2009's "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" was overblown and dumb, a summer actioner as colorful as it was dramatically plastic. Did anyone walking out of that film care one iota about what they'd just seen? Apparently, the makers of the weirdly loose yet faithful sequel "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" didn't, as director Jon M. Chu (2010's "Step Up 3D") and screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (2009's "Zombieland") kill off nearly all of the former characters in a throwaway opening line of narration, then proceed to blow up another returning cast member in the first fifteen minutes. Also gone: the futuristic angle of the earlier story and some of the more high-tech weaponry, replacing eye candy for dirt and grime. Returning: the fact that the country—and possibly world—is unknowingly under grave duress now that the identity of the U.S. President (Jonathan Pryce) has been stolen by nefarious shapeshifting terrorist Zartan (Arnold Vosloo). Were the changes made for the project's benefit, or just an excuse to distance itself from the critically lambasted original? All signs point to the latter, but really, they needn't have bothered. "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" may have a grittiness to it that its predecessor lacked, but it has corrected absolutely none of its problems. It's very likely viewers won't care about this one once it's over, either.
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