G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra Review Thread(Spoilers Allowed)
 

As the title says, like it, hate it, go crazy:D(Well not too crazy:p)

Re: G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra Review Thread(Spoilers Allowed)
 

As posted on Cybertron.ca. Quite a few haters on that side of the fence, so I figured I repost here.

Just got back so these are just my initial thoughts. It wasn’t perfect but it was still great. Where to begin? Gonna try to avoid it but there might be spoilers.

Action. Yes there is. Plenty of it. There are 4 major action sequences and a training sequences which is pretty entertaining. Each gets progressively bigger and better. And the last action sequence is wow. There’s a lot going on in it, and it is orchestrated very well. It felt a lot like watching the final action sequence from the various SW films, the end of X2, or a BSG epic fight. Action wise it had it all, explosions, gun fights, fist fights, high speed chases, epic “space” battles, stealth, military fire fights, foot chases, and ninjas.

Special effects are what they are. For the most part its hard to avoid how CG some of it looks, but there’s also a lot that looks completely organic. This movie goes nowhere with out them. I think what's more important is how well the live action component interacts with the CG.

Characters. There are some new twists. I don’t feel anyone is completely betrayed except maybe Stormshadow, but the new take makes him pretty cool. Scarlett has a cool crossbow. What I really like was that when they could individual characters and their skills are integrated into the plot, rather than just showcased in a “cool” moment. Much like how its was done with the X1 and X2. The bad guys are bad, the good guys are good. The real stand out is Baroness who isn't just eye candy, she really comes out as the female lead.

For Robimus. I honestly thought Marlon Wayans was not gonna be a Wayans. I was wrong. Still, he is reeled in and kept on a tight rope, most of his humor plays off well. In the end it’s a necessary evil, that is needed in the film.

The acting. No one is gonna win an Academy Award, what I like is no one tried too. Everyone knew they were in a film about toys, based mainly on the cartoon. Nobody tried to act outside the box, or out act anyone else, keeping the tone perfect through out. Completely avoiding the uneven acting issues that shows like Heroes has.

Plot. No one is watching this for a grounded sensical plot. It plods along and drives the action well. Its is really on the level with the craziest James Bond plot you can think of. Kinda like 007 evil plot on steroids. Aside from the realism, the plot makes sense, and has no glaring contradictions. Contradictions, yes, just not movie ruining glaring. This is definitely an origin story, but it never comes out and slaps you in the face with it, mainly because it drops the viewer half way into it. There's no long exposition, or extensive character drama which is perfect for this. Be prepared for flashbacks, they are completely justified, the placing is a little questionable. Any character twists are ruined by a quick glimpse of the cast list or a look at the toys, they aren't really important to the course of the film so knowing has minimal effect.

That’s all for now. I know its not gonna turn any haters into lovers. But for those excited about the film, including me, its everything I wanted.

Edit (something I added in a response over there): It really is on par with the storytelling seen in most of today's best video games. Except for the color palette, this could easily play out as Metal Gear Solid the movie.

Re: G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra Review Thread(Spoilers Allowed)
 

Action. This is all I care about in a movie like this. This is all I cared about in a movie like Transformers too. It's not that my expectations are low, it's just that action is all I go to these kinds of movies for. In something like a Christopher Nolan film, I expect certain things. As with a toy film, I just want eye candy. It's like going for a burger when you want a burger, or a steak if you want a steak. I wasn't gonna see the film, but I might now, maybe on a weekday if it's a slow night for me. Thanks for the review, dude. Yours was a little more level headed than some of the others I've been reading on the web.

Re: G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra Review Thread(Spoilers Allowed)
 

I really enjoyed this film. I too was hesitant when I found out that Sommers was the director, but my concerns were for not.

Sommers took concepts from both the comics and cartoon series and molded a truly interesting G.I.Joe story.

The Snake Eye's/Storm Shadow story was excellently presented through a series of flashbacks while the Doctor/Baroness/Duke triangle really added a lot to the motivation of the characters which went miles for me. Suddenly these were not all one dimensional characters, but characters with reasons for doing what they did. Great stuff.

Arnold Vosloo's fun preformance as Zartan really stood out for me. He was set up perfectly, callously murdered Cover Girl and became an integral part of the overall plot despite vanishing for most of the second half of the film.(His return in the last scene is priceless :D)

This movie actually ends with something of a cliffhanger, something most franchise movies don't have the courage to do. I commend Sommer's for that and sincerely hope he gets to make at least the one sequel.

I even like Storm Shadow's demise at the hands of Snake Eyes. It was needed to give the heroes more of a feeling of victory. In all honesty the good guys don't really win in this film, nor do they lose.

It struck an excellent balance between portraying both G.I.Joe and Cobra as extremely effective. Cobra wins a lot despite G.I.Joe winning as well. It wasn't a constant good guys making the bad guys look lame style of story.

Both Baroness and Scarlett as the female leads were excellent, big parts of the story. A lot more than the meaningless eye candy we often see in these types of films. Malon Wayan's was even decent and a lot more than just comic relief. Breaker had a nice role as well.

In fact the only character in the film that seemed constantly unimportant was Heavy Duty. He spend most the time just driving stuff...I was waiting for Miss Daisy to show up in the back of one of his vehicles:p

All in all its the best popcorn flick of the summer that I've seen. Way superior to Star Trek, Wolverine and Transformers.(I've yet to see Terminator). Thumbs way up for me.:)

Re: G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra Review Thread(Spoilers Allowed)
 

my initial reactions:

- Liked the awesome action sequences a lot!

- Didn't like how some of the story went against the established material!

- Liked Scarlett a lot! so hot! so very hot! :D

- The Baroness character was better than I expected

- The ninja action was as good as I expected

- Flashbacks were good for character background and story development

- The vehicles were used quite effectively and appropriately

- I was very sad about what happened to Cover Girl

Re: G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra Review Thread(Spoilers Allowed)
 

I thought that the film was fun and action packed. Some of the scenes went by at mach 5, but i was still excited. I know that many hardcore fans hate to see a lot of change to these charachters since they are our beloved ARAH, but i can accept change if it means i am gettin some 3 3/4 inch action figures and vehicles.
I like plastic!!
:)

Re: G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra Review Thread(Spoilers Allowed)
 

I agree with all you said, I would have preferred a Roadblock character over Heavy Duty. I miss Roadblocks charisma and rhymes. Regardless the movie was fun!

Re: G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra Review Thread(Spoilers Allowed)
 

Best Action figure movie this year. Made we want to go buy more toys. I think it's working Hasbro.
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VIRGIN GETS FUCKED