kkhannah

I'm going to admit right up front that I've never seen any of the G.I Joe cartoons when I was a child. I hardly know any of the history about the characters, just what I've gleaned from growing up on a steady diet of pop culture references. However, I didn't feel as if this lack of knowledge worked against me when I watched G.I Joe; indeed, I'm almost positive that I liked the movie better than I would have had I known about the characters ahead of time.

To be honest, G.I Joe isn't anything that remarkable or unique; it's in the same vein as many futuristic action thrillers and, since I had no connection to the characters ahead of time, that was how I regarded it. However, even if it doesn't bring anything new to the genre, it's certainly quite a bit of fun to watch. The cast all put in decent (or, at least passable) performances. My personal favorite was Christopher Eccleston as Destro, who I thought played the role with just a hint of camp. Indeed, many of the actors seemed to touch on the campiness with their performances, as if they themselves knew that some of the lines coming out of their mouths were rather silly.

The only aspect of the film that actually bothered me was the seemingly random inclusion of flashbacks touching on Snake Eyes' past. While I understand that this was done to give the character a back story, they interrupt the flow of the film and despite some very impressive martial arts demonstrations, they don't improve the movie.

Nonetheless, if you don't pay too much attention or think too hard, G.I Joe is certainly a good distraction before bed. The action sequences are quite fun, the story (mostly) makes sense and it's always fun to see actors like Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a role I never would have envisioned him in. Overall, I recommend the film if you're even a casual fan of the genre but if it takes a bit more than explosions and sword fighting to grab your attention, I recommend a pass.