G. I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra

[GeneChing]

Darth Maul to join G.I. Joe (http://www.comicbookmovie.com/news/articles/4128.asp)

Those fans of G.I. Joe will be breathing a little easier today, after news of who will be portraying the man behind the mask of Snake Eyes in the upcoming live action flick. Fan favorite, and one time Sith Lord, Ray Park has been given the nod.

Most famous for his role as the be-horned Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode 1 – the Phantom Menace, Ray Park has been on the top of many fans lists to portray Snake Eyes from the beginning. Also starring as Toad in the original X-Men film, Park is a master of various martial arts, including Northern Shaolin Kung Fu and wushu.

One of the original members of G.I. Joe, and a key character throughout the comic books, the casting of Ray Parks as Snake Eyes has brought a little stabilization to the movie. After the casting of Sienna Miller as (at first look) the Baroness, fans got a little jumpy. The plot line wasn’t helping much either, and the Hasbro had to publically reassure fans.

This casting announcement though, will definitely do what 10 press releases never could.

Joshua S. Hill
12/5/2007
Source: Slash Film

More on Ray Park - Ray Park and Martial Arts:
Part 1 From China to Star Wars and beyond (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=258)
Part 2 A REGULAR TOAD IN THE HOLE (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=278)

[doug maverick]

yeah people were ****ed at the story line because the joe's are not based in america but in europe. and now i'm hearing hasbro is changing that.

[Zenshiite]

Why would they be based in Europe?

I probably won't be too interested in this. The best stuff always had to do with Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes, and I see this being more of a Duke/Flint kinda movie with Snake Eyes as the silent ninja he always was in the cartoon.

When the comics were doing the Ninja Force stories they were off the chain.

[doug maverick]

well G.I.joe leadership is duke and flint so ofcourse it has to be about them. snake eyes is the wolverine of joe the fan favorite, so you7 know if this kicks ass he's getting his own flick. as for being based in europe it had to do with them being more international, but joe is truly an american creation. a real american hero, so ofcourse fans are gonna flip on the story and casting its gotta be perfect. seanna miller was a good choice to me i don;t know why other fans had hate but i like her. now lets see who is going to play cobra commander, i vote for jim carey.

[Snake77]

Are the crimson twins Tomax and Xamot going to be part of the film?

[doug maverick]

probably not.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Why would they be based in Europe?

I probably won't be too interested in this. The best stuff always had to do with Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes, and I see this being more of a Duke/Flint kinda movie with Snake Eyes as the silent ninja he always was in the cartoon.

When the comics were doing the Ninja Force stories they were off the chain.

Why europe?
Maybe because most of the world is kind of tired of "american military might".

[doug maverick]

well its going to be based in the U.S. again G.I.Joe is an american hero

[@PLUGO]

last I heard G.I. Joe would mean something G meaning Global... the plan was to make them a UN sanctioned force rather than US Military.

[doug maverick]

yeah that what the original script said. it might not happen that way. the studio is in a big debate over this right now. their investing alot of money in this film and they want it to be perfect.but they can't please everyone

[Zenshiite]

It does seem strange to have it be an "American hero" going after a rather nebulous group like Cobra. I mean, Cobra had literally no affiliation with anything in particular... except Corba-la if you count that as a country. Sure there were some cold war Soviet tones to it... but Cobra seemed to have been bent on world domination with no paritcular ideology behind it. I mean, maybe I'm over-reaching... the whole thing was aimed at 8 year olds.

There should be a Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow movie. No one else matters because no one else is interesting. They're just Government Issue Joes. Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow actually have a story, and their origins are clearly not in the US government. They gotta play that up. They're blood brothers from the same ninja clan fighting on opposite sides. Plus, they've both got I Ching trigram tattoos.

[banditshaw]

I liked the cartoon and think this could be a decent film if.......they get the money and the right cast. They need to get ''Transformers'' money to pull this off.
I don't know about Jim Carrey as CC. Carrey wouldn't stand for weraing a hood the whole movie:rolleyes: ya know those egos........
Ray Park as snake eyes is a good one. I think I had that figurine actully...lol.
Here's the imdb.....

http://imdb.com/title/tt1046173/

[doug maverick]

actually carey would totally do that, he's probably the only actor in show business who would do that without a proplem. everyone knows jim carey only a nobody wouldn;t want to wear a helmet. as for budget its a 100 million dollar film(kind too much money, you can make it good with half that)one thing is lots of money don;t make good movies you could have 100 million or two hundred million and still make ****(return of superman, miami vice) its all about the script the actors and the director, money doesn't mean ****.

[banditshaw]

I totally agree with you Doug regarding the money aspect regarding what constitutes a ''Good film''. I just think with a film as iconic and fantasy based as GI Joe that it would look hokey if the proper production values weren't up to snuff. ya feel me?
I mean superhero films without a big budget to lend the art departments what they need look amatuerish and corny at times. High end CGI depts don't come cheap. I'm in the Biz Doug. I know you are too and I am a big supporter of Independent films so I do know where you are coming from.
:)
Peace

[Shaolinlueb]

this movie sounds gay. the theme song goes. gi joe the real american hero.

oh god.

destro better be in it, zartan might, major blood who knows. serpentor probably not. general hawk, duke, flint, who knows.

god i want to punch hasbro in the face right now. but its 4:20am right now.

[GeneChing]

I liked the old school G.I. Joes. They were bigger and had more authentic military gear. And remember the Kung Fu Grip? That was a significant moment in the popularization of CMA in American culture. I started surfing to see when that came about and I found this (http://www.hasbro.com/gijoe/kungfugrip/default.cfm?page=Entertainment/OnlineGames/CasualGames/KungFuGrip)!

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._Joe) says kung fu grip was introduced in 74:
In 1974, named after the increasingly popular martial art style, Hasbro introduced "Kung-Fu Grip" to the G.I. Joe line. This was another innovation that had been developed in the UK for Action Man. The hands were sculpted in a softer plastic that allowed the fingers to grip objects in a more lifelike fashion. Oh and SLL, never mind Joe's baby blue tighties. That doesn't mean he's gay. Nope. They're just more snug so he doesn't chaff in his BDUs.

[doug maverick]

I totally agree with you Doug regarding the money aspect regarding what constitutes a ''Good film''. I just think with a film as iconic and fantasy based as GI Joe that it would look hokey if the proper production values weren't up to snuff. ya feel me?
I mean superhero films without a big budget to lend the art departments what they need look amatuerish and corny at times. High end CGI depts don't come cheap. I'm in the Biz Doug. I know you are too and I am a big supporter of Independent films so I do know where you are coming from.
:)
Peace

yeah but why cgi everything. thats so f ucking corny now. james bond proved that you can still make a "Real" action movie with no cgi and have the fans love it. Cgi for small things i in for not for whole **** scene's. transformers ofcourse needed cgi. this film i don't really see it at least not for big action scene's. oh yeah banditshaw your in the biz what do you do? besides look at films like killbill and sin city and even spy kids for that matter all budgets under 50million and look at the production value on them. having alot of money is good if you know what to do with it and just don;t squander it on bull****.

[doug maverick]

G.I.Joe is no longer based in europe guys. they are now moving it to dum dum dum. new york f ucking city. i guess this change was made before the strike(could've happened during hey writers are still writing but you didn't here that from me)anyway the meaning for G.I.Joe in the film is Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity. which sounds pretty cool to me. i bet they gonna do a whole cobra joe thing on myspace like they did with transformers. so we shall see how this film is going to be. and if its in NY i know i can get a job working on set.

[sanjuro_ronin]

yeah but why cgi everything. thats so f ucking corny now. james bond proved that you can still make a "Real" action movie with no cgi and have the fans love it. Cgi for small things i in for not for whole **** scene's. transformers ofcourse needed cgi. this film i don't really see it at least not for big action scene's. oh yeah banditshaw your in the biz what do you do? besides look at films like killbill and sin city and even spy kids for that matter all budgets under 50million and look at the production value on them. having alot of money is good if you know what to do with it and just don;t squander it on bull****.

CGI is the wimp way out !!

Casino Royale and the Bourne series prove that you don't need CGI, just great actors, stuntmen and choregraphers.

[doug maverick]

yea thats what i said. but even those movies had small cgi effects its just **** you wouldn't notice

[banditshaw]

Guy's........ Bourne and Bond are not comics/cartoon based films. You mean to tell me that without a big budget GI Joe is gonna fly without some good graphics and talent.
Just for the price of an a list director and some stars the budget could skyrocket.

Sin City worked cause of the sacrifices the stars made to work at scale.
The graphics in Sin City are way cool but alot cheaper than say the technology of Transformers.

And yes a good script and Director are always top priority in my book as well doug. look at the mess that was the FF movies . Great graphics lame story.

[sanjuro_ronin]

As long as it is no "street fighter" !!

[banditshaw]

As long as it is no "street fighter" !!

Now that was laaame......

Look at the Hulk movie. Ang Lee ruined that and they had all kinds of budget as well. So many stinkers out there.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Thank goodness they are gonna remake the Hulk movie.
It wasn't horrible, but it could have been better, much better.

[doug maverick]

Guy's........ Bourne and Bond are not comics/cartoon based films. You mean to tell me that without a big budget GI Joe is gonna fly without some good graphics and talent.
Just for the price of an a list director and some stars the budget could skyrocket.

Sin City worked cause of the sacrifices the stars made to work at scale.
The graphics in Sin City are way cool but alot cheaper than say the technology of Transformers.

And yes a good script and Director are always top priority in my book as well doug. look at the mess that was the FF movies . Great graphics lame story.

well what would you need cgi for in G.I. Joe give me some examples its a movie about soldiers all you need is a good second unit action director and its good to go. as for A list directors. directors don't vost that much when it comes to budget. **** peter jackson made the most money with 2 million. becuase directors make their money on gross (you know that bandit). as for a list hey like i said this is a 100 million dollar budget and now its based in ny so you know its gonna be about 150million. and so far they casted sienna miller and ray park.duke and flint are gonna be harder to cast, as for roadblock i would love to michael clark duncan in that role. also the whole storm shadow snake eyes deal is gonna play heavily in this film oh so i'm hearing.

[TaichiMantis]

But the movie I'm really waiting to see is.....SPEED RACER!!!!


Go Speed Racer Go-oh! :D

[banditshaw]

well what would you need cgi for in G.I. Joe give me some examples its a movie about soldiers all you need is a good second unit action director and its good to go. as for A list directors. directors don't vost that much when it comes to budget. **** peter jackson made the most money with 2 million. becuase directors make their money on gross (you know that bandit). as for a list hey like i said this is a 100 million dollar budget and now its based in ny so you know its gonna be about 150million. and so far they casted sienna miller and ray park.duke and flint are gonna be harder to cast, as for roadblock i would love to michael clark duncan in that role. also the whole storm shadow snake eyes deal is gonna play heavily in this film oh so i'm hearing.

It will definitely be interesting to see who they cast as Duke....maybe viggo mortensen....I like the Michael Clarke Duncan suggestion....but I'm still not sold on the Jim Carrey LOL.
Yes and it's true about Directors and even some A list actors who make money off the'' back end''. 150 million should be more than enough to pull this off...agreed.

[doug maverick]

It will definitely be interesting to see who they cast as Duke....maybe viggo mortensen....I like the Michael Clarke Duncan suggestion....but I'm still not sold on the Jim Carrey LOL.
Yes and it's true about Directors and even some A list actors who make money off the'' back end''. 150 million should be more than enough to pull this off...agreed.
viggo would be a good choice. and a safe choixe viggo delevers and fans love him. i was really joking about carey thing but i really do think he can pull off a good cobra commander maybe because i always saw cobra as a joke, in the later series. where as when it first started he was a total bad ass

[Zenshiite]

G.I.Joe is no longer based in europe guys. they are now moving it to dum dum dum. new york f ucking city. i guess this change was made before the strike(could've happened during hey writers are still writing but you didn't here that from me)anyway the meaning for G.I.Joe in the film is Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity. which sounds pretty cool to me. i bet they gonna do a whole cobra joe thing on myspace like they did with transformers. so we shall see how this film is going to be. and if its in NY i know i can get a job working on set.


So it's not really GI Joe, but G.I.J.O.E.

[doug maverick]

yeah pretty much.

[GeneChing]

so who is snake eyes?


Byung Hun Lee Starts Shooting G.I. Joe (http://www.superherohype.com/news/gijoenews.php?id=6946)
Source: Paramount Pictures
March 18, 2008

Paramount Pictures just released the following announcement, which looks to be targeted to the Asian press, as Hun Lee was already announced to be playing Storm Shadow back in January:

On March 13, prominent Korean film and television actor Byung Hun Lee, one of Asia's top stars, completed his first day of principal photography as Storm Shadow in Paramount Pictures' action adventure "G.I. JOE." He joins the ensemble cast that includes Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sienna Miller, Rachel Nichols, Ray Park, Said Taghmaoui, Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans and Dennis Quaid.

As big in his native land as he is in other parts of Asia, including Japan, Lee started his acting career in 1991 with the Korean television drama "Asphalt, My Hometown." Since then, he has appeared in several television dramas including "Tomorrow Love," "Police," "Son of Wind," "White Knight 3.98," "Happy Together," "Beautiful Days" and "All In."

Among his feature film credits are Kim Jee Woon's "A Bittersweet Life," Park Chan Wook's "Three Extremes," "Everybody has Secrets," "Addiction," "Bungee Jumping of their Own" and Park Chan Wook's "Joint Security Area." This year he will star in two films, Kim Jee Woon's "The Good, the Bad, and the Weird" and Tran Anh Hung's "I Come with the Rain."

Storm Shadow, one of the most popular characters in the G.I. JOE universe, has a dark and complex history. He was trained by the same Ninja master as Snake Eyes, a member of the elite G.I. JOE team, but now fights against him.

Paramount Pictures and Hasbro, whose previous collaboration was the worldwide blockbuster "TRANSFORMERS," have reunited for another extraordinary action-adventure in "G.I. JOE." From the Egyptian desert to deep below the polar ice caps, the elite G.I. JOE team uses the latest in next-generation spy and military equipment to fight the corrupt arms dealer Destro and the growing threat of the mysterious Cobra organization to prevent them from plunging the world into chaos. "G.I. JOE" is directed by Stephen Sommers ("The Mummy" and "The Mummy Returns") and will be released on August 7, 2009.

Byung Hun Lee is represented by the Endeavor Agency and managed by Charles Pak of BH Entertainment.

[sanjuro_ronin]

I thought Ray Park was playing Snakeyes...

[GeneChing]

I guess it would help if I read my own posts. :o

Truth be told, I don't even know who Snake Eyes is. I just needed to type something to make my minimum post requirement because the forum doesn't recognize anything in quotes.

Once G.I.Joe no longer had kung fu grip, I lost interest.

[@PLUGO]

Snake eyes is the silent special forces ninja in G.I. Joe dressed all in black. He never speaks and has some sort of deformity which keeps him wearing a mask whenever he's not chilling in his isolation tank. Along with his special forces training he's also got classic ninja training.

There he became martial brothers with the ninja who would become Storm Shadow. Storm Shadow chooses COBRA (or whatever the bad guys will be called) and dresses in white. I suppose they would team up against some pirates (played by Johnny Depp?)

Thinking of Ray Parks's (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=258) roles as Darth Maul and Toad, I'm hoping they digitally remove his nose or something if they show his face at all. For tradition's sake if nothing else.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Snake eyes is the silent special forces ninja in G.I. Joe dressed all in black. He never speaks and has some sort of deformity which keeps him wearing a mask whenever he's not chilling in his isolation tank. Along with his special forces training he's also got classic ninja training.

There he became martial brothers with the ninja who would become Storm Shadow. Storm Shadow chooses COBRA (or whatever the bad guys will be called) and dresses in white. I suppose they would team up against some pirates (played by Johnny Depp?)

Thinking of Ray Parks's (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=258) roles as Darth Maul and Toad, I'm hoping they digitally remove his nose or something if they show his face at all. For tradition's sake if nothing else.

Snake Eyes wears a mask if memory serves me right.

[MasterKiller]

Snake Eyes wears a mask if memory serves me right.

A mask he refuses to remove in public. The only person who saw his face was the blind eskimo woman that healed him after he got radiation sickness. Scarlett often tried, but he always refused.

[sanjuro_ronin]

A mask he refuses to remove in public. The only person who saw his face was the blind eskimo woman that healed him after he got radiation sickness. Scarlett often tried, but he always refused.

geek alert !!
:D

[@PLUGO]

well here it is your first look at SNAKE EYES (http://i.usatoday.net/life/_photos/2008/03/21/joex-large.jpg)

"This is the first character reveal from next August's G.I. Joe movie — the mute, faceless, black-clad ninja commando, among the most famous of the good guys from the 1980s incarnation of the decades-old Hasbro toy line."

[GeneChing]

more snake eyes (http://news.filefront.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/snakeeyes2-1.jpg). Looks like Darth Maul meets Batman to me... :p

[@PLUGO]

Well BATMAN is the original comic Ninja . . . he's got G.I.Joe beat by like 20-40 years.

[MasterKiller]

Snake Eyes from the movie (http://us.ent4.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/paramount_pictures/g_i__joe/snakeeyes_giant1.jpg)

[Lucas]

Snake Eyes from the movie (http://us.ent4.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/paramount_pictures/g_i__joe/snakeeyes_giant1.jpg)

"Hexagram 63 is named 既濟 (ji4 ji4), "Already Fording". Other variations include "after completion" and "already completed". Its inner trigram is ☲ (離 li2) radiance = (火) fire, and its outer trigram is ☵ (坎 kan3) gorge = (水) water."

[sanjuro_ronin]

Snake Eyes from the movie (http://us.ent4.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/paramount_pictures/g_i__joe/snakeeyes_giant1.jpg)


Design Sifu
Snake Eyes
well here it is your first look at SNAKE EYES http://i.usatoday.net/life/_photos/2008/03/21/joex-large.jpg

"This is the first character reveal from next August's G.I. Joe movie — the mute, faceless, black-clad ninja commando, among the most famous of the good guys from the 1980s incarnation of the decades-old Hasbro toy line."

Well, that was redundant.
:D

[MasterKiller]

Well, that was redundant.
:D

Mine was better.

[sanjuro_ronin]

I assume the costume is "loaded" and those are not Parks muscles, either that or Ray has bulked up big time.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Any pics of Storm Shadow?

[MasterKiller]

Any pics of Storm Shadow?

No, but the actor playing him is Byung-Hun Lee

Channing Tatum plays 'G.I. Joe's' fearless leader Duke
Said Taghmaoui of "Vantage Point" fame as Breaker.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the man behind the evil mask-- Cobra Commander
Sienna Miller will play the diabolical Baroness
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is set to bring the muscle as Heavy Duty
Dennis Quaid plays the honorable General Hawk
Rachel Nichols will take on Cobra as Shana 'Scarlett' O'Hara
Marlon Wayans set to fly as paratrooper Ripcord
Arnold Vosloo from "The Mummy" will play the chameleon-like Zartan
Christopher Eccleston will play the evil chromed-domed Destro

[sanjuro_ronin]

No, but the actor playing him is Byung-Hun Lee

Channing Tatum plays 'G.I. Joe's' fearless leader Duke
Said Taghmaoui of "Vantage Point" fame as Breaker.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the man behind the evil mask-- Cobra Commander
Sienna Miller will play the diabolical Baroness
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is set to bring the muscle as Heavy Duty
Dennis Quaid plays the honorable General Hawk
Rachel Nichols will take on Cobra as Shana 'Scarlett' O'Hara
Marlon Wayans set to fly as paratrooper Ripcord
Arnold Vosloo from "The Mummy" will play the chameleon-like Zartan
Christopher Eccleston will play the evil chromed-domed Destro

Interesting...
May have some hope after all.

[Lucas]

Marlon Wayans

thats gonna be funny

[doug maverick]

what no flint? that was one of my favorite characters

[@PLUGO]

I was hoping at least for a tan flack vest or something... but oh well...

folks I give you SCARLETT (http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/scarlett-firstlookbig.jpg)

[@PLUGO]

For those of you that are interested (http://www.latinoreview.com/images/upload/movieimages/full_movieimage_16823.jpg).

oh and The Baroness (http://moviesmedia.ign.com/movies/image/article/872/872167/gi-joe-20080507004210928.jpg)

[Shaolinlueb]

i heard john lithgow as cobra commander, that would have been awesome. this kid looks way to young to be cobra commander. wtf. and no roadblock? we need the rapping black guy! get 50 cent in there!!!

[Zenshiite]

Not sure how I feel about Storm Shadow. Could be better.

Baroness is hot..

[@PLUGO]

More Baroness (http://www.iesb.net/images/stories/setimages/sienna_gijoe.jpg)

[Zenshiite]

Here's a link to a site with the Super Bowl spot trailer.

http://gi-joe-trailer.blogspot.com/

[GeneChing]

There's a big difference between "Most Anticipated Summer Movie" and "Summer Movies for Your Inner Geek". My money is on Harry Potter to be the biggest blockbuster for 2009. It's certainly the most anticipated after getting bumped back last year.


G.I. Joe with Lee Byung-hun a Most Anticipated Summer Movie (http://english.kbs.co.kr/Entertain/KpopNews/view.html?No=9669)
* [2009-05-05]

U.S. entertainment magazine Entertainment Weekly selected “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” with Korean actor Lee Byung-hun as one of the “22 Summer Movies for Your Inner Geek.”

Lee plays Storm Shadow, a double agent who provides information for G.I. Joes from the Cobra. The film is directed by Stephen Sommers, who directed the Mummy trilogy, and has a huge cast of big Hollywood names, such as Dennis Quaid, Marlon Wayans, and Sienna Miller. The movie is due for American release on August 7th.

The magazine also named “Star Trek: The Beginning,” “Terminator Salvation,” “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” and “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” as the most anticipated summer blockbusters for 2009.

[doug maverick]

yeah warners did a good job by pushing it to the summer, i dont know if its going to be the biggest, but it might be. star trek is looking like its gonna do 100-120m opening weekend, and thats not an exaggeration. as for G.I.Joe, accelerator suits thas all i got to say. they took my favorite childhood cartoon and turned it into a ****ing super hero movie.

[Zenshiite]

The only thing cool about GI JOE to me is the ninjas. So... all I care about Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. Probably the most compelling character stories in the whole GI JOE world.

[doug maverick]

what about my dude...swift kick, always liked that character. but yeah snake eyes and storm shadow take the cake.

[Zenshiite]

Quick Kick, I think it was. He was cool... but I don't think he was around much. Early on he was there and the occasional cameo. He was cool though. Loved him.

[Shaolinlueb]

there are a ton of great characters in gi joe.

firefly
zartan
destro
major bludd
doctor mindbender
tomax
xamot
zandar

gung ho
bazooka
shipwreck
flint
alpine
beach head
dusty
falcon
leatherneck
roadblock
rock n roll

to name a few. there are tons of others. and thats not even counting past the original joe series.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBfnQXWvatw

[Zenshiite]

I like the look of recognition on Storm Shadows... eyes... when he and Snake-Eyes clash blades. He sees the Arashikage hexagram on that blade.

[Shaolinlueb]

oh god. this looks awful. transformers made me love transformers even more.


delta 6 suits? wtf? this looks like garbage.

[GeneChing]

See GI JOE - YO JOE, The Snake Has Returned (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=833) by Dr. Craig Reid, exclusively on our ezine.

[Lucas]

ill watch it, even if it does end up sucking and getting bad reviews. i was into the G I Joe as a kid, so its kind of manditory for me to check it out.

i did see a clip of this on the tonight show with conan obrien, it was a scene where they toppled the eiffel tower. looked pretty neat. good special effects on it anyway.

[Jimbo]

Hmmm...the other day I went to the theater to watch Orphan, and there's a big line of people waiting outside. After the movie, a much bigger crowd, now with security people, some cops and news vans all parked on the street. Turns out it was a special pre-release showing of G.I. Joe and some of the film's cast were making personal appearances at the theater. It's a small, mall theater, but one that has lots of special events, like the San Diego Asian (and Latin) Film Festivals. I didn't stick around to see any stars, though.

[xcakid]

Saw the movie last Saturday. I must say it was Awesome! The action was great! Specially the scenes in Paris and under the polar ice cap. They did great with the CGI too. It was seemless and they made a lot of the vehicles look like the ones in the cartoon. Let me also add, Rachel Nichols and Sienna Miller looked HOOOOTTT!! Although I did not like Sienna Miller with black hair. But I guess the Baronnes couldn't be a blonde. Rachel Nichols is a blonde, but she looked great as a redhead.

[Shaolinlueb]

i thought it was going to be crap. and it wasn't. it was so awesome i saw it twice!

[GeneChing]

...but G.I. Joe's Kung Fu Grip, that's priceless.


‘G.I. Joe’ Kung Fu Grips the Box Office (http://www.newsinfilm.com/?p=20101)

Published by Jeff Leins on: August 9th, 2009

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra won the box office battle this weekend, earning an estimated $56.2 million from 4,007 locations. The opening is about $10 million north of analyst expectations and the second largest non-sequel for an August release.

The action movie debuted overseas in 75% of its foreign markets, grabbing another $44 million for a worldwide total of over $100 million in three days. Partners Hasbro, Paramount, and Spyglass Entertainment were initially concerned with making a $175 million production about “real American heroes,” so the team was expanded to be an international task force and the G.I. became “global integrated.” The marketing costs were estimated at another $150 million.

Like Hasbro’s other toy-to-movie franchise (Transformers), Joe was mostly critic-proof. The studio only screened the movie for select outlets and didn’t invite press critics, usually a sign of a lack of confidence in quality. After reviews were compiled, the RottenTomatoes score fell to 39% positive. Meanwhile, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has slowed to $393.7 million total in the U.S.

The other major opening this week was Julie & Julia starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. The PG-13 biopic of the late chef Julia Child made $20.1 million. As solid counter-programming to Joe, it played to a predominantly female audience and 55% over the age of 50. That might explain why I missed it.

G-Force and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince have been flip flopping since their release, but this time Jerry Bruckheimer’s animated guinea pigs beat Potter with $9.8 million to the sequel’s $8.9 million.

Last week’s weak winner, Funny People, dropped 65% to $7.9 million and rounded out the top five. I’m still trying to figure out where and why $75 million of Universal’s money went in this R-rated comedy.

GI Joe: The Rise of CobraThe only other newcomer was the low-budget horror flick A Perfect Getaway. It had a modest bow at $5.8 million on a budget of $14M.

One of the year’s best films, (500) Days of Summer, snuck into the top 10 with $3.72 million.

3-Day U.S. weekend estimates:
1. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra $56.2 million
2. Julie & Julia $20.1 million
3. G-Force $9.8 million
4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince $8.9 million
5. Funny People $7.9 million
6. The Ugly Truth $7 million
7. A Perfect Getaway $5.8 million
8. Aliens in the Attic $4 million
9. Orphan $3.73 million
10. (500) Days of Summer $3.72 million


Movie Review: G.I. Joe loses its kung-fu grip on our patience (http://www.kelowna.com/2009/08/07/movie-review-g-i-joe-loses-its-kung-fu-grip-on-our-patience/)
Friday, August 7th, 2009 | 6:00 pm
By Mark Stone

I think I’ve come up with the perfect way to determine whether you will enjoy GI Joe: The Rise Of Cobra (now playing at Cineplex Orchard Plaza and Landmark Capitol). It boils down to two questions: Are you curious to see what a $175 million budget will buy with respect to visual effects, and, are you a fan of non-stop – and I mean NON STOP – mindless action? If you answered yes to either of these questions, there’s a very high probability that you’ll like this movie.

There are fifteen minutes of fantastic film sequence that takes place in Paris during the film’s second act that stand out as perhaps the most mind-blowing action sequences I’ve seen. Other than that, I don’t know what to say… this movie is 120 minutes of straight action: things blowing up, guns firing, people fighting, more things blowing up, chases, and very loud crashes. If you enter the theatre with even the slightest hint of a headache, you’ll come out with your noggin just wishin’ for an Advil overdose.

G.I. Joe’s plot is as preposterous as its screenplay (more on that screenplay later). At the beginning of the film, we’re clued in to the fact that everyone – both good guys and bad – is after the ultimate weapon called nanomites. These mutant genetic creatures can burst into green clouds of what appear to resemble fiendish termites that devour everything in sight, giving way to disaster scenes that come across like recycled footage from “The Mummy.” This is no coincidence; the same guy, Stephen Sommers, directs both films. Sommers even summons up Mummy star Brendan Fraser in a completely useless cameo here as a G.I. Joe trainer. I use the term useless because Fraser doesn’t have a single line of dialogue in the film. The four main characters in the story, who may or may not flip between good and evil, are Duke (a completely wooden Channing Tatum), his sidekick Ripcord (Marlon Wayans), his former fiancée Ana (Sienna Miller), and his former partner Rex (an almost unrecognizable Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Dennis Quaid, who must have either lost a bet or took the job without ever reading the script, plays the G.I. leader.

Back to that screenplay and dialogue thing. G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra now takes a place in film history as having the very worst screenplay I have ever seen come to life (death?) on film. There are probably countless films with dialogue worse than Cobra, but none whose screenplay is this consistently bad. I wish I could have written down more than two examples, but there’s a few that come to mind. After the nanomites have destroyed the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the U.S. President’s advisor tells him, in the same tone he’d use as if he were talking about the weather, “The French are rather upset.” In another scene at the end of the movie where the hero and villain face off for the last time, the villain actually utters the phrase, “You and what army?” See what I mean about the dreadful dialogue?

There can only be two logical explanations for how this screenplay came about. Either it was written by a Hasbro focus group comprised primarily of 12-year old boys, or it was ripped off from a dubbed soundtrack of a foreign version of the film released in some alternate universe. When a studio’s movie costs $175 million to make, one would hope that they would spend at least one million to buy a decent screenplay. Not the case here.

Watching this film is not unlike Morgan Spurlock’s Supersize Me diet, where he consumed only McDonalds for 30 days. It isn’t so bad going down, but there’s just too much and when it’s all over you’re left with a massive headache. But if it’s non-stop action you seek, you will not be disappointed.

[xcakid]

That Mark Stone writer above must LOOVVEEE chick flicks and hates action flick. Let me guess, he's from the Castro District of San Farncisco. :p

[GeneChing]

...worse - he's from Canada. :p

But he's not the only one panning the flick. Here's one from NY.

'G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra': This snake is inane (http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2009/08/07/2009-08-07_gi_joe_the_rise_of_the_cobra_.html)
Joe Neumaier

Friday, August 7th 2009, 2:16 PM
Frank Masi

Maybe if they would have used the actual poseable action figures, the producers of "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" would have gotten some lively performances. As it is, star Channing Tatum speaks his lines as if someone is pulling the voice cord attached to his neck.

The dialogue, of course, isn't the point of "G.I.Joe," which wasn't screened for critics before opening, and for good reason. Director Stephen Sommers' actioner joins such embarrassing company as "The Avengers," "Lost in Space," "Wild Wild West" and "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" in the annals of inane summer would-be blockbusters that make your brain bleed.

Sure, big dumb fun can be big dumb fun, but Sommers goes beyond the "more is more" modus operandi and launches into "too much is never enough" territory. The action scenes are all over the place, the team (constantly called "the Joes," which, even to a Joe, sounds ridiculous) is blurred into one big mass, including the guy swathed in a gray hoodie who never talks, and the villain's big plot is one we've seen a million times. Well, a million and one now. The best fun that can be had here is laughing at the movie, which, if you're in the mood, could warrant a half a star.

Tatum is Duke, a blank-faced ex-military hotshot recruited, with his pal Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) into an exclusive international fighting unit that gets to play with high-tech toys and armor while fighting the world's evil.

Today's evil is brought to you by a Scottish weapons industrialist who wants to force the world to bend to his will and then his operatives will take over. He comes from a long line of rascals, apparently, because the very first scene takes place in France in the year 1641 and involves a man in an iron mask. Because that's exactly what belongs in a "G.I. Joe" movie.

As Duke meets the full team — including General Hawk (Dennis Quaid), Scarlett (Rachel Nichols), Breaker (Saïd Taghmaoui), and Heavy Duty (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) — he discovers his onetime love Ana (a ludicrous, dark-tressed Sienna Miller) is helping the nasty industrialist in his evil deeds. There's also a scientist wearing a Darth Vader breathing apparatus, some nonsense about nano-robots and a dimly-lit undersea compound that looks like a plumber's dream.

Forget the wooden performances — including Joseph Gordon-Levitt of "(500) Days of Summer" — the constant flashbacks, the ADD-style visuals (even two boys fighting over food is edited with a Ginsu knife). What defines the movie is that the nano-robots eat steel, and during a chase to catch the villains and their weapons in Paris, someone realizes a major landmark could be the target. It comes as a surprise to the Joes when they realize where they're headed. Let's see... Paris? Steel? Major landmark? What could that be?

There's a way to do this kind of thing (Just witness Hasbro's other toy-turned-dumb movie franchise, "Transformers"). "G.I. Joe," though, hasn't got a kung fu-grip on what it is.
There are over 1000 reviews on the web, but I'm only focusing on the ones that mention kung fu grip. ;)

[GeneChing]

Q: Why are Barbie's breasts blue?
A: Because G.I. Joe has kung fu grip. :p


His Kung Fu Grip Is Less Than Gripping (http://www.seemagazine.com/article/screen/screen-feature/gij0813/)
Your childhood dolls come to life (albeit still with only one facial expression) in G.I. Joe
Published August 13, 2009 by Jonn Kmech in Screen Feature

Hey, Joe, Where You Going With That Gun In Your Hand? | Channing Tatum takes aim at narrative coherence in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA
Directed by Stephen Sommers. Starring Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Sienna Miller, Dennis Quaid. Now playing.
**

As is relatively well-known now, the G.I. Joe dolls of today are grotesquely disproportional caricatures of the male physique compared to their original counterparts from the 1960s. If they were attempting to do the same thing with their movie that Mattel has done with the dolls, the makers of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra have succeeded wildly. Compared to, say, The Dirty Dozen, Rise of Cobra is a grotesquely disproportional caricature of soldiers and fighting. There is nothing realistic about any part of this film, but it does supply the same level of carefree escapism as a G.I. Joe helping a child cherry-bomb an anthill.

We’re quickly introduced to our villain, James McCullen (Christopher Eccleston), whose weapons company MARS has designed a state-of-the-art nanotechnology weapon. Our heroes, Duke (Channing Tatum) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) are part of the U.S. Army squadron delivering warheads with this weapon to NATO when they’re ambushed by the evil Baroness (Sienna Miller) who works for the shadowy syndicate Cobra. Luckily, they’re saved by members of G.I. Joe, a special wing of the U.S. Army. After convincing General Hawk (Dennis Quaid) to allow them to join the unit, Duke and Ripcord have to stop McCullen, the Baronness, and Cobra from (surprise, surprise) trying to bring about a new world order.

In lieu of a proper review, I think it’d be more appropriate to just list off some of the totally badass **** that director Stephen Sommers and his screenwriters have tossed into G.I. Joe: nano-robots turning tanks into green clouds of dust, children head-butting each other, training montages, underwater manned submarines that look like sharks, ninjas engaging in multiple fights to the death, vinyl-clad women beating each other senseless, Dennis Quaid growling, pulse cannons that knock people backwards, supersoldier robotic suits that have miniguns on their arms... well, you get the idea. The only element that is disappointingly missing from this treasure trove of action insanity is gigantic shape-shifting robots fighting each other to save Earth. Sadly, no film that I’m aware of features that.

With Van Helsing and the Mummy movies under his belt, Sommers is well-known for fantastical films featuring a lot of style and action with no substance, so he was a perfect directorial choice for something as blatantly escapist as Rise of Cobra. Its plot is nonsensical, the troubled romance between Miller and Tatum is by-the-book, and the acting is about on par with what could be expected of human-sized plastic figurines with such special features as Movable Arms, Realistic Kicking Action, and Single Face Expression!

Yet I still liked it slightly better than Transformers 2. It’s another totally outlandish cacophony of CGI, but there are a few enjoyable winks toward the ’80s G.I. Joe cartoon and the action didn’t induce a migraine. However, it should come with a Surgeon’s General warning: watching both G.I. Joe and Transformers 2 at the same time could cause your head to melt. Seriously. If both films were put together, Bruce Willis could use them to destroy an asteroid.

[Shaolinlueb]

this movie alone is a reason to buy a blue ray player when they come out with a huge 1080p screen tv. :o

[sanjuro_ronin]

Saw it on the 4th, loved it !
A nice good old fashioned action movie without any silly pretenses !!

[Lokhopkuen]

I'm watching it now, really fun stuff. I wish I didn't know martial art though because then I wouldn't notice how bad theirs suck in this film. Cool thing that the red head chick can turn invisible 'cause then you can't see her horrible kicks LOL!

Go Joe!:rolleyes:

[GeneChing]

I don't really know the other franchises that well beyond Transformers (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?47070-Transformers). Maybe I remember Micronauts too. Hasbro also owns My Little Pony. They should be part of this new universe too.


Paramount, Hasbro Creating Movie Universe Around G.I. Joe, Four Other Brands (Exclusive) (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/paramount-hasbro-gi-joe-universe-848920)

http://cdn5.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/675x380/2015/06/gi_joe_rise_of_cobra_channing_tatum_still.jpg
'G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra'
Frank Masi/Paramount Pictures

by Gregg Kilday 12/15/2015 7:00am PST
Under a new deal between the studio and Hasbro's Allspark Pictures, G.I. Joe will join up with characters from the Micronauts, Visionairies, M.A.S.K. and ROM brands.

Paramount Pictures and Hasbro are embarking on a new universe of interrelated characters and stories. The studio — which is already in the process of expanding its Transformers universe after four movies based on that popular Hasbro toy line — is announcing a new deal with Hasbro on Tuesday that will see Paramount and Allspark Pictures, Hasbro’s film label, build an interconnected, cross-property onscreen universe, featuring characters from five of Hasbro’s other brands: G.I. Joe, Micronauts, Visionairies, M.A.S.K. (Mobile Armored Strike Kommand) and ROM.

Allspark Pictures will produce the films, and Brian Goldner, Hasbro chairman, president and CEO, Hasbro exec vp and chief content officer Stephen Davis, Hasbro head of film development Josh Feldman are working with Paramount to shape the new universe from the five properties. Just as has been done with Transformers, where Akiva Goldsman led a writers’ room to develop further installments in that franchise, Hasbro and Paramount plan to assemble a writers’ room, comprised of top talent, to develop a creative roadmap.

READ MORE Paramount Brewing 'Transformers' Universe With Akiva Goldsman
The Transformers franchise has grossed more than $3.8 billion to-date, and the two G.I. Joe movies Paramount has released, in 2009 and 2013, have grossed more than $675 million worldwide.

"Paramount and Hasbro have had a longstanding relationship and we're proud of the success we've enjoyed on the Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises,” Brad Grey, Paramount chairman and CEO, said in announcing the deal. "We're excited to grow our agreement and make even more movies based upon these popular and powerful Hasbro characters and their worlds."

“Hasbro and Allspark Pictures put storytelling at the center of everything that we do. These brands are filled with memorable stories and vivid characters, and this universe creates a framework for how they will become interconnected,” Goldner added. “Extending our partnership with Paramount allows us to continue our long-term strategy and overall vision to build dynamic worlds for all of our brands, and we are thrilled to collaborate with them as we develop these properties.”

WME’s Rob Carlson represented Hasbro in the deal.

[MightyB]

I don't really know the other franchises that well beyond Transformers (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?47070-Transformers). Maybe I remember Micronauts too. Hasbro also owns My Little Pony. They should be part of this new universe too.

Rom space knight. And mask, they were like transformers except they were spy vehicles. Sports cars turned into submarines. That kind of thing.