Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is one of the hottest actors in Hollywood. Now, a nearly forgotten movie that helped build his profile is streaming on Hulu. Johnson is a franchise staple these days. He lades big studio movies like Jungle Cruise, Jumanji, and the upcoming DC Comics film Black Adam. Early on, the wrestler turned actor was a riskier proposition. Still, his charisma and built-in fanbase gave him a knack for restoring audience interest in flagging franchises. The first example was the Fast & Furious, which he joined as Luke Hobbs in Fast Five. That’s a role he’d reprise in sequels and, eventually, the . After Fast Five, Johnson helped boost the G.I. Joe franchise by playing Roadblock in G.I. Joe: Retaliation. That movie is now streaming on Hulu.
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G.I. Joe: Retaliation opened in 2013, based on Hasbro’s G.I. Joe franchise. It is the second live-action G.I. Joe film after 2009’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Jon M. Chu directed the film. Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick wrote the script. The film’s cast includes Byung-hun Lee, Ray Park, Jonathan Pryce, Arnold Vosloo, and Channing Tatum returning from The Rise of Cobra. New cast members included Luke Bracey, Robert Baker, Dwayne Johnson, D. J. Cotrona, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Stevenson, Elodie Yung, and Bruce Willis.
In G.I. Joe: Retaliation, “In the continuing adventures of the G.I. Joe team, Duke (Channing Tatum), second-in-command Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), and the rest of the Joes (D.J. Cotrona, Lee Byung-hun) face a two-fold threat. Not only is their mortal enemy COBRA rearing its ugly head again, but there is also a threat from within the US government: There might be an impostor in the White House. Meanwhile, Snake Eyes (Ray Park) is on a search for inner peace but learns that his nemesis, Storm Shadow, is still alive.”
Critics widely panned G.I. Joe: Retaliation. The film carries a 29% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes. “Though arguably superior to its predecessor, G.I. Joe: Retaliation is overwhelmed by its nonstop action and too nonsensical and vapid to leave a lasting impression,” according to the site’s critical consensus. The film fares only slightly better with fans, sporting a still-rotten 48% approval rating. At the box office, G.I. Joe: Retaliation earned $375 million worldwide on an estimated $130–155 million budget.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation‘s performance proved poor enough to delay another G.I Joe Movie until 2021. This year, Paramount Pictures released Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins. The film focuses on the title character, revealing his origin story. Henry Golding played Snake Eyes opposite Andrew Koji as Storm Shadow.
What do you think of G.I. Joe: Retaliation? Will you revisit it now that it’s on Hulu? Let us know in the comments.
