G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra Movie Review
New Stephen Sommers Film With Sienna Miller
The original G.I. Joe toy line was released in 1964, as a series of four 12-inch figures, based on various divisions of the military (featuring a soldier, marine, pilot, and sailor). After various additions, and changes to the military format in the 1970s due to the aftermath of the Vietnam war, G.I. Joe was re-released as 3 3/4 inch figures in 1982, under the banner of G.I. Joe: The Real American Hero, with an evil force in opposition under the name of Cobra.
Under the Republican regime of Ronald Reagan, the new franchise was perfect for its time, playing towards the renewed patriotism and emphasis on military spending brought about by Reagan's election. For the animated series introduced in 1985, most of the Cobra hierarchy, such as Destro and The Baroness, both of whom appear in G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra, were given foreign accents, subtly suggesting that the G.I. Joe series was being played as a capitalist vs. communist tale.
The Baroness
For G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra, Stephen Sommers and his writers, Stuart Beattie, David Elliot, and Paul Lovett, have taken on board some of the storylines and character histories established in the long-running comic book, in an attempt to not alienate the nostalgia market which is vital to the success of this new breed of blockbuster.
The most notable instance of deviating and manipulating the previous narratives comes with the character of The Baroness, played by Sienna Miller. Unlike the original cartoon and comic series, which were focused primarily on their male characters, G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra centers around The Baroness character, with her current actions and history dovetailing in to all the storyline threads.
In the film, The Baroness, or Ana as she was known, is shown to have had a previous love affair with Duke (Channing Tatum), a relationship which ended in sourness after Duke couldn't prevent Ana's brother Rex from being killed whilst on a mission. Both unable to cope and incapable of talking to one another, Duke throws himself into his service, and Ana turns to a life of crime - a slight reworking of her comic book origins.
The truth behind The Baroness' situation drives the film forward, and it is she who is seen as the key link in preventing James McCullen (Christopher Eccleston) from unleashing a new wave of weapon upon the world. Miller is given little chance to display her talents, with most of the scenes moving along at a brisk and sometimes incomprehensible speed.
Stephen Sommers
As with his other major blockbuster pictures, such as The Mummy(1999) or Van Helsing (2004), Stephen Sommers paces G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra as a series of set-pieces. The exposition between these scenes is often clunky, and Dennis Quaid as General Hawk is reduced to only reciting cliches as his dialogue.
With the emphasis on the action, Sommers directs several competent and dynamic scenes, featuring a liberal amount of CGI and fantastical weaponry. A chase through the streets of Paris, which culminates in homage to Team America: World Police (2005), features Duke and Heavy Duty (Marlon Wayans) hurtling through the traffic in special suits which enable them to run and jump at superhuman capability.
Channing Tatum
Unlike the successful The Mummy, which despite its similar lack of engaging plot or room for performance gained emotional involvement through the charisma of Brendan Fraser, G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra lacks a similar presence. As Duke, Channing Tatum successfully essays an action figure, but adds no depth to the character, even in scenes with the love of his life, Ana. Heavy Duty is purely there for comic relief, and the rest of the Joe team are rough sketches of characters.
Most characters are not allowed to explain their backstories, or given the chance as actors to convey the pain or strain caused from them - as has been played with some success in the recent Batman films - but instead all such items are dealt with in short flashbacks which come and go in a second, making their points but occurring with such frequency that none have time to sink in.
As a first film in a franchise, G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra succeeds in establishing the premise of the series, denoting who the major villains will be, if the Joes themselves are fairly generic, and through the focus on action and a fast-moving, CGI-assisted camera, establishes that it will be a franchise in the same mould as that of Michael Bay's Transformers series, trying to capture a new generation of children.
G.I. Joe movie poster
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