I grew up in the 80s, a decade which should be forever remembered for two things- music and cartoons. Like Transformers and He-Man, I was a fan of GI Joe. I never collected the figures, but I had friends and family that did.
When Transformers hit the big screen and big money was the result, it became inevitable that GI Joe would also be made into a movie, despite the obvious conundrum of being based off a child's toy and yet dealing with very adult subjects like terrorism and warfare.
So, in 2009, the Rise of Cobra came out. Handicapped with not only that base conundrum, but also with the world's mood during the Great Recession more suited for the dark surrealism of the Batman reboot than for a bloodless and sometimes lighthearted cartoon- based actioner, the first GI Joe movie was not greeted well. It underperformed at the box office and with critics.
The fans also seemed impossible to please. GI Joe fans didn't think it was GI Joe enough, while those who didn't know anything about GI Joe thought it was TOO much GI Joe. And so it goes.
I, on the other hand, didn't see it until after this verdict had already been proclaimed. Having low to zero expectations, I found myself surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Sure, Best Picture it is not, but for a popcorn actioner I thought it provided the entertainment that it promised. I loved the gadgets. I loved the Baroness as the sexy bad ass chick, and I thought Duke and Hawk were in decent hands with Tatum and Quaid.
Obviously, the producers thought differently, and GI Joe: The Retaliation is the result. Production heard the complaints of the fans and decided to be proactive about it, turning this sequel more like a reboot of the franchise. Most of the cast of the first movie were not even asked to return, and instead the keys of the franchise were essentially handed to a fresh crew led by this generation's Schwarzennager- Dwayne Johnson.
Though not bereft of fancy gadgets, this movie decided to go with the more realistic gunfights and sword duels, except its tough to be too realistic when taking leads from The Matrix.
Overall, the result is a movie that those who actually liked the first one largely disdain, and those who didn't like the first one find a definite improvement. Whether this results in a net gain or a net loss for the franchise is yet to be seen.
As a fan of the first movie, here are the things I didn't like about this one-
1. How do you kill off Duke? He is arguably the most important single GI Joe. Having a GI Joe movie without him or Hawk is akin to having a Transformers movie without Optimus Prime.
2. Roadblock is no leader. I like Dwayne Johnson, but Roadblock is not the leader of the Joes and shouldn't be. Roadblock is an enforcer, the muscle. He is not a leader.
3. No Baroness. Besides what happens with Duke, the loss of the Baroness is the biggest blow to this movie. The sexy female antagonist works wonderfully in this genre. There is no one here to replace her.
4. Flint sucks. Flint is the obstentious replacement for Duke, but he is an epic fail of a boring character. The movie simply doesn't have the time to provide any backstory for him or make him interesting, and it doesn't try to.
5. The movie covered too much. One would think that the destruction of the Joes and the revival of Cobra Commander from prison would be enough of a plot, but instead, we are treated with a Storm Shadow subplot and a destructive ruse to become supreme ruler by Cobra Commander. As a result, all the characters and story lines got shorted.
Now, here are some of the things I LIKED about this movie.
1. Adrianne Palicki as Lady Jaye is even hotter than Scarlet from ROC. She could have used a sexy bad, like the Baroness, though as an opposite. She has little to do though she is one of the only characters for whom some back story was attempted.
2. The screenplay is weak for plot but fairly strong on dialogue. It is full of one-liners and most of it worked for me. Hooo-Rah.
3. The Cobra Commander is far cooler in this one. Love the monstrous voice instead of the high strung Starscream voice, and I appreciate that they made him look like the cartoon again.
4. The scene at the summit is preposterous entirely, but quite hilarious. Jonathan Pryce has good fun with it, and so did I.
5. GI Joe fans at least were pleased with the Storm Shadow- Snake Eyes subplot. Though I thought the cliff hanger battle was ridiculous, the solo fight within the temple was a great hand-to-hand fight scene.
I give it a 6 as a balance between the disappointment of not following up the original with the credit for trying something new, some of which worked.
When Transformers hit the big screen and big money was the result, it became inevitable that GI Joe would also be made into a movie, despite the obvious conundrum of being based off a child's toy and yet dealing with very adult subjects like terrorism and warfare.
So, in 2009, the Rise of Cobra came out. Handicapped with not only that base conundrum, but also with the world's mood during the Great Recession more suited for the dark surrealism of the Batman reboot than for a bloodless and sometimes lighthearted cartoon- based actioner, the first GI Joe movie was not greeted well. It underperformed at the box office and with critics.
The fans also seemed impossible to please. GI Joe fans didn't think it was GI Joe enough, while those who didn't know anything about GI Joe thought it was TOO much GI Joe. And so it goes.
I, on the other hand, didn't see it until after this verdict had already been proclaimed. Having low to zero expectations, I found myself surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Sure, Best Picture it is not, but for a popcorn actioner I thought it provided the entertainment that it promised. I loved the gadgets. I loved the Baroness as the sexy bad ass chick, and I thought Duke and Hawk were in decent hands with Tatum and Quaid.
Obviously, the producers thought differently, and GI Joe: The Retaliation is the result. Production heard the complaints of the fans and decided to be proactive about it, turning this sequel more like a reboot of the franchise. Most of the cast of the first movie were not even asked to return, and instead the keys of the franchise were essentially handed to a fresh crew led by this generation's Schwarzennager- Dwayne Johnson.
Though not bereft of fancy gadgets, this movie decided to go with the more realistic gunfights and sword duels, except its tough to be too realistic when taking leads from The Matrix.
Overall, the result is a movie that those who actually liked the first one largely disdain, and those who didn't like the first one find a definite improvement. Whether this results in a net gain or a net loss for the franchise is yet to be seen.
As a fan of the first movie, here are the things I didn't like about this one-
1. How do you kill off Duke? He is arguably the most important single GI Joe. Having a GI Joe movie without him or Hawk is akin to having a Transformers movie without Optimus Prime.
2. Roadblock is no leader. I like Dwayne Johnson, but Roadblock is not the leader of the Joes and shouldn't be. Roadblock is an enforcer, the muscle. He is not a leader.
3. No Baroness. Besides what happens with Duke, the loss of the Baroness is the biggest blow to this movie. The sexy female antagonist works wonderfully in this genre. There is no one here to replace her.
4. Flint sucks. Flint is the obstentious replacement for Duke, but he is an epic fail of a boring character. The movie simply doesn't have the time to provide any backstory for him or make him interesting, and it doesn't try to.
5. The movie covered too much. One would think that the destruction of the Joes and the revival of Cobra Commander from prison would be enough of a plot, but instead, we are treated with a Storm Shadow subplot and a destructive ruse to become supreme ruler by Cobra Commander. As a result, all the characters and story lines got shorted.
Now, here are some of the things I LIKED about this movie.
1. Adrianne Palicki as Lady Jaye is even hotter than Scarlet from ROC. She could have used a sexy bad, like the Baroness, though as an opposite. She has little to do though she is one of the only characters for whom some back story was attempted.
2. The screenplay is weak for plot but fairly strong on dialogue. It is full of one-liners and most of it worked for me. Hooo-Rah.
3. The Cobra Commander is far cooler in this one. Love the monstrous voice instead of the high strung Starscream voice, and I appreciate that they made him look like the cartoon again.
4. The scene at the summit is preposterous entirely, but quite hilarious. Jonathan Pryce has good fun with it, and so did I.
5. GI Joe fans at least were pleased with the Storm Shadow- Snake Eyes subplot. Though I thought the cliff hanger battle was ridiculous, the solo fight within the temple was a great hand-to-hand fight scene.
I give it a 6 as a balance between the disappointment of not following up the original with the credit for trying something new, some of which worked.