I first saw previews for GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra a couple of months ago. As the trailer unfolded on screen, I found myself getting more and more excited. What was this awesome movie that I was so absolutely going to see? Then I saw the big title appear: GI Joe. How embarrassing. A few weeks later, I saw the previews again, and was sucked in again. I even admitted to a few discreet friends that I just might have to go see it (yes, they laughed). Well, now I've seen it and I'm going public with that fact as well as my reaction: I loved it, and I'm not ashamed to say so! I don't know anything about GI Joe the doll—I'm sorry, the "action figure"—nor am I familiar with the comics. In fact, I didn't even know that there were GI Joe comics. So I came into the theatre with a group of friends and no expectations or foreknowledge.
Duke (Channing Tatum) is an American soldier whose team is tasked with guarding some very nasty warheads developed by the MARS corporation. Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) is his friend and fellow team member. Despite the team's impressive firepower and expertise, a group headed up by the Baroness (Sienna Miller) ambushes them. The technology of the attackers is off the scale, and Duke and Ripcord find themselves fighting for their lives in what appears to be a losing proposition. At the last minute, another team joins the fray and they, too, boast some very high tech weaponry. Fortunately, they're the good guys.
Such is Duke and Ripcord's introduction to GI JOE, a special black ops team headed up by General Hawk (Dennis Quaid). Their determination to avenge their team sees the men fighting along side such GI JOE luminaries as Scarlett (Rachel Nichols) and Snake Eyes (Ray Park) against baddies like Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee), "the doctor" (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the mysterious Zartan (Arnold Vosloo), and their very wealthy, very powerful supporters including the man behind the weapons genius of MARS, McCullen (Christopher Eccleston).
The stories and back stories being told are surprisingly intricate, yet even with no prior knowledge of the characters or setting, I had no problem following everything. But let's be honest here: the story isn't why you go to see a movie like this. It's the action, the explosions, the special effects that draw you in, and GI Joe has 'em all in spades. The effects are fantastic and the action is almost non-stop. Frankly, the story could have been simpler and the movie still pretty good; the fact that the script doesn't let us down is a real and welcome bonus. Simplistic? Yeah, in many ways it is. Simple? Not even close.
With a movie like this, acting ability is almost superfluous. Muscles and stunts are what it's all about. There is actually some decent acting in GI Joe (most notably from Sienna Miller and Christopher Eccleston), though some performers don't measure up in that regard. But that's okay, because the muscles and stunts are there; the fight scenes are intricately choreographed and well executed; and the CGI is both effective and, at times, jaw-dropping. Oh, and where low tech but nice surprises are concerned, keep your eyes open for a nice cameo from an actor we've seen in one or two other action flicks.
BOTTOM LINE: I had a ball. The friends I was with (three guys in their early 20's) had fun, too. If you're more into serious dramas or sophisticated comedies, stay away from this one. But if you like action, special effects, and pure movie entertainment, go ahead and put GI Joe on your movie-going itinerary. By the way, GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra positively screams, "Sequel! Sequel!" I'll tell you right now that, based on the first movie, I'll be buying a ticket for any follow-up they care to make.
FAMILY SUITABILITY: GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra is rated PG-13, which is fairly appropriate. The violence is almost non-stop and is, at times, fairly graphic. While there's no sex, and profanity is sparse and mild when it occurs, the overall film is quite intense, too much so for little ones. That being said, I suspect most little boys (older than, say, 7 or 8) will have no problem seeing GI Joe and will probably like it quite a bit. Most little girls likely won't like it at all.
POLITICAL NOTES: One world government? That's a problem for me, and apparently a problem for GI Joe as well. In the movies, the ultimate goal of the bad guys is supposed to horrify us and make us want them to fail. What do the bad guys in GI Joe want? A one world government. That's not a bad message to send, especially given the proclivities of some in this country to institute just that.
Duke (Channing Tatum) is an American soldier whose team is tasked with guarding some very nasty warheads developed by the MARS corporation. Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) is his friend and fellow team member. Despite the team's impressive firepower and expertise, a group headed up by the Baroness (Sienna Miller) ambushes them. The technology of the attackers is off the scale, and Duke and Ripcord find themselves fighting for their lives in what appears to be a losing proposition. At the last minute, another team joins the fray and they, too, boast some very high tech weaponry. Fortunately, they're the good guys.
Such is Duke and Ripcord's introduction to GI JOE, a special black ops team headed up by General Hawk (Dennis Quaid). Their determination to avenge their team sees the men fighting along side such GI JOE luminaries as Scarlett (Rachel Nichols) and Snake Eyes (Ray Park) against baddies like Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee), "the doctor" (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the mysterious Zartan (Arnold Vosloo), and their very wealthy, very powerful supporters including the man behind the weapons genius of MARS, McCullen (Christopher Eccleston).
The stories and back stories being told are surprisingly intricate, yet even with no prior knowledge of the characters or setting, I had no problem following everything. But let's be honest here: the story isn't why you go to see a movie like this. It's the action, the explosions, the special effects that draw you in, and GI Joe has 'em all in spades. The effects are fantastic and the action is almost non-stop. Frankly, the story could have been simpler and the movie still pretty good; the fact that the script doesn't let us down is a real and welcome bonus. Simplistic? Yeah, in many ways it is. Simple? Not even close.
With a movie like this, acting ability is almost superfluous. Muscles and stunts are what it's all about. There is actually some decent acting in GI Joe (most notably from Sienna Miller and Christopher Eccleston), though some performers don't measure up in that regard. But that's okay, because the muscles and stunts are there; the fight scenes are intricately choreographed and well executed; and the CGI is both effective and, at times, jaw-dropping. Oh, and where low tech but nice surprises are concerned, keep your eyes open for a nice cameo from an actor we've seen in one or two other action flicks.
BOTTOM LINE: I had a ball. The friends I was with (three guys in their early 20's) had fun, too. If you're more into serious dramas or sophisticated comedies, stay away from this one. But if you like action, special effects, and pure movie entertainment, go ahead and put GI Joe on your movie-going itinerary. By the way, GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra positively screams, "Sequel! Sequel!" I'll tell you right now that, based on the first movie, I'll be buying a ticket for any follow-up they care to make.
FAMILY SUITABILITY: GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra is rated PG-13, which is fairly appropriate. The violence is almost non-stop and is, at times, fairly graphic. While there's no sex, and profanity is sparse and mild when it occurs, the overall film is quite intense, too much so for little ones. That being said, I suspect most little boys (older than, say, 7 or 8) will have no problem seeing GI Joe and will probably like it quite a bit. Most little girls likely won't like it at all.
POLITICAL NOTES: One world government? That's a problem for me, and apparently a problem for GI Joe as well. In the movies, the ultimate goal of the bad guys is supposed to horrify us and make us want them to fail. What do the bad guys in GI Joe want? A one world government. That's not a bad message to send, especially given the proclivities of some in this country to institute just that.