G.I. Joe - Geheimauftrag Cobra

Let me first say that I knew absolutely nothing about the GI Joe franchise except that they were (are?) toys. But that did not hinder me from enjoying this movie.

What do you get if you mix a few parts James Bond, a few parts Transformers and a few parts Star Wars? Well, you get G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra! Basically, if you like the aforementioned movies you will probably enjoy this one. Things explode constantly, shiny things glimmer past the screen and hot chicks in tight outfits show up now and then.

If you are the type who crave realism in your movies then do not - I repeat, do not see this one. Realism does not even come within shooting distance of this movie. But if you can enjoy a popcorn summer movie then this is not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

And yes - there is a Wayans brother in this, but strangely enough, he did not annoy me...

Not the best made movie but I like for what it is. It could have been better. I still enjoy rewatching this.

If you can look past the slightly ropey 2009 era CGI plus one or two terrible examples of Foley, this film, like another Hasbro licence (I'm looking at you Battleship) is perfect for when you just want to switch your brain off and enjoy the whiz bang boom explosions as well as all the insanely corney one liners.

Sure, it wasn't greatly received in the States through it not being real G. I. Joe (having international members instead of just Americans) or the fact that it wasn't called Action Force like the cartoon in the old days for the rest of the World.

It'll never be an action classic, but I think that was sort of the point.

But it does have Brendan Fraser briefly and that's a good thing!

Please, take note that I rated this film 8 only because of it's value as an action film, but that's exactly the point I came here to get across. Everybody seems to have the same argument when they trash this film.. "it's all effects and no brains or dramatic undertones". OK, that is true, I've got to admit, but then again what kind of movie were these people actually expecting to see? Huh?!

G.I. Joe is as pure as an action film can possibly be and most importantly, it doesn't pretend to be anything else. Look at the poster. Check out the trailer. After those, were you perhaps waiting to see an Ingmar Bergman film? IT'S G.I. JOE, for Christ's sake! And I must say that in it's category, it isn't that bad. Sommers can direct good action sequences (the pursuit on the streets of Paris is stunning!) and although the film is obviously overblown with ridiculous gadgets and over the top plot lines, it doesn't matter because Joe succeeds in it's ONLY primary mission: to be entertaining. It's never boring and it's the silly fun it was always going to be.

So in a nutshell.. if you want a serious film to watch, check out There Will Be Blood or Doubt, but if you just want to forget for two hours the mess your leaders have left your nation, nay, the *world* and just have fun, check out this action film. Thank you.

G. I Joe: The Rise of Cobra is really dumb, full of bad CG and has some terrible character designs but it's still good fun that's extremely over the top and action packed. Channing Tatum gives a really good lead performance and Dennis Quaid, Sienna Miller, Marlon Wayans, Rachel Nichols and Byung-Hun Lee are all good. Stephen Sommers' direction is great, it's extremely well filmed if a little reliant on CG. It's well paced and the music by Alan Silvestri is good.