GI JOE Post Release

devincf, this is great news and I cannot wait to read your... Review.

Fun enough to pay for a movie ticket for?

I see a Transformers-type situation coming(if this is successful, anyway), where the first is given a lot of positive reviews(I'm not just talking Devin here), then the sequel is massacred by the same critics, despite being more of the same(emphasis on "more").
We'll see, anecdotal evidence suggests to me no one wants to see this, but I don't hang out with many kids, or fleed.

On a positive note, cool to hear it's fun. That's all anyone could ask for, really.

Hooray!
I guess it's officially time for the "this is the worst crime in the history of cinema" hyperbole to stop around here!

I know this sounds weird, but I'll watch anything with Byung Hun Lee in it.

I'm glad they haven't shown the kid on kid violence in any of the ads or clips.
I want to see that for the first time on the largest screen I can find.

Actually they have. There are red ninjas in it, which is kinda cool.

I'm glad it's pretty damn fun. I do wonder about background Joes and if there are any references to specific ones.

Done.

really excited to read a positive review, just enough justification to try to see this in the theater.

Glad ya liked it, Devin. I'm pleasantly surprised you have it such a high rating. I'll be seeing this for sure, with my 10 and 7 year old boys.

How did Cobra Commander fare onscreen in his plexi-mask? Was it fromageux?

I'm really shocked by this review, and a couple of positive ones over at AICN. How can a movie with nothing but diarrhea-spewing horrible trailers, be any good?

I'm skeptical. I think this flick is a rental, at best.

Sequel! [?]

Ever since the initial wailing and gnashing of teeth over this started, I had a sneaking suspicion it would turn out almost exactly as Devin described it.

Awesome review Devin. It's nice to hear some positivity being thrown Sommer's way once again (justifiably so, apparently) and it sounds like he approached this knowing exactly what it was and should be. Interest now set to high.

Serious question though, for anyone who might know... With all the crap previously thrown about for the film was the idea of a possible sequel ever considered? Like, they assembled this cast but were any measures taken to try to keep them together for any possible sequel(s), or was the negative buzz enough to drive a stake into that? I'm not trying to get ahead of myself talking about sequels already, I'm just curious about the inner workings on this one in particular.

Well I'll be damned.

So it's the cheesy OTT of STREET FIGHTER, but with awesome action finally? Sold.

I remember reading somewhere that a sequel has already been greenlit, but with the state of irresponsible cyber-news-report, that could be another load of shit. My guess is that they know they have a franchise on their hands with endless possibilities, so the sequel is inevitable, unless it makes a hundred bucks on opening weekend.

http://www.cinefools.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleID=997

"Our host Jabba, yes only in Australia could a host of a Press Conference of a major Hollywood movie be called Jabba, asked if the cast were locked in for a sequel. Director Sommers had hinted at it throughout the Conference and here is his answer.

"Yes they are!" the whole cast smile and nod their heads and make a lot of noise but amidst it all Sommers shouted "Next Summer!"

Im swallowing my pride and eating my own words after that review...I'll take it even further and bring my 12, 10 and 8 year old nephews with me to the theater as well.
And if end up having as much fun as they probably will (given devin's review), Ill personally apologize to Sommers if i ever meet him.

Awesome this review is everything I hoped the movie would be I can't wait to see it.

Reading Devin's review I thought "I shouldn't be reading this." Not because it was poorly written (not by a long shot), but because he gave it so much praise. This won't be a disaster?

Color me shocked.

I've been suspecting this all along. I know I'm not completely retarded, and I have generally good taste in movies, so when I kept getting excited at the trailers for it, I had a hunch.

I ride my bike to and from work, and whattya know, my route home goes by a liquor store AND a movie theater that will be playing GI Joe (in that order).

It's almost TOO simple.

My girlfriend is refusing to see this with me, and I'm perfectly fine with that. I'm going to have a blast.

Pretty cool review. I'd lost all hope in this, but I might have to check it out after all.

Notice how fleed hasn't posted in here? That's because he hasn't seen the movie yet.

Whiskey tango foxtrot, Of course I haven't seen...G.I. Joe Rise Of Cobra yet, it doesn't arrive in theaters til next week. When I do see it..."I will return." General MacArthur. YO JOE!

When you do see it.

This is a great review. As a fan of the toys I've been dreading this film but if Dev can have fun with it I'm sure I can.

I agree though that this review seems to be in the sort of favor the first Transformers got while the sequel was just shit upon. I.E Solid mindless fun with flair. Of course that was pretty spot on given just how TF2 was just TOO much. I think I would have liked it had they dialed things back a couple degrees.

Of course, I could just be too optimistic in the fact that JOE was a staple of my early years and the fact that I tend to trust Devin that I'm exicted now.

Well that doubled with the fact that I'm pretty excited to see Sienna Miller in a Underwold style costume. As opposed to Rachel Nichol's fantastic rack she's actually a great little actress and if this gets her the proper exposure outside of Jude Law's infidelity I will be happy.

Could this REALLY be the surprise of the summmer? It's seems to be shaping up that way...

You guys are aware there's an active pre Release thread right?

Excellent take on the film, Devin. Very good to hear. And I thoroughly look forward to all the March Violets who 'come around' on the film, now that it's actually being seen. The one thing the internet is good for...abrupt "about face"'s from fickle fanboys.

Sincerely, this is the best of all the news. A pastiche of these films works for me like a crack-hungry hooker.

This is exactly why, even 40 years later, Adam West's Batman works and the Kilmer/Clooney ones don't. Misunderstanding this crucial point weakend JCVD's STREET FIGHTER a tad, but it still had the nerve to laugh at itself enough.

My wife's game. Just gotta square away a babysitter (ironic, considering the source material).

I enjoyed the hell out of this flick, and devincf is right on the money with his review.

Jinx is a real obvious one (stealth cameo sparing test), Stuff during the end credits, names, terms and designations (X-30 being the X-29 based Joe Fighterer from 86) being on the metal texture during the credits, but I didn't stick around, it was a Black Eye Pea's song remixed, so that meant it was time to leave, quickly.

Among the many things in this film I liked, anything with Arnold Vosloo's Zartan was a treat. He was relishing his minor role as such a slimy villain.

It's funny, but I think I had lowered my expectations about what was possible on film. Like I saw Iron Man and it seemed pretty good. There was that action scene in the village and at the end there's the tumble in the streets. I basically thought that's what money gets you. Pick any other block buster, and you get a rough idea of what's possible.

But this film, they just do it. Super mega base under the desert with underwater sections and holo-training. Check. Rampaging car chase with massive collateral damage through the streets of Paris. Check. Underwater base with massive sub battle complete with pulse canon and ninja fights. Check!

So I basically had a great time. It feels like you've got all your toys (any toys, we didn't really have GI Joe in Aus) out on the floor and you are just smashing them together. Like I've got an evil lizard man in my sisters barbie car and he's driving toward the book shelf where there's a super cannon and He-Man jumps on the car and smashes it and the lizard man gets out then... you get the picture, but that's the silly fun I had with this.

It's not the greatest film ever made. I didn't give two shits about the characters. Some of the action is more confusing than exciting. But it feels like they had a great time making it, and they did everything they wanted to and that enthusiasm sweeps you up.

Also, this is the sort of film Transformers should have been.

Okay, just saw it....oh boy, how do I pull this off without looking like a retard/fanboy/douchebag?; hell here goes:
Movie is damn fun and it works as a popcorn blockbuster flick; it entertains you through pretty much all of its run time, looks cool and it manages to keep be camp as hell without inducing a single groan of sarcasm or cynicism; I think everyone's right in that this movie puts you in the "kid with a box full of cool toys and all the time in the world" state of mind.
Okay, time to go fanboy here...
As a kid who grew up with the cartoons and the toys, I loved it.
But as a teen/young adult that grew up with the Marvel/devil's Due comic books, I wished the movie would had been more "adult" in some parts, and had a few gripes with the movie deviating from the source material (then again, its obvious just the cartoon and toys were the source here, despite Larry Hama's involvement):
-The Baroness...I hated how her character was handled, since pretty much all her character appeal come from her being actually evil and her relationship with Destro and her backstabbing ways. I suppose there's no place for strong, well developed women villains in movies these days.
-Cobra Commander's origin/reveal was "meh"...hell, half the fascination we all had with the character as kids/teens was the complete mystery and utter craziness of his origins; that and a natural hate/distrust of used car salesmen.
-The ending was lackluster in my opinion...it had just such a "good guys must win!" vibe to it, and if the film had a bit more balls, it would had pulled a "villains get away for the sequel" ending.

...And thats about it. Guess I owe Stephen Sommers an apology.

PS: I'd like to add that I loved being wrong on the ending of the final Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow fight; as soon as SS started to fell, I was already thinking he was going to get vaporized by the rays on the way down, and I was gladly proved wrong.

Agreed; Raul Julia in "Street Fighter" is essentially just as fun to watch as Brian Blessed in "Flash Gordon"; they both look like there having such a a blast with the craziness of their roles and the movie they're in, its just infects you and puts you in the right state of mind.
Kinda hard to pinpoint who pulls that off in "GI.Joe", but I'm going with Vosloo, Eccleston, Gordon-Levitt, Quaid and Miller...each of them looks like thy are just having too much fun chewing scenery left and right and doing stuff onscreen that should be nothing short of ridiculous.
Gordon-Levitt and Vosloo, however, take the "Im actually taking this shit seriously!" and "This is just too fucking fun" prizes, however.

I thought Vosloo was pretty cool in his short role. I wish he was in more things. Having Brendan Fraiser do a cameo was also nice. It added to that vibe that Sommers was having lots of fun and he brought all his friends along.

Fun is the right word. There was some awfulness via the Wayans brother and and the ridiculous stuff with the Baroness, but I generally enjoyed it throughout.

It is the second best action 'blockbuster' of the Summer behind Star Trek. In particular it kicks the crap out of Transformers 2.

edit. though I have to add, Snake Eyes's lips are really stupid.

Even though it was the intellectual equivalent of a fifth-grade boy's restroom, I had a great time with this. I can't decide if it works better as the more serious Team America or the less serious Sky Captain. Either way, it's relentless, loud, silly and a shitload of fun. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Sommers completely schooled Michael Bay at his own game.

I love how they destroy half of Paris before the villains even launch their weapons. That whole sequence was just crazy.

Rachel Nichols seriously needs to marry me.

i didn't think i'd see a movie worse than wolverine this year

but then i saw gi joe

Second only to Observe & Report as the funniest movie of the year. I thought Micah and I were going to shit ourselves.

Cobra was much more interesting and awesome with the wig.

I'm not at all familiar with the source, so lines like "Dr Mindbender taught me everything he knew" were awesomely silly.

That was one of the most terrible movies I have ever seen. Easily Sommers worst. Anyone who says it's better than TF2 is forever suspect until the end of time.

ETA: OMG. The plot. Destro created some nano warheads. He sold them to Nato. Coincidentally, a guy who was related to his "doctor" was delivering them. Then Destro decided to go to elaborate lengths to steal them back, even though he created them and could easily have a thousand of them at his disposal. He fails at getting them back, but then he... I can't even do this. I honestly have no clue what happened.

Please, Bateman. This shit rocked. Not only that, but it was educational. For example, I didn't know that:

- The sole reason why we haven't triumphed in all foreign wars including Afghanistan and Iraq is because we aren't using Gaelic fighter jets. That's unstoppable technology right there.

- That Blade was part of the G.I. Joe universe, but instead of killing vampires, he speaks in a fantastic (read: shit) cockney accent and drives a lot.

- G.I. Joe headquarters is so high-tech that it knows not to set off any alarms when earthquake tremors happen or when manned drills penetrate its walls....but let General Hawk hit a panic button, and it's a different story.

- Snake Eyes took a vow of silence as a child. Not to keep from speaking, mind you (because he never spoke), but to keep from making random grunts while engaged in martial arts battles.

- One day we'll relax that silly rule about having to actually be a natural American to President of the United States. Not for Arnold Schwarzenegger, but rather for Arnold Vosloo (Well, Jonathan Pryce, anyway). AS IT SHOULD BE.

Seriously, Sommers failed upward. Big time.

Yeah. That's probably what will happen.

Actually, yes. I thought of Street Fighter a lot while watching this. It's a lot like that. But slicker, with a bigger budget and generally better actors.

I was surprised to like this movie as much as I did.

Devin pretty much voiced what I think of the movie so I'll leave it at that. The Danger: Diabolik and Flash Gordon comparisons are apt. This is just a fun, campy movie that wears its enthusiasm on its sleeve.

One thing, though: Did anyone else laugh out loud uncontrollably when that Hasbro logo came on the screen as one of the production logos? I laughed twice... First - at the reveal of the spectacular production company logo.



I began giggling like an idiot.

Then, when it said: "Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment present... In association with HASBRO" the cumulative effect of the production company logo plus that made the giggle turn into a guffaw.

I then proceeded to be richly entertained by the rest of the movie.

YO JOE!

Dear God, how awesome would this have been with a John Phillip Law-caliber lead? Instead, it's goddamn Channing Tatum.

You forgot the music:

(DUH DUH!!!!!) "Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment....."

(DUH FUCKING DUH!!!!) "...in association with HASBRO"

this movie had no right being this entertaining - the terrible trailers, the horrible stills

but then grinning Arnold Vosloo was revealed, Christopher Eccleston was constantly surrounded by holograms (which then the camera pulled away to reveal he's not in a plane but a super-sub on his way to Spider-Skull Island) Brendan Fraser cameos and Saïd Taghmaoui gave us a little lesson in Earth Science and geometry!

thirding the Street Fighter vibe - i couldn't wait for the grim crowd in the control room to burst out in applause and cheers, tossing papers into the air while JCVD gives a rousing speech (upreever, son-of-the-bitch Bison's ass, etc). I also enjoyed how the movie did flashbacks - rather than slogging through 45 minutes of exposition and backstory and being an "origins" movie, Sommers was content to give us a couple of minutes here and there, keeping everything flowing quite nicely.

The movie really shines when compared to the similar-yet-supremely-idiotic Transformers 2. TF2 was much stupider, much more crass and bloated, and had multiple balls, humping and fart jokes. While GI JOE had it's fair share of stupid comedy (Wayans) the movie was pretty darn kid-friendly - there were many violent kills but nothing overtly gratuitous.

The lack of commercials in the movie surprised me, too. Other than the standard Cisco ad and that dumb-looking Spyder motorcycle, nothing stood out to me like the constant barrage of commercials and soft drinks in TF2. (Oh wait nvm, Breaker (right name?) has Norton Antivirus on his magic PATRIOTACT computer.)

If I had an eight-year old kid, I would gladly take him to this movie - TF2 with all its tits and swearin', I would feel much less comfortable with him/her seeing. I was dreading this movie all summer, but now? I want another one, and soon.

The pacing alone makes this way, way better than Transformers 2.

Right. It's a movie that understands that this is a cartoon based on a toy line and doesn't need to be 3 hours long to tell a stupid story about stupid people doing stupid things.

I'll go as far as to say it's better than the first Transformers.