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Another Other GI Joe: Retaliation Trailer – And Some Thoughts On It

Earlier today, Brendon put up the new GI Joe: Retaliation trailer. It turns out there are actually two new trailers, the second packing a fair chunk of new footage in it that connects some dots, answers some questions and shoots at an awful lot of people.

Here's the trailer:

And here are some thoughts on it:

1.All the Cool Masked Men Drive Motorcycles

At first glance, the opening sequence looks like it ties directly into the Joe slaughter that follows. There's the same robo insects, the same sense of menace and the sinister music to boot. But look at the location; this isn't the desert where the Joes are killed, it's a green, forested area, at night. Much like the Snake Eyes and his Bike of Explosion sequence later. I think this is actually Snake, hijacking Cobra equipment and using it on them.

2.Jimmy Stewart, Denzel Washington and Dwayne Johnson Walk Into A Bar

For years, Denzel Washington has traded off the same quiet, softly spoken integrity that Jimmy Stewart's latter career was built entirely around. He excels at playing mature, good, troubled men who continue to hold true to their principles in the face of, at times, certain doom. Oh sure he gets noticed for the bad guy roles and he's very good at them too, but if you want the cinematic definition of 'The Good Man', you're pretty much looking at Washington and no one else.

Until now.

Roadblock is an experienced soldier, a non-commissioned officer at the very least, and a Dad. He's fairly clearly playing that last role to his new charges in this movie too, and that marks Johnson out as something quietly rather extraordinary; he's a black actor in an action movie playing not only absolutely straight, but one of the two voices of moral authority. He's a Good Man, just like Washington and Stewart before him. Which is a hell of a step up from the Tooth Fairy period of his career, however you cut it.

3.Well Well Well 

So all three of our principles survive by jumping down the well. That's a nice action beat, and the sequence with them step climbing up it does a nice job of establishing Roadblock as everyone's Dad. It also makes the threat seem more credible; these three found one tiny flaw in the attack and that's the only reason they're alive.

4. President Zartan and the Room of Death

This trailer presents President Zartan as putting on a plausible front where the other trailer seems to hint this is his Bond villain style reveal. Either way, it's an interesting looking scene. Why is there a World War II fighter aircraft hanging from the ceiling? And is President Zartan really, as the earlier trailer suggests, blowing up London to prove a point?

5. Aged Deathbringer Incorporated's Founder Member

Ever since Red, Bruce Willis has found himself a new schtick. The wisecracking, pseudo-burnout has been replaced by nice, polite, precise older men who are capable of absolutely horrific violence when they're not worrying about their blood pressure. It's a lovely gimmick and gives Willis a chance to play comedy that he's not had consistently for a while and it's also pretty clearly what he's mining here. The Girl Scout line is lovely, as is the historical context for why Roadblock and co work for such an oddly named military division.

6.Snake Eyes and his Bike of Explosion

One of the fun things about this footage turning up in multiple trailers is how it's been slightly different each time. Look at the rocket assists on the various bike pieces and look, again, at the location and time of day. This really does look like the first sequence we see.

7.Paging Global Frequency

That orbital doom weapon will look very familiar to any readers of the Warren Ellis/pretty much everyone interesting in comics at the time mini series Global Frequency. The story of the 1,001 experts who diffuse the unexploded ideas of the 20th Century it's massive fun, Thunderbirds with added swearing and heroism and the final issue, one of the best, focuses on a rogue weapons satellite. It's a hideously low tech thing that does nothing but catapult hardened ceramic needles into the ground at inconceivable speed. All the damage of a nuke with none of the side effects, basically. The horrific effects we see on London here, especially the river bed cracking and rising, looks very similar to what's described in the comic.

8. Not Quite As Outgunned As We've Been Led To Believe

Roadblock has slightly more troops to deploy than we've been led to believe. It flashes by but there's a moment in the trailer where we see him addressing a group of people around a table. Ten people to be precise. Given that we know that Roadblock, Joe Colton, Snake Eyes, Jinx, Boy Joe and Girl Joe are established characters that still leaves four people unaccounted. I wonder if we're getting another riff on the 'old soldiers called back to duty' thing that Dark of the Moon and Battleship have both played with recently. Plenty of opportunity for a little fanservice there, with old characters taking a bow.

9.Not On His Watch

The confrontation between Roadblock and Boy Joe seems to show we're getting a harkback to one of the fun elements in MI: Ghost Protocol, namely that not everyone gets along. Fake drama is dull but the idea that the new kids have a different approach and Roadblock would quite like to save the world AND not have to bury any more of his friends is a really interesting one with lots of dramatic potential.

10. Context for Jumping Off A Perfectly Good Mountain

Who's in the bodybag that Snake Eyes and Jinx are hauling down that mountain side? Plus it's nice to see that there's clearly a structure there which goes some way towards explaining everyone hurtling around on zip wires. Possibly it's RZA's the Blind Master. Either way those other ninja seem awfully keen on getting the body, right up until Snake Eyes punches them in the face with a mountain.

11. Joe Colton Keeps A Tank In His Backyard

And he's worried about how well it idles. Bless.

GI Joe: Retaliation opens in the UK on August 3rd, and the US on June 29th.

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