I have to be up front with you: I despised G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. The first attempt to bring the action figures to big screen with Mummy director Stephen Sommers was "over the top" to use as few words as possible while avoiding a serious tirade. So take it as a tremendous compliment that this first trailer for G.i Joe: Retaliation looks like a movie I could watch.
Star Dwayne Johnson, one of the many new aspects of this film, introduces this lengthy teaser that premiered exclusively through Machinima and will likely appear before showings of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. The most noticeable thing is that this film, directed by Jon Chu, already feels grittier rather than high-tech and glitzy like the first. Also, Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and Duke (Channing Tatum) look to be the only faces held over from the first fail—film, though apparently Sommers' pal Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy) will return as Zartan and some smaller roles were probably retained.
It doesn't look like there will be any shortage of cheese in Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick's script, especially when you add Cobra Commander flags on the White House, but the action should prove to be much more satisfactory. Johnson and Bruce Willis will help things out in that regard as well.
I can't say I'm pumped, especially with The Amazing Spider-Man opening just days later, but those hoping for something that does the "Joe" brand proud should feel good about their chances.
"Retaliation" opens on June 29 and also stars Adrianne Palicki, Ray Stevenson, Jonathan Pryce, RZA and D.J. Cotrona.
