It has been three years since GI Joe Retaliation hit theaters. The 2013 action flick has an even worse aggregate score on rottentomatoes than its predecessor, GI Joe Rise of Cobra. However, Retaliation did haul in over $375 million, with a reported budget of $135 million. That is over $70 million more than the first installment. As much as I dislike GI Joe Retaliation Hasbro and Paramount would consider it a success. Is there going to be a third? Byung-Hun Lee, who portrayed the deadly Cobra ninja Storm Shadow in both films, was asked that very question while doing press for his latest film The Magnificent Seven. Saying, “I heard from the studio that there’s a possibility to do the third one, but I think they’re waiting for the actors’ schedules.” Signaling out someone in particular, “They’re arranging the schedules for the actors, especially Dwayne Johnson.”
Even before GI Joe Retaliation, Dwayne Johnson's star was on the rise. Not only does he have a packed schedule through 2019, he was also recently named the world's highest paid actor by Forbes Magazine. So, if Hasbro and Paramount do plan on a third GI Joe with The Rock they would have to wait three more years at the earliest and pay Johnson's exponentially increasing salary. Another scenario would be doing the film without Johnson's character, Roadblock. A third option would be to reboot the franchise, as that desperately needs to happen anyway. The two movies are typical, action-flick Bayhem cliches, and are not completely in line with any of the GI Joe continuities. The movies are nearly unrecognizable if compared them to the 35 plus years of material from the cartoon, the comics or the toy line
Allow me to brain out loud for a moment, because I don't see the appeal of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. He only has one character; the seemingly indestructible, wise-cracking bad-ass from the school of hard knocks with a tough as nails exterior and soft interior. Apparently, his chiseled physique and gleaming smile are enough that studios can ignore his acting limitations. Johnson made $64.5 million in 2015 from a list of movies, including hits Furious 7 and San Andreas.
How did Furious 7 make $1.5 billion? The cliche cheesiness of the ensemble movie can't be blamed on Johnson and neither should its baffling success. Furious 7 is essentially one action-packed Nu Metal music video after another. It was laughable how many times character A knew exactly where to be at precisely the right time to save character B. The dialogue was cringe-worthy and the delivery wooden. I literally not figuratively laughed out loud several times at what was meant to be an emotional moment.
San Andreas stars Johnson, no daredevil street racing team or Kevin Hart. The reviews for San Andreas are much worse than Furious 7. Obviously, the critics recognized that it is a B-Movie masquerading as a blockbuster. Yet somehow a blockbuster it was, grossing $473 million worldwide. The plot, the acting, the sappy melodrama love story, and the unabashed destruction for the sake of destroying landmarks was no better than schlock like Sharknado or anything from Troma Films. San Andreas is a cobbled together mess of close call, after close call, after close call. It is so repetitive the director or editor drops the constant screams and deafening sound effects and plays music over a montage of close call, after close call.
Johnson works hard and deserves success I guess, but how he became the world's highest paid actor is beyond me. So leave him out of GI Joe 3. His box office numbers are unpredictable, his reviews fluctuate wildly, and he does not have range. Plus, Hasbro couldn't afford him anyway.
Even before GI Joe Retaliation, Dwayne Johnson's star was on the rise. Not only does he have a packed schedule through 2019, he was also recently named the world's highest paid actor by Forbes Magazine. So, if Hasbro and Paramount do plan on a third GI Joe with The Rock they would have to wait three more years at the earliest and pay Johnson's exponentially increasing salary. Another scenario would be doing the film without Johnson's character, Roadblock. A third option would be to reboot the franchise, as that desperately needs to happen anyway. The two movies are typical, action-flick Bayhem cliches, and are not completely in line with any of the GI Joe continuities. The movies are nearly unrecognizable if compared them to the 35 plus years of material from the cartoon, the comics or the toy line
Allow me to brain out loud for a moment, because I don't see the appeal of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. He only has one character; the seemingly indestructible, wise-cracking bad-ass from the school of hard knocks with a tough as nails exterior and soft interior. Apparently, his chiseled physique and gleaming smile are enough that studios can ignore his acting limitations. Johnson made $64.5 million in 2015 from a list of movies, including hits Furious 7 and San Andreas.
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| Just as good as San Andreas |
San Andreas stars Johnson, no daredevil street racing team or Kevin Hart. The reviews for San Andreas are much worse than Furious 7. Obviously, the critics recognized that it is a B-Movie masquerading as a blockbuster. Yet somehow a blockbuster it was, grossing $473 million worldwide. The plot, the acting, the sappy melodrama love story, and the unabashed destruction for the sake of destroying landmarks was no better than schlock like Sharknado or anything from Troma Films. San Andreas is a cobbled together mess of close call, after close call, after close call. It is so repetitive the director or editor drops the constant screams and deafening sound effects and plays music over a montage of close call, after close call.
Johnson works hard and deserves success I guess, but how he became the world's highest paid actor is beyond me. So leave him out of GI Joe 3. His box office numbers are unpredictable, his reviews fluctuate wildly, and he does not have range. Plus, Hasbro couldn't afford him anyway.
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