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G.I. JOE: RETALIATIONMovie Reviews
Action adventure about the G.I. Joes as they fight their mortal enemy Cobra and deal with threats from within the government. Cast:Bruce Willis, Dwayne Johnson, Channing Tatum, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Stevenson, Walton Goggins, Joseph Mazzello, RZA, Ray Park, Arnold Vosloo, Byung-hun Lee, Elodie Yung, Jonathan Pryce, Faran Tahir, Skai JacksonDirector:Jon M. ChuRelease Date:March 28, 2013DVD Release: TBD From:ParamountRating:PG-13Length:1 hr 34 minIn 3D
G.I. Joe: Retaliation opened to fair reviews. • Joe Williams wrote in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "...takes average-ness to new depths.... Chu applies some of the choreography skills he honed in two of the 'Step Up' movies to the fight sequences, which are bloodless." • And Glenn Kenny wrote for MSN Movies, "...solid if predictably frenetic..." More Reviews Below...
Richard Corliss, Time: GOOD "...enlists Dwayne Johnson, Hollywood's premier action enforcer... finds room for Bruce Willis, as the original G.I. Joe... blithe fun... a pretty cool ride."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,811 words, 03/29/13
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: MODERATE(cg) "...seems to have some cheeky fun with itself.... Nothing matters really. This is a movie based on a Hasbro toy, after all.... But at least it is aware of its vapidity..."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 655 words, 03/28/13
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD(cg) "I don't want to make the movie sound good, exactly -- it's well-executed technocratic action fluff. But it did leave me buzzed rather than drained."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 480 words, 03/29/13
Scott Bowles, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a vast improvement over its toy-inspired predecessor.... it's still primarily fodder for kids... a more sure-footed shoot-'em-up..."(See all of Scott Bowles's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 461 words, 03/28/13
Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "I had a pretty damn good time.... It helped that I didn't/couldn't take it seriously for a second... Jon M. Chu has a solid if predictably frenetic feel for in-depth kinetics..."(See all of Glenn Kenny's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 689 words, 03/27/13
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: WEAK(cg) "...illustrates how 3-D can be a bad thing even when its implementation is competent. The 3-D used here is very much of the 'in your face' variety."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,066 words, 03/27/13
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Common Sense Media: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The plot and dialogue are absolutely ridiculous, but it seems aware of all that... inspires more giggles than groans.... Serious fans may be disappointed... Age 13."(See all of Jeffrey M. Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 473 words, 03/28/13
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Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: WEAK(cg) "...a lot of running around and shoddily filmed action.... There is one centerpiece scene on a mountainside that's cool and inventive.... an average Joe flick at best."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 408 words, 03/28/13
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "...one hot mess.... It's massive, all the retaliation and the world saving stuff. And it's convoluted. Frankly no one should have to think that hard to keep up with the Joes."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 838 words, 03/28/13
Kyle Smith, New York Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...sticks to business: ninjas, machine guns and international super-commandos with stripper names.... ridiculous but not senseless.... Willis is at his relaxed best..."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 751 words, 03/28/13
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "Do we really want our action movies to deliver action that does not stop? Ever? I get a little tired of action sequences that won't stop."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 512 words, 03/29/13
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: POOR(cg) "This botched sequel feels like a shell-shock victim: flailing, screaming, inept and utterly incoherent.... The always likable Dwayne Johnson can't save this material..."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 407 words, 03/28/13
Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine: WEAK "That G.I. Joe silliness the first film embraced has been steamrolled into tentpole flatness this time around. It's not stoopid anymore, but just plain stupid."(See all of Bilge Ebiri's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 622 words, 03/29/13
Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "...the rare franchise action movie to bring the goods... the even rarer one whose creators seem to understand what the goods even are.... It's still dumb as catbutt."(See all of Alan Scherstuhl's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 861 words, 03/27/13
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: WEAK(cg) "...feels like a five-year-old with a megaphone, excitedly yelling about his latest bulldozer-soldier-dinosaur smash-kill-squash-everything game.... bloated..."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 591 words, 03/28/13
John Semley, Toronto Now: POOR(cg) "...dreadful. The action is dominated by jittery cinematography, the jokes clunk, and the politics are abysmal.... This is screaming-eagle jingoism at its most meat-headed..."(See all of John Semley's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 211 words, 03/28/13
Roger Moore, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "Acting? We'll have none of that.... Things go boom and bodies go down and the one hour and 50 minutes zip by like oh, two hours and ten."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 477 words, 03/28/13
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: MODERATE(cg) "To keep things moving Chu doesn't waste our time with things like sensible plot direction or character development... man, after a while, what a slog."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 550 words, 03/29/13
Tom Russo, Boston Globe: WEAK(cg) "...at least we can count on some 3-D fireworks to help us choke down the nonsensical geopolitics. Or not.... Park manages to make dull work of all the pop combat."(See all of Tom Russo's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 466 words, 03/29/13
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: WEAK(cg) "...thinks it's a real movie.... thinks we care about these thick-necked caricatures. It thinks they evoke real feelings, and drama. But mostly, it doesn't think at all."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 569 words, 03/28/13
Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "The sequel makes the first movie look like 'Platoon' by comparison. It's algorithmically more ridiculous. But it's not a failure."(See all of Peter Hartlaub's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 56 words, 03/28/13
Soren Andersen, Seattle Times: WEAK(cg) "It's the finest weapons porn multimillions can buy.... What we have here is a feature-length commercial for war toys. Makes you want to change the channel."(See all of Soren Andersen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 452 words, 03/28/13
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: MODERATE(cg) "...takes average-ness to new depths.... Chu applies some of the choreography skills he honed in two of the 'Step Up' movies to the fight sequences, which are bloodless."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 324 words, 03/28/13
Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times: POOR(cg) "...typical.... This movie never realizes how ridiculous anything it does truly is, right up to the last-second promise of another sequel."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 469 words, 03/29/13
Tom Long, Detroit News: POOR(cg) "...a great flaming ball of visual noise. It's an insult to G.I.s everywhere, all people named Joe and the word 'retaliation.' "(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 294 words, 03/29/13
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (8 Reviews)
Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "...the rare franchise action movie to bring the goods... the even rarer one whose creators seem to understand what the goods even are.... It's still dumb as catbutt."(See all of Alan Scherstuhl's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 861 words, 03/27/13
Katey Rich, Cinema Blend: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...knows exactly what it is: a piece of pulpy fun that's meant to be watched and then immediately forgotten about.... Johnson once again proves that he is one of the best..."(See all of Katey Rich's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 608 words, 03/28/13
Cynthia Fuchs, Pop Matters: WEAK(cg) "Of course, the villains must be loosed and must threaten the world with decimation, so that the G.I. Joes will be required to save it.... large and overwrought..."(See all of Cynthia Fuchs's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,076 words, 03/28/13
Glenn Heath Jr., Slant: MODERATE(cg) "The narrative bloat doesn't matter in the least... the extreme verbal posturing by either side simply acts as connective tissue between the blunderbuss action scenes."(See all of Glenn Heath Jr.'s reviews...)(Read the full review...) 807 words, 03/27/13
John Semley, Toronto Now: POOR(cg) "...dreadful. The action is dominated by jittery cinematography, the jokes clunk, and the politics are abysmal.... This is screaming-eagle jingoism at its most meat-headed..."(See all of John Semley's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 211 words, 03/28/13
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: POOR(cg) "It's almost as if no one -- up to and including the cast -- actually read the 'script' before they started shooting, or even while they were shooting."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 812 words, 03/26/13
HIGHBROW PRESS (4 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...it was good to find out that brain damage from dim dialogue could still be obviated by an inexpensive system of passive defense, i.e. earplugs."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 164 words, 03/29/13
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "...one hot mess.... It's massive, all the retaliation and the world saving stuff. And it's convoluted. Frankly no one should have to think that hard to keep up with the Joes."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 838 words, 03/28/13
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Variety: WEAK "Largely devoid of personality, apart from a few nifty action flourishes... sustaining a narrative or transcending a patchy script seem beyond Chu's abilities."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 713 words, 03/27/13
Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: MODERATE "So fetishistic about high-powered weapons that it qualifies as an NRA wet dream.... This is 3D that does not enhance a film... visual effects and CGI are highly variable..."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 752 words, 03/27/13
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "...one hot mess.... It's massive, all the retaliation and the world saving stuff. And it's convoluted. Frankly no one should have to think that hard to keep up with the Joes."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 838 words, 03/28/13
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: MODERATE(cg) "...there is not much of a plot or story, but a string of disjoined set-pieces, some better than others.... the flimsy tale spans different exotic places around the world..."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 327 words, 03/25/13
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...it was good to find out that brain damage from dim dialogue could still be obviated by an inexpensive system of passive defense, i.e. earplugs."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 164 words, 03/29/13
16.0 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
G.I. Joe: Retaliation's reviews are separated by an average 16.0 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (40 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:G.I. Joe: Retaliation's reviews cover 64.8% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 24,082 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 602 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 8.7 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
G.I. Joe: Retaliation's reviews on average broke 8.7 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is G.I. Joe: Retaliation's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (40 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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