Rock on with "GI Joe"

Just when you think the evil villains have all been eradicated, new threats surface to instil global fear. This mission requires no less strength, nerves and insight than that of the super-soldiers in the GI Joe unit, who return to the big screen next week in “GI Joe: Retaliation”.
 Based on characters from a line of Hasbro toy action figures, 2009’s “GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra”, introduced us to the black-ops unit that only deals with toughest missions and the corrupt and destructive villain Cobra. Three years later, GI Joes are not only still fighting their mortal enemy but are also forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardise their existence.
Apart from Channing Tatum’s brief appearance, the original cast has vanished. “Retaliation” recruits a hardier crew, including DJ Cotrona, Byung-hun Lee, Adrianne Palicki, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Bruce Willis, but the adrenaline junkies watching will get a fix-and-a-half of gunfights, surreal tech, mesmerising martial arts and lots of explosions.
Taking command of the unit this time is super-buffed Roadblock, played by wrestler-turned-actor Johnson.
“Personally I think the meaning of ‘hero’ is a man or a woman who just wants to get better every day as we go through life,” he told the press in Seoul last week. “Life isn’t easy – we trip, we fall, we make mistakes – but everybody deserves the right to get back up and start moving forward again. I like to play that guy who can get things done, gets better by the end of the movie, but, more importantly than that, galvanises people around him to do better.”
“It’s cool what makes a hero in this movie,” director Jon M Chu added. “We strip away the Joes’ laser guns, hovercrafts and any other technology, and then, what are you? Are you still a hero? Heroism doesn’t come from that stuff. It doesn’t come from your physical size. It comes from your heart. When you talk about Superman, it’s the ‘man’ part you talk about. It’s all those the things that make you human – that’s what make a superhero.”
In place of the dizzying drone combat, flashy laser guns and other advanced killing machines of “Rise of Cobra”, “Retaliation” serves up sweaty fistfights, sword duels and close-range gun battles.
“There’s a great action sequence at the end with myself and Firefly [played by imposing British actor Ray Stevenson],” Johnson enthused. “We wanted to try and create a fighting style that was unfamiliar to the movie-going audience. It’s called ‘gun kata’, where we both fire weapons at very close range at the same time. It was exciting for me as an actor and also a little bit of a challenge, because you have to train for weeks beforehand.”
Along with horrifying footage of nuked cities, viewers will also see a sword fight at a cliff edge and the gritty scene in which the three surviving Joes have to climb out of a well after a wipe-out attack.
“The well scene was hell,” Johnson admitted. “It ended up really cool see us work together as a team to get out, but shoot it was hard because we were all hanging on wires. It required balance and a lot of equalising pressure. Like most directors, Jon is very greedy and he ordered take after take.”
Joining the unit are rebellious Fint (DJ Cotrona) and tough and sexy Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki). Ray Park, who plays the silent and deadly Snake Eyes, is back, this time resolving his conflict with Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee) in the ultimate martial-arts showdown. They then form an alliance against their mutual enemy.
A sensational addition to the team is evergreen “Die Hard” star Bruce Willis, in the role of the original GI Joe – General Joe Colton – a retired soldier who re-enlists to help out his old team.
“I loved working with Bruce,” Johnson declared. “There are words like ‘icon’ and ‘legend’ that you hear often, and he’s certainly one of them. Being able to work with Bruce was great, specifically with this particular role. Bruce fits in perfectly – he’s the reason why we call ourselves Joes. He looks great with a gun in his hand, kicking ass.”
Johnson is meanwhile training hard to re-enlist as a professional wrestler, his Hollywood success notwithstanding. He misses the roar of the fight fans. “Wrestling provides a platform to entertain 10,000 to 80,000 people live every night. It was a really incredibly learning experience for me. And it gave me the opportunity to go to Hollywood.
“To be honest, I never thought my role in ‘The Mummy Returns’ would get me this far. But I love every second of wrestling and that’s why I went back recently. I have couple of matches leading up to Wrestlemania. It’s going to be fun.”

TEN-HUT!
“GI Joe: Retaliation” hits the cinema in RealD, 3D and Digital 3D, including Imax, on Wednesday