After Michael Bay with “Transformers“ turned a handful of action figures into box office giants in 2007, there was a spirit of optimism in Hollywood. Which popular children’s toy could still be used to make big money at the box office? As good as “TransformersThings didn’t go well with the two years later GI Joe: Secret Mission Cobra, but it was still good enough to give it a second try. The action sequel “GI Joe 2: The Reckoning” runs on Nitro today, August 31, 2022, but only in a five-minute shortened version compared to the uncut FSK 16 version. We therefore recommend that you grab the Blu-ray if you want to see the film in its entirety.
›› “GI Joe: The Reckoning” at Amazon*
Alternatively, there is also a complete set with all three “GI Joe” films, including the relatively recent spin-off “Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins”:
›› The complete “GI Joe” series at Amazon*
The terrorist organization Cobra has infiltrated the US government, secretly kidnapping the President (Jonathan Pryce) and replacing him with Cobra member Zartan (Arnold Vosloo). With their newfound power and under the pretense that they have stolen nuclear weapons, a full-scale attack is now being carried out against the elite troop GI Joe. A large part of the unit is killed.
The survivor Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson) then takes over the leadership of the remaining Joes. Together with his comrades-in-arms Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) and Flint (DJ Cotrona), he plans the counterattack. But first he secures the support of ex-General Joseph Colton (Bruce Willis), who is coming back from retirement.
“GI Joe 2” is primarily so interesting because it brings together two action heavyweights, Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis, who we will probably never see again in this combination. After all, the “Die Hard” star has now ended his career for health reasons.
However, don’t expect Johnson and Willis to side-by-side with terrorists here, outdoing each other with one-liners, like The Rock did with Jason Statham in Hobbs & Shaw. For one thing, GI Joe: Reckoning is primarily a Dwayne Johnson film and Bruce Willis really only has a small supporting role. On the other hand, the common scenes of the two are limited and while Dwayne Johnson saves millions of lives in the big blockbuster finale, Bruce Willis works parallel to the rescue of the US President, where the action takes place on a much smaller scale.
Fans of the two actors can still tune in. Although “GI Joe 2” isn’t a particularly good film, it’s also not a really bad one. For humorous primetime entertainment, you can turn on the sci-fi actioner from time to time.
*The links to the Amazon offer are so-called affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, we will receive a commission.
