movie gi joe
Taking over the number one spot during its opening weekend, Rise of Cobra's time frame is set in the near future, where James McCullen (Christopher Eccleston), a weapons designer for M.A.R.S., creates weaponry deadly enough to destroy entire cities. After selling to the U.S., the Army, headed by Duke (Channing Tatum) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) lead a team of soldiers entrusted to deliver the warheads to their destination. Things quickly get out of hand, as the soldiers are ambushed by an elite team, led by Baroness (Sienna Miller), whose attempts of stealing the warheads do not prove fruitful, thanks to the arrival of Snake Eyes (Ray Park), Scarlett (Rachel Nichols), and Heavy Duty (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), part of a counter-elite squad themselves.
After saving Duke and Ripcord (and a brief stand-off), the soldiers and warheads are escorted to the Joe's base, known as The Pit. Though being relieved of their assignment by General Hawk (Dennis Quaid), Ripcord and Duke talk, then train their way into becoming Joes, in order to avenge their fellow soldiers killed in the previous battle, and thanks to Duke's knowledge of the Baroness' true identity. This sets in motion the constant battle throughout the film over the warheads, while weaving in and out of origin stories for multiple characters, delivering background through flashbacks for Duke, Ripcord, Baroness, and Baroness' brother, Rex Lewis (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), their relation to each other and why they become who they become (within the context of the movie, for all you die-hard comic book and cartoon fans). There's also McCullen's family story, showing who he's eventually destined to be. And of course, the source of rivalry between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow (Lee Byung-hun) is revealed.
The film was ok. Not the best movie of 2009, but definitely not the worst. Some of the strong points included Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow's fight scenes (and let's throw in Storm Shadow's casual attire, because that brotha was clean!), as well as Scarlett and Baroness' cool weapons. Throw in the origin stories, and little hints showing respect to the comics and cartoon (Hawk briefly in the wheelchair, Scarlett and Snake Eyes' affection, Destro and Baroness coupled up, old school gunfire in one of the fight scenes), and I was cool with it. Weak points? Some of the overall cheesiness (dialogue, certain parts of the CG), Duke's dry interactions with Baroness (pretty much bland all around for Tatum's performance), and some of Cobra Commander's reason for hating Duke (plothole?). One surprise though. While most felt Wayans would be a terrible fit for this film, he actually did a good job of blending comedy with serious; nothing too over the top.
What started as military themed children's action figures in the sixties, has since grown over the decades into numerous variations of toys, comic books, cartoons, cartoon movies, parodies, and now, a live action flick. The Joe's next mission? Paramount's hoping the popularity keeps up going into the sequel, and possibly, a trilogy.
G.I. Joe. Also starring Said Taghmaoui as Breaker, Arnold Vosloo as Zartan, and Karolina Kurkova as Cover Girl, with special appearance by Brendan Fraser as Sergeant Stone.
Taking over the number one spot during its opening weekend, Rise of Cobra's time frame is set in the near future, where James McCullen (Christopher Eccleston), a weapons designer for M.A.R.S., creates weaponry deadly enough to destroy entire cities. After selling to the U.S., the Army, headed by Duke (Channing Tatum) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) lead a team of soldiers entrusted to deliver the warheads to their destination. Things quickly get out of hand, as the soldiers are ambushed by an elite team, led by Baroness (Sienna Miller), whose attempts of stealing the warheads do not prove fruitful, thanks to the arrival of Snake Eyes (Ray Park), Scarlett (Rachel Nichols), and Heavy Duty (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), part of a counter-elite squad themselves.
After saving Duke and Ripcord (and a brief stand-off), the soldiers and warheads are escorted to the Joe's base, known as The Pit. Though being relieved of their assignment by General Hawk (Dennis Quaid), Ripcord and Duke talk, then train their way into becoming Joes, in order to avenge their fellow soldiers killed in the previous battle, and thanks to Duke's knowledge of the Baroness' true identity. This sets in motion the constant battle throughout the film over the warheads, while weaving in and out of origin stories for multiple characters, delivering background through flashbacks for Duke, Ripcord, Baroness, and Baroness' brother, Rex Lewis (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), their relation to each other and why they become who they become (within the context of the movie, for all you die-hard comic book and cartoon fans). There's also McCullen's family story, showing who he's eventually destined to be. And of course, the source of rivalry between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow (Lee Byung-hun) is revealed.
The film was ok. Not the best movie of 2009, but definitely not the worst. Some of the strong points included Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow's fight scenes (and let's throw in Storm Shadow's casual attire, because that brotha was clean!), as well as Scarlett and Baroness' cool weapons. Throw in the origin stories, and little hints showing respect to the comics and cartoon (Hawk briefly in the wheelchair, Scarlett and Snake Eyes' affection, Destro and Baroness coupled up, old school gunfire in one of the fight scenes), and I was cool with it. Weak points? Some of the overall cheesiness (dialogue, certain parts of the CG), Duke's dry interactions with Baroness (pretty much bland all around for Tatum's performance), and some of Cobra Commander's reason for hating Duke (plothole?). One surprise though. While most felt Wayans would be a terrible fit for this film, he actually did a good job of blending comedy with serious; nothing too over the top.
What started as military themed children's action figures in the sixties, has since grown over the decades into numerous variations of toys, comic books, cartoons, cartoon movies, parodies, and now, a live action flick. The Joe's next mission? Paramount's hoping the popularity keeps up going into the sequel, and possibly, a trilogy.
G.I. Joe. Also starring Said Taghmaoui as Breaker, Arnold Vosloo as Zartan, and Karolina Kurkova as Cover Girl, with special appearance by Brendan Fraser as Sergeant Stone.
No comments:
Post a Comment