G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra could have been a modern-day war film about an elite special forces group recruited to take down a sinister and sophisticated terrorist organization that happened to call itself Cobra. Or, G.I. Joe could have been an all-out action slugfest starring steroid-enhanced pro wrestlers who layeth the smack down on a rogue militant organization (again, calling itself Cobra) that plans on selling nuclear missiles on the black market. Stream the movie for free at https://123moviesgo.ga/
Instead, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra went a third route. It tells the story of elite soldiers who use absurd powersuits, Celtic voice-controlled spaceships, and a host of other fake-looking motions, gadgets, and vehicles to stop a villainous arms dealer, a mad scientist, and a horde of mind-controlled super soldiers from launching rockets filled with nanonite bugs that eat everything they touch, while safely hiding away in their Atlantis-like, sub-surface ocean compound.
Thus, the release of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra marks a sad day in the history of science fiction film. Had its creators gone the straight war or action film route, G.I. Joe could have been a stellar movie. Had the computer-generated imagery (CGI) and science fiction pseudo-technology not been so overly and incoherently employed, G.I. Joe may have made a good science fiction movie.
Perhaps a G.I. Joe sequel will correct the errors of the first film. According to Paramount Pictures’ Vice President, Rob Moore, G.I. Joe 2 “will soon go into development” (as quoted by Aceshowbiz.com). So, there’s hope. Transformers 2 corrected the errors of its first film. Oh wait. No it didn’t. It just got worse.
Maybe there’s no hope after all.
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Did Have Some Pluses: Snake Eyes, Zartan, Storm Shadow, & Baroness
There are very few pluses that can be said about G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra from a quality standpoint. The acting was below par. The story was ridiculous and loosely held together. And the special effects were disastrous, by far the movie’s greatest failure. CGI can enhance any film when done right (e.g., Gollum and other characters/creatures in the The Lord of the Rings). But when done poorly, the results mirror Ang Lee’s Hulk film. G.I Joe‘s CGI was considerably worse.
Still, G.I. Joe was mildly entertaining. It fulfilled its role as a typical summer blockbuster. And it gave life to some cool characters.
Given the limited time director Stephen Sommers (Deep Rising, The Mummy trilogy, Van Helsing) could allot to character development, he did an excellent job with certain heroes and villains. This was perhaps the film’s greatest strength. Primarily through use of flashbacks, Sommers excellently portrays the childhood rivalry of Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and Storm Shadow (Lee Byung-hun), the romance between Duke (Channing Tatum) and Baroness (Sienna Miller), the rise of Destro (Christopher Eccleston), and the birth of Cobra Commander (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).
Of course, Hasbro’s G.I. Joe toys and the old cartoon series lend themselves to some fairly unique characters. Both Park’s silent Snake Eyes and Byung-hun’s sadistic Storm Shadow are sleek, stylish, and deadly ninjas. Aside from being very beautiful, Miller’s Baroness is the ultimate femme fatale. And Arnold Vosloo’s Zartan, an underutilized villain and master of disguise, is pure evil (in a good way). Hopefully, he will have a bigger role in the sequel.
Otherwise, the acting of most the others was, well, cartoonish. Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans (Ripcord), and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Cobra Commander) failed to impress, and Rachel Nichols (Scarlett), Said Taghmaoui (Breaker), and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Heavy Duty) were far from memorable.
More disappointing was the complete lack of acting Sommers permitted Dennis Quaid (Innerspace, Horsemen, Vantage Point), who played good-guy leader, General Hawk. Conversely, top acting chops goes to Christopher Eccleston (Jude, Gone in Sixty Seconds, 28 Days Later), a fine choice for Destro.
G.I. Joe 2 Due for Release in 2011?
According to IGN.com, a G.I. Joe sequelis already in development. All original lead actors contracted to return for a sequel, although Stephen Sommers is under no obligation to direct it. No news yet as to which new characters will be introduced or if it will be entitled G.I. Joe 2: The Revenge of Cobra.
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra had its nationwide release in theaters on August 7, 2009. It was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on November 3, 2009.
