*** Official G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Steve Christou]

[SIZE= larger]No go:
Paramount won't show critics `G.I. Joe'[/SIZE]


"G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" opens Friday, but Paramount Pictures isn't screening the blockbuster for critics beforehand. Only a select few writers from blogs and movie Web sites have seen it for review — such as Harry Knowles, the self-professed "Head Geek" from Ain't It Cool News — and their opinions have been mostly positive.

Long before anyone saw the completed product, though, "G.I. Joe" drew mixed buzz at best for its trailer, which premiered during the Super Bowl. Now it's the final action picture of the summer — and it has a lot in common with the highest-grossing film so far this year, the "Transformers" sequel. Both are effects-laden spectacles based on Hasbro toys and both are Paramount releases from producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.

"Transformers" has gone on to gross more than $388 million in the United States alone since its opening six weeks ago, despite receiving just 20 percent positive reviews on the Web site Rotten Tomatoes, a critical aggregator. The withholding of "G.I. Joe" from mainstream critics suggests that the studios believe they can succeed at the box office without them.

"It's silly. It's a film that plays on its own terms," says Devin Faraci from the film Web site CHUD.com. "I don't think reviews will kill it but I think it'll get a more positive response than they expect. It's a big, silly, pulpy, cartoony action film and it makes no apologies for being that way."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090804/ap_en_mo/us_film_gi_joe_2

 

[Brent M]

So far, the early reviews are surprising good. 10 out of 11 critics at RT have given it a positive which is better than pretty much anyone could have expected.

 

[Steve Christou]

That is surprising, well until more reviews pop up next week. I found Harry Knowles review, he liked it, but than he does tend to like everything (much like me). Here are some spoiler free snippets -

A few weeks ago, I got a voice mail from Stephen Sommers that took me to task for calling VAN HELSING ridiculously goofy retarded fun. He remembered that I gave VAN HELSING a positive review – but if you go back and you look at that review – I talk about Saturday Morning Cartoons, about the sugary confections one must consume to get your brain to the hyper-mental glee state that was necessary to enjoy Saturday Morning Universal Monsters. And while Sommers and I haven’t spoken since that voice mail, if I were to talk to him – I’d say… “What’s wrong with goofy retarded fun, I like it, but I can admit that it’s got goofy retarded fun in it.” And if he asked what was goofily retarded… I’d point out FRANKENSTEIN’s Monster SWINGING. The very definition of goofy retarded fun.

G.I. JOE is not VAN HELSING. It is also not the MUMMY films, nor is it DEEP RISING. In fact, it is very much Sommers’ most fun film and possibly his best work to date.

I was really stunned watching the film. If you’re not at least feeling this movie working after the first action sequence – there’s probably little hope for you, but to me – getting to tour JOE HQ, getting to try out new JOE tech, a crazy awesome trial run in Paris that goes huge big, then Pre-Cobra Command assault. The last act follows action in multiple locales, but while it does require that you pay attention, I really enjoyed it.

Of the BIG live action SUMMER films – this is one that you should have quite a bit of fun with. But now I’m really curious how hardcore JOE geeks react – along with noobs. I do know that my Commie Liberal sister (if you think I’m liberal, you really have no idea how conservative I am by comparison) – she went in wanting to hate it as Militaristic Propaganda to program our youth to “Go JOE” – but instead she came out loving how science fiction it was. How it really departs from the here and now. This is a pretty wild ride through a kinda hopeful not too distant future. More science fiction than military or war. Here's hoping we get to see S.H.I.E.L.D. vs A.I.M.!!!

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now designated the Official Discussion Thread for "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra". Please, post all comments, links to outside reviews, film and box office discussion items to this thread.

All HTF member film reviews of "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" should be posted to the Official Review Thread.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.


Crawdaddy

 

[Ken Chan]

I understand the Cisco product placement for telepresence, but not the one for Norton Internet Security, which seemed to have an unintended effect.

 

[Steve Christou]

Well well, G.I. Joe opened with $56.2m in the US and $100m worldwide, the reviews on the forum have been interesting so I'm looking forward to seeing the film some time this week.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090809/ap_on_en_mo/us_box_office;_ylt=AkDJ47NEb495tziv0zkafShg.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTJnb3JqanJjBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwODA5L3VzX2JveF9vZmZpY2UEY3BvcwM3BHBvcwM3BHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDZ2lqb2Vjb21tYW5k

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I love big, loud action movies as much as the next guy, but this one was pretty awful. It's so cartoony it makes "Transformers" look like Shakespeare, and it's just not any FUN. I felt like someone trapped me in a trashcan for two hours while they beat on the sides with baseball bats - it was an assault, but not an enjoyable one ala "Dark Knight". Even for a movie based on a comic based on a toy, this one was just stupid...

 

[Brent M]

Thought it was fun flick. Ranking this summer's big action movies I thought it was a million times better than Transformers, Wolverine and Terminator Salvation, but not anywhere on the level of Star Trek. Honestly, I spent half the film trying to decide who was hotter: Sienna Miller or Rachel Nichols.

 

[BrettV]

Really enjoyed this movie. When you go to a Sommers flick, you pretty much know what to expect. And to me, he delivered on all levels.

 

[MattFini]

I went to see this on a whim last night and I'm glad I did.

I had a blast!

Dare I say, I liked it even more than Star Trek - but that's probably just the hardcore Joe fan in me screaming to get out.

It was fun. While they changed a lot of the backstories, the film managed to capture the overall feeling of the characters very well. Seeing Scarlett hop on that motocycle and wield a crossbow was a major geek moment for me, as was seeing Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow battle it out.

Sienna Miller stole every scene she was in. I was kinda ticked that they changed her character so much, and I didn't really like the final "twist" involving her, but she was easily the best villain in the film and easily one of the greatest in recent memory. In fact, I seriously doubt I would've enjoyed watching the film as much had she not been in it.

Her gratuitous cleavage shots were a beautiful bonus as well. Good God, she NEEDS to stay a brunette.

The action was well handled and exciting. Loved the opening firefight, and the Cobra (er, MARS) weaponry was very cool. The sonic weapons reminded me of an upgraded version of the lasers from the cartoon and it was very fun to see them in play here.

My biggest qualm was the way in which they handled Cobra Commander. He should've been front and center for the entire film - and in his original outfit - it was neat when he finally became the commander, just in time for the movie to end.

Overall, this was a blast. I will certainly be buying the Blu-ray asap, and I'll be stopping off at Target after work to snap up a few of the movie tie-in action figures.

 

[mattCR]

Has anyone else thought this also looked shockingly like "Team America: World Police" live action and less fun?

 

[Andy Sheets]

Originally Posted by mattCR

Has anyone else thought this also looked shockingly like "Team America: World Police" live action and less fun?

Team America's a great movie but I thought GI Joe was amusing in its own way. The scene that most reminded me of Team America in the trailers actually surprised me in the film because it went *way* beyond anything in Team America. In that movie the heroes only destroyed landmarks but in GI Joe not only did the Eiffel Tower get wasted, the Joes must have also gotten hundreds of innocent bystanders killed with that single-minded chase through the streets. And their only reaction after it was all over was "Whoa, man!" *LOL*

 

[mattCR]

That's what I kept thinking as cars kept exploding and being flipped over, busses being rammed into buildings..

It seemed stripped directly from Team America.. but with a lot more carnage