G.I Joe: Retaliation

I grew up with G.I. Joe. I read the comics before I was even into comics. I loved the cartoon and I wanted to get all of the action figures. I even had a little file box where I kept the cards I clipped from the back of the packages. So imagine my disappointment when I saw G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. That film made me hate Channing Tatum because he had single handedly done what all of cobra could not. He had killed G.I. Joe. Since Rise of Cobra was released, I have seen Channing Tatum in some other films where he delivered decent and often entertaining performances so I decided to give the second G.I. Joe film a try. G.I. Joe: Retaliation is able to forgo the origin and back story and get right to the action. While the chemistry and camaraderie between Tatum and newcomer Dwayne Johnson is good and even amusing, that is all this film has going for it. With so much material to draw from I don't understand how the filmmakers could keep getting it so wrong. The story is barely there even with so much potential to draw from current events. Seminal characters are treated as throwaways and disposed of like empty beer cans. Characters from the first film are nowhere to be found. I think I will be sticking with the comics from now on. At least they are telling compelling stories.