G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Knowing is Half the Battle
There is a lot of things to say good and bad about G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, the first ever live-action film of the classic toy line from Hasbro. A plethora of stars on both sides of the good versus evil eisle, the movie had a lot things I loved, lots of concepts and things but there was also a distaste for the overall package, and that was there were no surprises, everything came as expected.
Like onions (and ogre’s) film’s have layers and this one has more sweet than sour but the sour ones are more memorable, which is so unfortunate.
Likes
Layer 1- I enjoyed the cast. They seemed to fit their respective characters very well giving them a believable look and portrayal based on their various cartoon and toy incarnations. More specifically the 2 leads, Channing Tatum (Duke) and Marlon Wayans (Ripcord) were, in my mind, the standouts. Their chemistry was beleivable, they had humor, they had the sort of a buddy cop thing much like Riggins and Murtaugh – except they’re both hotshots. I also had to commend Sienna Miller (The Baroness), who everytime she was onscreen I was riveted until Rachel Nichols stunning face and body hit the screen. Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes were perfect and Eccelston’s Destro was exactly who he should have been.
Layer 2 - A few other things I liked was the idea to set this team in the “distant future” too many times we beg for realism, we beg for a more dated concept to fullfil our childhood stories in a more mature tone, this unmistakenly due to be spoiled by Nolan’s Batman creating a false sense that everything from our childhood can be real. In a live action G.I. Joe this distant future concept works, why wouldn’t we after the war in Iraq and the way the global economy has gone not partner with other nations to produce a team of elite commandos, spanning Delta Force, M:I6, French Secret Service, etc? Makes sense to me especially in world where terrorism is our biggest nemesis.
Layer 3 - Its the distant future why not use a distant technology such as nanotechnology? I mean is that any different that some kind of sonar cell phone tracking or a microwave emitter in Nolan’s realistic batverse? Is that any different that watching cybornetic alien robots in Transformers? No, its called suspension of disbelief, every movie has it, even the more realistic/mature ones.
Layer 4 - combining and origin for the main characters on both sides without pressing the issue. We got Ripcords and Duke’s through a combination of flashbacks and dialogue. We got the Baroness’ through a flashback, Breaker and Heavy-Duty’s through dialogue, Destro’s ancestry in flashbacks and dialogue, Cobra’s origin, Scarlett’s brief history through dialogue, lastly Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow’s feud. Its all there and I was pleased.
Layer 5 - the action sequences and pace of the film worked for me. I liked the build-up and a majority of the special effects were not eye rolling or off-putting.
Dislikes
Layer 6 - I bounce back to character development and Cobra stands out. I didn’t really think he should have had an origin, one of the things I loved about the cartoon was he didn’t have one, he was just a menacing guy with a creepy and raspy voice. I would have preferred his origin be non-existent, Nolan proved that could work with the Joker and there should be no difference. I think the origin hurt its actor, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and that to me was why he just never hit home nor gave me any kind of reaction to his menace or thirst. I do not think there is anything scarier is a force you know nothing about and there was potential for that with this film.
Layer 7 - I was left with no real idea of where a sequel would go and as a bonefide box office winner for August, I do not see any reason why they wouldn’t plan a sequel for this type of franchise.
Layer 8 - Most of the visual effects seemed okay but in typical Sommers fashion they are a little overdone and that killed somethings for like Destro’s metal face, the underwater battle and the seemingly too green nanomites – which in reality would be too small to see.
Layer 9 - Certain puns were a little forced and so were some cameos.
Layer 10 - (spoiler) someone presumably died at the end that just didn’t make any sense for a future film nor did it make me happy in any way.
So there you have my layers of the film. Ultimately, I think people need to remember like Transformers this film is an extension of the classic Hasbro toys. While the nature of the characters and worlds give the bones for good storytelling ultimately Hasbro is interested in selling toys. Today’s primary toy consumer is what it always has been – kids. Children have far more imagination and enjoy some uncomplexities to a film like this. Those expecting a G.I. Joe movie to be more gritty, more realistic, it will never happen because that won’t sell toys. I want someone to look at Nolan’s Batman-verse toys sold compared to Burton’s and Schumaker’s – I bet you they win – even based on inflation. I liked G.I. Joe, it was exactly what it should have been. Could things have been better? absolutely but this movie differs in no way from any of the X-Men films, seriously think of the comparisons or do I have to do everything myself?
Total Score – 7 out of 10
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Categories: Fused Movies, Movie Reviews
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CUTTIE#1
