G.I. Joes vs. ninjas 
A better-than-average, gravity-defying ninja duel leads to an epic chase - by leaps, swings, and ziplines - through the Himalayas in the big set-piece sequence of G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Masked villains in red ninja suits chase Snake Eyes and Jinx as they attempt to spirit a ninja villain out of a mountaintop lair. They scamper, by rope, across impossible slopes, swinging their swords.
And when a line is cut, the victim yowls into the void. It may be the most dazzling bit of business of its kind from the age of digital stunts.
The rest of the movie? Seriously, it's a live-action version of an '80s cartoon that was designed to sell toys. It's got the biggest body count since, well, last week's Olympus Has Fallen - stabbings, shootings, blowings to bits. And barely a drop of blood.
But it has Dwayne Johnson, who knows his way around a raised eyebrow and a catchphrase. His character, the G.I. Joe-force sergeant known as "Roadblock," quotes Jay-Z for motivational speeches.
COBRA may have been down for the count in the first Joe movie, but they have an impostor (Jonathan Pryce, playing the real prez and the fake one) in the White House and all manner of evil henchmen and ingenious gadgets to wipe out the G.I. Joes. And that's not even mentioning the ninjas.
It's up to team members Roadblock, Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki), and Flint (D.J. Cotrona) - with maybe an assist from masked marvel Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and the fetching fury Jinx (Elodie Yung) to foil evil, the masked COBRA commander, and his sidekick, Firefly (Ray Stevenson).
Acting? We'll have none of that. Instead, things go boom and bodies go down and the one hour and 50 minutes zip by like oh, two hours and 10.
