Aug 09 2009
Nerdy Blogger Reviews G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Hello Nerdy Bloggers! I’ve been away for a while (by day I’m a teacher’s assistant so adjusting to significantly less of a night owl schedule seriously inhibits my energy and alters my sleep patterns, thus also adjusting my blogging time), but I’m getting back into the swing of things today with a review of G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
Channing Tatum and Marlon Wayans head up G. I. Joe, in the tradition of this summer’s throwback film line-up (not much but remakes and sequels this summer). I am a child of the 80s, and essentially watched all cartoons indiscriminately back in the day. I remember watching the 1985 “G. I. Joe” series, but as for graphic detail, I recall very little. Either way, I’m always stoked to see any kind of 80s throwback like that come to the big screen. I didn’t have exceptionally high expectations for the film though. A few friends of mine saw it opening night and reported back with reviews of childhood nostalgia galore, while the critics offered D+ reviews at best (according to Yahoo! Movies). Either way, I decided I’d at least give it a try.
G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was a fun jaunt from Paramount, and certainly did a fair bit to redeem themselves in the wake of the awfulness of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. While G. I. Joe certainly isn’t Oscar material, nor does it do anything remarkably exceptional, it is simply a fun action movie. The fight scenes were great, featuring notable martial artist and gymnast, Ray Park (Toad in X-Men and Darth Maul in the ill fated Star Wars: Episode I) as the mysterious Snake Eyes. Also, as for looking the parts, I feel G. I. Joe did well. The costuming was good, and the visual effects, although nothing outstanding, weren’t bad either. I enjoyed the storyline, however, since I remember little from the cartoon, I don’t know how closely it follows canon. (I’d be very interested to hear some feedback on that point, so feel free to offer some).
Some interesting casting on this film added to the fun, notably Dennis Quaid as Hawk and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Cobra Commander (didn’t even know it was him until the credits! When I figured out who it was, I kept having middle school flashbacks to a longhaired Gordon-Levitt in 3rd Rock From the Sun).
Overall, while G. I. Joe isn’t going to be the stand out film of the year, I found it to be an enjoyable action flick. For those parents who might be concerned about their teens seeing it, there is actually very little language or sexual content to be concerned about, a great change from most action movies I’ve seen in recent memory. However, there are some fairly violent fight scenes, so as with any film, do your homework and use your best judgment when making decisions about what your offspring sees.
On the Nerdy Blogger scale, I give G.I. Joe one thumb up for great action, fun casting, and being a nice throwback to my 80s cartoon heritage.
Blessings,
Nerdy Blogger
He sure is! And yes, he does a great raspy, hissing voice, too.
The nod at canon was VERY brief. They pretty much threw all the canon out the window and just used the characters daces and such.
I was displeased by a lot of that really, but I LOVED Cobra Commander. I knew it was Joseph Gordon-Levitt and love him as an actor, he was one of the spot-on perfect redeeming parts in the movie.
Was the love triangle between the Baronness and Duke canon? I think I’d recall something like that if it was, but it seems very unlikely as in all the images I remember of her she was always with Cobra.