Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)

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Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 08-07-2009, 06:26 AM:

Just home from watching G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. I must say the movie was FAR better than I had expected. Especially after hearing the studio wasn't going to do any press screenings.

As summer popcorn films go, G.I. Joe is well above average. Like Transformers 2, it is wall-to-wall action. But unlike Transformers, the action seems more engaging. The movie takes time to develop several of the central characters so you actually fell like you have something invested in the action. I'm not going to pretend it's got much of a story, but what story it has won't offend the senses.

I remember watching G.I. Joe when I was a kid, and I might have even had a couple action figures. I never read any of the comic books and I don't much about the various characters, but the movie seemed to be faithful to the concept of Joe and does have some of the key characters. However, I actually found that some of the weakest lines in were those that were ripped from the cartoon or comics "The more you know", "Go Joe", etc.

As a trivia question, I'm curious to know if anyone knows what G.I. Joe means without actually looking it up.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 08-07-2009, 09:25 AM:

If "Now you know"... "and knowing is half the battle" is not in this movie I will be very angry.

Posted by Richard P. May (Member # 3598) on 08-07-2009, 09:44 AM:

Well, if we're going back to traditional WWII vernacular, "G.I."meant "government issue". In other words, anything supplied for the troops. Obviously, "G.I. Joe" then would be a member of the armed services.

DM

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 08-07-2009, 06:18 PM:

No doubt the best action movie of the summer.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 08-07-2009, 07:42 PM:

But is it a roller coaster thrill ride?

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 08-07-2009, 07:50 PM:

quote: Joe Redifer
But is it a roller coaster thrill ride?

I lol'd

Posted by Jonathan Althaus (Member # 5042) on 08-08-2009, 01:17 PM:

Good action movie? Yes. Best action sequences this summer? No way. And I got tired of all the Star Wars similarities.

Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 08-08-2009, 06:12 PM:

This one is worth watching for sure. I think its the best comic book movie of the summer. Some of the CGI was suspect but for the most part it was solid. They took some liberties with the characters, and most were ok. Didn't really care for the way they change Cobra Commander, but its livable.

Joe, they do have the classic lines in the movie and I thought they were just fine the way they used them.

3.5/5 [thumbsup]

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 08-10-2009, 08:42 PM:

Lets see, action movies this summer, Wolverine, Terminator, Transformers, and GI Joe. I would have to put GI joe at the top of the list. Wolverine was boring, Terminator was good, but the story was blah, Transformers was good, but it was more love story than action. GI Joe rarely goes longer than 5 minutes without a fight scene or something blowing up, even the flash back scenes are action packed. It had a little bit of a love story thrown in, but it was actually a vital part of the story, which was actually an interesting storyline. So that is why I say it is the best action movie of the summer.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 08-10-2009, 11:49 PM:

THEATER: Regal River Point "Stadium" 14 -- Upon driving up to this theater I saw the words "STADIUM" in giant letters plastered on the lit signage. I got very excited because stadium seating is SOOOO RARE! Geez. I'm surprised that the official name isn't Regal Riverpoint Stadium Cupholder Swivel Armrest Digital Sound 3D 14.
AUDITORIUM: 7, I think
PRESENTATION: 35mm provided by used Strong Apogee projectors installed in a new building with Dolby Digital sound.
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: Movie looked like it started out of frame, but it didn't. The top masking (yucky common-width theater) moves extremely slow and took awhile to come down. Why does masking in a lot of new theaters move so damn slow? Anyway, trailers were dirty and one featured many vertical scratches all over the green band. Actually it was the attached trailer, Airbender, that was like this. WTF? Very unprofessional. They use some weird zig-zag type of splicing tape in the trailers. On the first frame of the green bands, I could see wavy shadows at the top of the screen. What kind of splicing tape is this? Looks horrible onscreen. Very unprofessional. They shouldn't be cutting on the first frame of the green band, anyway. But kids probably run their booth, so I shouldn't be surprised. Also, the sound is typical of Regal theaters in the area, way too much emphasis on the high frequencies and very little low end. I love loud sound and always crank my movies when I watch them by myself, but Regal always sounds "too loud" to me because of those ear-bleeding high frequencies. I don't know if this is faulty equipment or if there is some kind of corporate mandate that reads "All auditoriums must have ear-piercing audio that will make you deaf", but the Regal theaters in the area all sound very shrill and very unpleasant. This competes with auditorium #9 at the Colorado Mills theater for worst sound EQ ever. Waitaminute... I just remembered.... Regal uses KLIPSH speakers! Ah, no wonder the sound is always so horrible, but a proper EQ could minimize the issues. The print was very dirty at the reel change splices. Two lab splices, but the Dolby Digital never dropped out. The image was nice and bright and I did like that.

Has anyone ever heard of this weird-ass zig-zag tape that would cause wavy shadows onscreen as it passed?

------

The actual movie:I have to agree with Chris. Best action movie of the summer. But that's not really saying much at all, unfortunately. Each action movie these days is trying to have the most over-the-top action ever, and it is getting tot he point where I can't even tell what the hell is supposed to be going on. CGI looks so lifeless and everything these days is CGI. They still haven't gotten to the point where it looks real yet. Shakey-cam is the latest gimmick to try and make CGI look more realistic, but it only helps so much. Nobody did their own stunts in this movie. The computer did it for them and you could tell from a mile away.

Overall: A shit-fest, but almost a decent shit-fest.