Be kind, don't rewind
30 March 2013 12:00 AM GMT
A big star can do a bad turn to your old toy. George Clooney sleepwalked through his role as the Dark Knight in Batman and Robin and nearly killed the franchise. It took a director of Christopher Nolan's calibre to bring Batman back into the game almost eight years later.
Jon M. Chu is no Nolan. He's done Step Up 3D and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never before this. In his hands, GI Joe would have remained a bigass action movie and not much more. And that is exactly the way it has turned out. Problem is when you have a recent trend of resurrecting old comic book capers as men with not only meat but minds as well (think Watchmen, Ironman I and II) and introduce Bruce 'The last Man Standing' Willis, you do expect some psychobabble and some smart reinventions. Sadly, there's none. And Willis has not much to do either, except bring out his big gun and shoot away to glory.
The story goes somewhat like this: the good Joes are busy doing what they do best i.e. saving the world. The American President has been impersonated and orders a hit on them. Some Joes die, others turn rogue to save their ass. There are nukes, nanotechnology and North Koreans. Cobra Commander comes out of prison. He wants to win the world of by murdering millions and Joes have to stop them. Bad 'uns die. Good Joes live. Simple.
The action is passable, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson looks the part and Willis doesn't do a Clooney on Retaliation. You can't kill a film that's braindead anyway.
Our verdict: Not every boyhood tale should be revisited, not every hero resurrected.
Jon M. Chu is no Nolan. He's done Step Up 3D and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never before this. In his hands, GI Joe would have remained a bigass action movie and not much more. And that is exactly the way it has turned out. Problem is when you have a recent trend of resurrecting old comic book capers as men with not only meat but minds as well (think Watchmen, Ironman I and II) and introduce Bruce 'The last Man Standing' Willis, you do expect some psychobabble and some smart reinventions. Sadly, there's none. And Willis has not much to do either, except bring out his big gun and shoot away to glory.
The story goes somewhat like this: the good Joes are busy doing what they do best i.e. saving the world. The American President has been impersonated and orders a hit on them. Some Joes die, others turn rogue to save their ass. There are nukes, nanotechnology and North Koreans. Cobra Commander comes out of prison. He wants to win the world of by murdering millions and Joes have to stop them. Bad 'uns die. Good Joes live. Simple.
The action is passable, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson looks the part and Willis doesn't do a Clooney on Retaliation. You can't kill a film that's braindead anyway.
Our verdict: Not every boyhood tale should be revisited, not every hero resurrected.
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