G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA (2009)

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"Joe Proves to Be a Much Better Experience Than Transformers 2"

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Review

By J.T. Johnson

Director: Stephen Sommers

Cast: Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, Ray Parks, Byung-hun Lee, Rachel Nichols, Marlon Wayans, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Christopher Eccleston, Arnold Vosloo

After the successful Transoformers series has been unleashed to the world, Paramount Pictures and Hasbro have finally delivered another film based on a famous toy line with G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. The film, which runs at one hour and forty-five minutes, is a better improvement over the abysmal Transfomers: Revenge of the Fallen that was released earlier this year.

The film finds Duke (Tatum) and his friend Ripcord (Wayans), members of an Army special forces unit, transporting four newly developed nano-warheads to NATO after they were sold to them by weapons expert James McCullen (Eccleston). Soon, they are attacked by the villainous Baroness and her squad of nano-enhanced viper soldiers. Before they are killed, however, Duke and Ripcord are saved by members of an ultra-secret organization known as G.I. Joe.

After their rescue, the two soldiers want to be a part of the Joe team that is led by General Hawk (Quaid) and are soon trained enought to help the other Joes find out who the Baroness is working for and why they want the warheads. The film then begins a wonderfully over-the-top action/adventure that has the Joes battling Cobra through the Joes' underground base known as the Pit, through the streets of Paris and in the Cobra's underwater lair. The film's over-the-top antics also catches the spirit of the '80s cartoon on which it is based.

The first thing that can be said about the film is that the cast and crew came to have fun and ultimately succeeded. The movie has the highly futuristic weaponry and vehicles that were a staple of the show and, for the most part, uses them well. The action scenes are breathtaking to watch and the characters' chase to see who gains control of the warheads is enough to keep the audience interested.

However, some of the best action scenes come from the low-tech swordfights that Snake Eyes (Park) and his evil counterpart, Shadow Storm (Lee), are involved in. Actor Ray Park, who is best known for his lightsaber duel as Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I, is in top fighting form and Byung-hun Lee is able to stand toe-to-toe with the martial arts expert. There is also a back story between the two characters that often finds a young Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow going at each others' throats, as well.

The film is not without its flaws, though. The back stories that are told between Duke and the Baroness as well as the aforementioned Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow story take place at oddly unexpected times. Sometimes, they are even told while the action scenes are going on. One minute, Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow are fighting in the present, then the audience finds themselves watching the two men from twenty years past. It is not that bad, but it is enough to be an unwanted distraction and hinders the flow of the overall narrative. The ending is also kind of weak compared to the action that the audience has just endured from the rest of the preceding film and is a way-too-obvious set-up for a sequel.

Another problem with the film's story is the past love story developed between Duke and the Baroness. The problem was that it felt out of place and I could not help but think that the producers just walked into the writers' office one day and said, "We need a love story," and this is what they came up with.

Also, the film's actors can be cheesy at times and some of the dialogue that they have to deliver can make one cringe. One example of the dialogue is when the Baroness forces a woman off an elevator by yelling at her to get off then turning around and saying that the woman has nice shoes. She might as well have just said, "Yeah, I have to go and destroy Paris now, but I couldn't help but notice your Pradas."

The worst of the actors turns out to be Dennis Quaid as General Hawk. He is not that bad, but he needs to know when to turn off the macho soldier voice. It works when he is talking about how badass G.I. Joe is but comes off as just plain goofy when he tries to talk about normal things. I can excuse the acting to a degree because, in a weird way, it kind of helps with keeping that feel of the old cartoon.

Whether or not I entered the theater with low-expectations or was just hoping for something that was better than Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra proves to be a great summer flick that only suffers from a slightly uneven narrative and some hammy acting. Also, while I know it's cheesy as hell, I have to say: Yo Joe!

3 / 5 Stars - Good