Ain’t It Cool News has two snitches readers who have seen G.I. Joe: The Rise Cobra and are reporting back to let people know what they thought about the film, which pretty much everybody (that I know at least) has written off as a guranteed bomb.
So, did AICN‘s readers confirm what everyone has been expecting? Yes and No.
However, one thing there is NO debate about is this new G.I. Joe viral video, which features one brave Joe in an accelerator suit hopping on a skateboard for some extreme half-pipe action! It’s pretty awesome!
But first the reviews:
AICN got two separate reviews (along with photos of the screening passes to confirm these “readers” really saw the movie). Each reviewer – for all their individual differences – pretty much landed on the middle ground of “it’s not as bad as I thought.” Check out a couple snippets:
REVIEWER #1 (a.k.a. “Mr. Blonde”)
..here’s the short version: It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t the train wreck I expected. Also, it was more enjoyable than Transformers 2.
The first thing to know, is the movie is pretty cheesy for most of the running time…It’s cheesy, light hearted fun. The action is cartoony most of the time but borders on badass at others (this mostly refers to anytime Snake Eyes is on screen). The effects were all over the place as well. Some stuff looked pretty good (the accelerator suit chase) other times it was typical Stephen Sommers cartoon cgi.
The biggest question, I guess, is this: “Is it a G.I. Joe movie?” Honestly, I’d have to say “No.” It’s not quite the G.I. Joe I remember, but it is a big, cheesy, fun and silly action movie that kept me entertained for about 2 hours.
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REVIEWER #2 (a.k.a. “Wild Weasel”)
…I don’t have the view that Stephen Sommers has “raped my childhood” but I can say that the children in the screening were having a blast, and without a doubt were pushing their parents to buy whatever action figure for the character they most identified with.
The movie didn’t make a lasting impression on me and while they set up a sequel, I have a hard time mustering any enthusiasm for it. However, I have a feeling that the movie is loud, violent, and pop-corny enough (is that even a word?) for the general populace to enjoy.
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No surprise: Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow are the high points of the fillm.
So there you have it, G.I. Joe: solid mindless popcorn fun. Of course these are simply two opinions, but really, does the movie look any better or worse to you than what these two reviewers describe?
For full transcripts of these early reviews, head over to Ain’t It Cool News.
Now onto the viral video – check it out and just try to not enjoy it:
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Good or bad…I still wanna see this film.
“Good or bad”
I was talking about reveiws.
That viral video was cool. The reviews are what I expected. I want an action packed popcorn flick that isn’t as stupid as TF2. And having Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow being the high points of the film is just icing on the cake; they were my favorite characters in GI Joe.
Well an entertaining popcorn flick is just what I was expecting from the minute I started seeing video of this movie and if it can deliver that then I’ll be content with it. Of course, I’m probably much more willing to see movies than other people because there is a theater within about 10 minutes of me which as a $2.50 matinee ticket price.
I’ll see it, and most likely, be entertained. That’s all I ask out of a movie.
Hmmm I may have considered seeing it but if it doesn’t “feel” like a GI Joe movie then what’s the point of calling it as such? There comes a point where so many changes are made it ceases to be an adaptation or even a remake and ends up being a completely different movie.
I have no problem with light, cheesy action but I dislike it when studios take a property and completely transform it into something else but keep the name. We’ll see until more reviews come out what the concensus is.
It’s good action and some entertaining parts but also some dumb parts. It should be what you expect if you go in knowing it won’t be featured at the academy awards.
Am I the only weird one that never though ninja’s are cool?? lol
@Ken J,
Dude… That is pretty weird, I’m not going to lie to you.
@KenJ – My favorite saying ( and I coined this phrase and have always wanted to make a t-shirt out of it) is “Kickin’ like a three-legged ninja!”
If that doesn’t get you fully involved in ninja love then nothing will.
This movie will do just fine in theaters becaseu no one’s expectations are super high. They aren’t expecting TDK or anything remotley like it so they won’t be disappointed no matter what happens.
@Ken
yes you must be. Ninjas are awesome as in Batman Begins awesome!
that accelerator suit would break that board not to mention that fall woulda kill the guy or break the earth >.>
Cinematic swine flu.
Prob not gonna see it,,,
From what I’ve seen so far the most character depth and acting credibility, so far as being close to the comic book OR cartoon, is Destro and Snake-eyes. Other than that I think the cartoon had better writing AND better acting; they should’ve stuck closer to the GIJoe we all know and love instead of trying to get too carried away. The good idea was to keep it a small team but they should make some sort of hint at recruitin to make it bigger and have cameo type intros of other fan fave Joes (such as…well heck there’s like 50 of them, Spirit for instance.)
As a gen-Xer I am always happy to see that the entire world must put-up with our childhood fantasies. After years of Baby-Boomer Garbage (Lost in Space, Pink Panther, et al) it is nice to see our generation getting some love. At the same time most (Dukes of Hazzard, Star Wars PT, et al) have been pretty bad and I expect the same from GI Joe; bad witting, bad acting and lackluster direction. About the only thing we can count on as they remake our childhood favorites is lots and lots of CGI.