You can all rest easy now, G.I.Joe is here.
Another one of Hasbro's big toy properties has finally made it's big screen movie adaptation debut. Does it remain faithful to the franchise, or has it incurred the ire of the fans who paid good money to see this movie?
Simple answer: It has done neither one of the above.
Now as a G.I.Joe fan growing up during the 80's, there's so little to say about how much material director Stephen Sommers and crew took and used from the original series/ comics and incorporated onto this movie. With the exception of the characters and their names, everybody has completely undergone a hollywood makeover, and those expecting those colorful uniforms and personalities from the Joes and Cobra back in the day will just be utterly disappointed. Call me strange, but this movie reminded me of the first X-men film. Why? Too many common elements to point out; 1.)The lead hero gets rescued and recruited to the team 2.)Plot and twists remind me of the merry mutant film series 3.)Ray Park is here as well, playing Snake-Eyes (he played Toad in the first X-men film). Lots of Marvel styled moments, from Blade to Spider-Man come to mind when you see the action scenes. In fact, since Paramount made this, there are some things that will remind you about Iron Man,, and you'll know what I'm talking about when you get to the exosuit scenes. *Ahem* foregoing a summary of the movie, I'll just get right to the point and review this sucker.
For all intents and purposes, G.I.Joe: The Rise Of Cobra is a pretty good movie. No matter what purists and intellectuals on all things Joe say, it's hard not to acknowledge how utterly brainless and fun watching this can be, especially when guys and gals dressed in high tech military hardware start blasting guns and shoot the crap out of each other. Given, the trailer was a major dissuading factor, and promotional images leaked online in the months leading to the film's release seemed to inkle that the movie just wouldn't fare well compared to other sure hits like Star Trek and Transfromers: Revenge Of The Fallen. In fact, the image of Snake-Eyes seemed atrocious at first, because he was wearing "cargo-pants" under his sleek V2 styled outfit. I was kinda leaning towards being a none believer, but I wanted to keep an open mind and give this movie a fair chance, so I waited til the release date to see what it could offer. Now that it's here and finally screening in theaters around the world, I have to say, it was downright impressive.
For the casting choices, the filmmakers must've wanted to give a round up cast to play this movie right to the audience. It's not as deep and dramatic as one might expect from a military film, but they got pretty good personalities rounding up the cast. Channing Tatum's Duke isn't really a stand out, but the guy has your average joe appeal going for him that he seems like the perfect guy to play the lead role many associate a typical G.I.Joe character with. Dennis Quaid as General Hawk, what can I say? Iconic role, and he hardly has to do a thing except command and lead the team trying to save the world. He does look like the type of guy to be in a position of authority, but he's also known for his light hearted looks too, and it kind of fits with the role he's playing. Marlon Wayans as "Ripcord" is ok, but the character in the original series wasn't an African American. He could have been called Stalker, but then again, I guess they needed to justify why he flies a plane later in the film. Heavy Duty could have been Roadblock, but I guess they were aiming for different nations joining in on the fight, and since G.I.Joe is an international force, why wouldn't there be diversity? Decent cast for the heroes, but I am missing one more...
Oh yes, SNAKE EYES. He's just BADASS. I can't say enough to describe Ray Park's role here. He's perfect, and he's got the skills and the outfit to match that bad assery of his. No words can describe the scenes and stunts he filmed, especially the fights against Storm Shadow, played by Lee Byung-Hun. While the treatment of their Arashikage past and heritage is quite different compared to the comics, both guys play their parts well... maybe TOO WELL. I guess as the saying goes, "seeing is believing", so you'll all have to just watch for yourselves and find out why their rivalry KICKS ASS.
Baroness and Scarlett are major hotties; HOTTIES that cannot be ignored and will be headliners for this film for sure. I'm impressed with the way they handled the character of The Baroness in particular. Sure, it's not the same aristocratic femme fatale we've known in the classics, but her interpretation here is justified as she still kicks ass and has a past that ties directly to G.I.Joe lead Duke. Scarlett? Well, she's smart and has the looks... so much so that it makes Ripcord envious and attracted to her. I would have wanted her relationship with Snake-Eyes to play out, but I guess the filmmakers didn't have time to incorporate that. Oh well... she's still HOT.
While they were the baddies of this film, I can truly say that the versions of Cobra Commander and Destro here seemed a little too far fetched and forced somewhat. Sure, they were the masterminds behind the whole ordeal the joes go through in this adventure, but I felt as though something was lacking, and the only thing established was their own origin stories and personas. Plot twists were kind of predictable towards the end, but with everything laid out in the open now, it's obvious that a sequel's coming. Oh, and if you're really a fan of the franchise, you'll notice some cameos by other prominent joes and baddies. In fact, since Stephen Sommers directed this, there's a cameo from two stars who worked with him before... who they are, I'm not telling so as not to spoil the surprise.;)
Overall, I can nitpick and bash about how unfaithful G.I.Joe: The Rise Of Cobra can be when compared to its source material, but that just wouldn't be fair now, would it? Bottomline, I think it was an AWESOME movie (Hasbro even has their own animated movie logo now!). Go do yourself a favor and go see this as soon as possible. I can honestly say it's WAY BETTER and more appealing than Transformers 2 now, and it might get many (like myself) into the toys all the more. So what you waiting for? Sound off and cry YO JOE!
Score - 5/5
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