. This victory doesn't count! 

Regards,