G.I. Joe: Retaliation

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is a 2013 American military science fiction movie based on Hasbro's G.I. Joe toy figures. It serves as the second film in the G.I. Joe series, following *G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra* (2009). Jon M. Chu directed the film, with a screenplay by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. The cast includes Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, D. J. Cotrona, Lee Byung-hun, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Park, Jonathan Pryce, Ray Stevenson, and Channing Tatum. In the plot, the G.I. Joe team is framed, attacked, and presumed dead by the U.S. government—which is being manipulated by Zartan, who is impersonating the president—forcing the surviving members to retaliate against Cobra.

Originally scheduled for a June 2012 release, the film was postponed to undergo a 3D conversion and to increase its appeal in international markets. Paramount Pictures released *G.I. Joe: Retaliation* in the United States on March 28, 2013. Like its predecessor, it received mostly negative reviews from critics, though many considered it a step up from the first film. It earned $375.7 million worldwide against a budget of $130 to $155 million.

**Plot** Special Forces commander Duke leads the G.I. Joe team into the Korean Demilitarized Zone to extract a North Korean defector. They are then tasked with stealing nuclear warheads from Pakistan after its president dies in a civil war. Zartan, still impersonating the U.S. president, secretly orders an airstrike that kills Duke and most of the Joes. Heavy machine gunner Roadblock, sniper Flint, and covert operator Lady Jaye survive by diving into a well. The next day, Zartan publicly labels the Joes traitors for allegedly trying to steal the nuclear weapons they were ordered to retrieve, and announces that Cobra—which he authorized to carry out the airstrike—will replace the Joes as the nation's top special operations force.

Roadblock, Flint, and Lady Jaye secretly return to the U.S. and set up a base in a gym in Roadblock's old neighborhood. Determined to avenge their fallen comrades, they aim to uncover who betrayed them. Lady Jaye deduces that someone is impersonating the president by noticing changes in his speech patterns. Seeking more information, they contact General Joseph Colton, the original G.I. Joe, who advises them to target the president's chief of staff.