Kritiken

The template is Transformers (another franchise based on children's toys), mixing three parts macho militarism to one part noisy comedy – and it's actually quite fun, breezily directed by Jon M. Chu who comes with a background in music (he made Step Up 3D, by far the best in that franchise) rather than action.

This bombastic, post-converted 3-D sequel to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) plays like a tiresomely extended evening of channel surfing. Only an impressive action set-piece on a mountainside, as well as some WTF cameos by the RZA and James Carville, possesses anything close to the wit and energy director Jon M. Chu brought to his two Step Up movies.

Sometimes the movie seems to be flirting with camp, as when the RZA shows up as a ninja master with the fakest beard ever and barks martial arts lore. But mostly "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" is shockingly dull, with lots of incoherently shot carnage and lame wisecracks. (The worst offender on that front is Bruce Willis, who seems to destroy the goodwill he's accrued over the years.)

The most noteworthy features of "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" are big 3-D frames packed with ridiculous action, ridiculously buffed-up guys, ridiculous characters who address each other as "Cobra Commander" and "Snake Eyes" with straight faces and ridiculous florid dialogue... All that being the case, I cannot tell another lie: I had pretty damn good time with this movie.

Cinema has a new villain: the Hasbro logo. Looming towards the audience in all too real 3D, the board game corporation's name is like the mark of the beast, foreshadowing pain, suffering, and the end of days. After the debacle of last year'sBattleship, that G.I. Joe: Retaliation fails to meet even the most basic requirements for cinematic storytelling should come as no surprise.

Aside from the fact that GI Joe: Retaliation is witless and near-incoherent as a piece of storytelling, it does teach us something about fighting, dancing and their aesthetic values on screen.

Instead of long takes, which are lovingly utilized in Step Up 3D, Chu opts for increasing volatility in the editing room. The film's cut-happy style immediately proves a jarring shift in form, as fragmentation has replaced grace.