People were laughing at the G.I. Joe trailer when it was first released.  The special effects looked like crap and the acting was even worse.  As it was closing the release date, it was getting good buzz and it even got a 90% rating at Rotten Tomatoes at one point (Currently it’s at 39%, it didn’t help that Paramount didn’t screen it for the majority of the critics) . G.I. Joe  turned out to be the best movie of the summer, as it delivered thrills, explosions and cheesy one liners.

Plot from IMDB: An elite military unit comprised of special operatives known as G.I. Joe, operating out of The Pit, takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer.

Review: While G.I. Joe has some really bad special effects, I didn’t care because director Stephen Sommers (Mummy, Van Helsing) sets it up as a cartoon.  Lasers are the standard weapon and cool looking hovercrafts take down Apache choppers. What separates this movie from crappy blockbusters such as Transformers 2 and Terminator Salvation is that it respects the source.  There’s backstories to the characters and makes it more personal for the audience.  What you get are cool action sequences on land, sea and air. The futuristic vehicles also add nostalgia to the movie.  The vehicles were a big part of the cartoon and I’m glad they followed through.

Plenty of people complained about the Paris scene in the trailer where our heroes are in a tech suit but they did use similar suits in the newer Sigma 6 cartoon.  The Paris scene was actually the highlight of the movie and it’ll be my new demo material once it’s out on Blu Ray.  Very exciting chase sequence!

If there’s one problem with the movie, it’s the costumes.  I would’ve liked Snake Eyes without his mouth, it just looked awkward.  Cobra’s Henchmen looked too futuristic as well but those are minor nitpicks.

Who would have thought Sommers could outdo Transformers director, Michael Bay.

Cobra la la la la la!

Grade: B+

PS:  I’d choose Scarlett over Baroness because she’s a cute nerd!!

Here’s the intro from the animated movie:

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