Now Showing...: September 2009

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Directed By: Stephen Sommers
Starring: Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Sienna Miller, Ray Park, Dennis Quaid

What’s It About

A military program called M.A.R.S has built a missile that will revolutionize the way wars are fought. Two soldiers, Duke (Tatum) and Ripcord (Wayans) are given the task of getting the missiles to a safe location, but when their convoy is attacked by an unknown terrorist organization, (Oh please, don’t act like you didn’t know this was coming!), their rescue comes from a group of super soldiers known as the G.I Joes. Hell bent on finishing their task and finding out who was behind the attack, Duke and Ripcord eventually join this elite group of men…err, and women.

Thoughts

Did these “Real American Heroes” ever have a chance of having a really good film made about them? Let’s think about this for a second. Here are some of the characters names: Snake Eyes, the Baroness, Storm Shadow, Heavy Duty, and Cobra Commander. The name of the agency is G.I Joe. This was a toy line first, then a cartoon which was more like a 30 minute commercial for the toy line. On top of all of this, once the movie was green lit, the studio decides to hire the man responsible for “The Mummy” franchise to direct this. Have I burst a couple of bubbles?

Watching G.I Joe is like watching the cut scenes for a video game. The cut scenes are just there to justify the action. With that, the storyline in Joe only serves to get you from one action sequence to the next. Now, if you grew up playing with the figures and watching the cartoons, then you should know what to expect. I say this because last time I checked; little boys don’t make up intricate storylines while playing with their Joes and the cartoon never inspired to dig deep. Neither does this film and the couple of times that it tries to, it fails.

Though it may sound as if this film is horrible, truth is, it isn't. When you look at Joe for what it is trying to be, you begin to have fun with it. It wants to be campy, silly, and cool, but most importantly, it wants to entertain, and during the 118 minute run time, you will be. Much like the Transformers films, as long as you go in knowing what to expect, you’ll be fine. Oh yeah, and don’t worry about there being a lack of actions scenes here. Joe is chock full of them! From the convoy attack in the U.S., to the chase in Paris, all the way to the Arctic for the final showdown, the Joes and the Cobras know how to tear it up! To top it off, performances are decent all the way around, and there is a great opening for a sequel.

For the casual guy… or gal, who just wants to watch a fun action flick that doesn’t require much thinking, or for anyone who grew up watching or playing with these Joes, this really isn’t such a bad movie, if anything it’s a fun trip. Just remember, it wasn’t meant to be serious or bigger than what it is. And knowing that is half the battle!

Memorable Moment

The chase scene in Paris. Marlon Wayans is funny in it.

FYI

Brendan Fraser makes a guest appearance as Sgt. Stone!

Score

5 out of 10