G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (www.the-usher.com)

"Go Joe!"

With orders to deliver the world’s first nano-technology weapon to the US Military, special forces soldiers Duke (Tatum) and Ripcord (Wayans) are attacked by an unknown, technologically advanced force led by a female operative known only as the Baroness (Miller). With the attackers overwhelming them, Duke and Ripcord are joined in the fight by similarly advanced soldiers who manage to take the fight to this relentless force. Realising they have been exposed to a much bigger war, Duke and Ripcord volunteer to join the secret force led by Commander Hawk (Quaid), known only as G.I. Joe.

In their continuing quest for the next blockbuster, Hollywood has started spreading their gaze further a field and are now concentrating on toys to provide their next big hit but can ‘G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra’ follow in the footsteps of a big robot movie?

After the success of ‘Transformers’ in 2007, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura returned to Hasbro to gain the rights for their other major toy franchise ‘G.I. Joe’. Better known as ‘Action Man’ and ‘Action Force’ in the UK, the action figures introduced a whole new set of characters and an enemy determined to take over the world called ‘Cobra’. Popular around the world but with countries having differing versions, for example the British included the SAS, the franchise became the stable part of most boy’s toy boxes. Now ‘Mummy’ and ‘Van Helsing’ director Stephen Sommers bring the US version of the toy franchise to the silver screen but while he has remember to bring the action, he certainly hasn’t given any force to the storytelling.

Since ‘Van Helsing’ didn’t make as big as a splash as Universal thought it would in 2004, writer/director Stephen Sommers has been looking for a comeback project. He is definitely a skilled director when it comes to producing a roller coaster, blockbuster ride of a movie after the success of the first two ‘Mummy’ and the film that really got him noticed, ‘Deep Rising’ but none of his films have really had the story to make them as dramatic as they are action packed. ‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra’ is another example of this.

When you are working from a history made up for action figures in animated series and comic books, the source material isn’t going to be as in depth as something like ‘Batman’, ‘Superman’ or ‘Spider-Man’. When the characters you have to work with are called names like Heavy Duty, Destro, Snake Eyes, Baroness, Hard Master, Storm Shadow, Duke, Ripcord, Zartan and General Hawk you are always going to struggle to produce a story that will allow you to stitch together the large action sequences a movie like this are bound to have. As with many a movie like this, the plot is just padding and it is a simple one. Special forces soldiers Duke and Ripcord are introduced to an international armed forces unit called ‘G.I. Joe’ when a top secret weapon of mass destruction is stolen by a group of unknown and very well equipped mercenaries. They must now work with the team to retrieve the weapon and stop an attack on Paris, France that could issue in a new era of war to the world. Of course that treat is Cobra and they plan to take over the world.

While the story is over the top, some of the performances match this. Channing Tatum is the all-American hero of the piece Duke but judgement is still out to whether is can be considered as a leading man. Marlon Wayans is as annoying as ever as Ripcord. Dennis Quaid shows leadership qualities as General Hawk. Martial arts expert Ray Park continues to get roles that don’t allow him to speak. Rachel Nichols is just eye candy as Scarlett and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje just the muscle as Heavy Duty. Christopher Eccleston and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are pantomime-like as villains McCullen and The Doctor. The only performance that stands out however is that of Sienna Miller as femme fatale the Baroness. The gorgeous British actress shows again that there is much more to her than just beauty and the constant attention from the paparazzi.

‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra’ is another example of style over substance. While the action sequences are stunning, especially the battle through the streets of Paris, the sword battle between Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes and the explosive finale, they do not make a complete movie. Throw in some hammy acting and dreadful dialogue and you have a film that doesn’t quite deliver all the bangs you expect from your buck. ‘Go Joe’, you won’t think so.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 2.40:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentary by director Stephen Sommers and producer Bob Ducsay
The director and his producer talk about how the ‘G.I. Joe’ movie came together very quickly before the writer’s strike of 2008, producing the amazing action sequences and returning to big movie making. This is an enthusiastic commentary track that will give you an insight into the making of a big action flick.

The Big Bang Theory: The Making of G.I. Joe (29.34 mins)
Director Stephen Sommers, co-writer David Elliot, producers David Womark, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Bob Ducsay and stars Marlon Wayans, Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, Rachel Nichols, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ray Park and Dennis Quaid, take you behind the scenes of the making of ‘G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra’.

Next Gen Action: The Amazing Visual Effects and Design of G.I. Joe (21.08 mins)
Director Stephen Sommers and visual effects supervisor Boyd Shermis take you through the exciting visual effects that were created for the action force of a movie.

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for ‘G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra’ is one that fans should enjoy. The two featurettes cover the making of the movie and the commentary is good but a look back at the history of the toys and the comic book would have added to the value but this is not a bad package.

DVD

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2009