G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
My conservative estimation is that, if you didn’t like “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” you will probably like “G.I. Joe.” Even if you liked “Revenge of the Fallen” (all of us in the minority), there’s a better chance you’ll like it. Not too jokey, not too patently ridiculous (although one action sequence really does have moments that stretch credibility), Stephen Sommers makes up for the inanities of the first two “Mummy” movies and “Van Helsing” by bringing “Joe” into the modern era with excitement and just plain coolness. Don’t get me wrong- for action escapism with a real sense of force and feeling, J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” is still the summer’s best ticket, but for a movie not many- myself included- had the best of hopes for, I can’t really say I wasted my time.
Sommers has collected a terrific cast to bring these “real American heroes” to life. But first, a little background for the uninitiated. “G.I. Joe” is a super-covert unit of the U.S. military, run by General Hawk (Dennis Quaid) and having a multi-cultural core crew; the British Heavy Duty (Adeuale Akinnugye-Agbaje), the silent but deadly Snake Eyes (Ray Park), the computer whiz Breaker (Said Taghmaoui), and the comely and brilliant Scarlett (Rachel Nichols). As in the toy line, the TV series, and the comics that inspired it, here, G.I. Joe must face-off with the Cobra Organization, the original global terrorist organization my generation knew of. Led by the nefarious Cobra Commander (not seen in his true visage until the end) and Destro (ditto), Cobra looks to rein destruction on the world, with a ground team led by the lethally sexy Baroness (Sienna Miller), Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee), and the wicked Zartan (Arnold Vosloo).
“Rise of Cobra,” scripted by a team including Stuart Beattie (“Collateral”) and David Elliot and Paul Lovett (“Four Brothers), tracks the introduction of brothers in arms Duke (Channing Tatum) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) into the Joes when a military weapon (capable of destroying metal) developed by billionaire arms manufacturer McCullen (Christopher Eccleston) is hijacked by Cobra. Or at least it’s the target of Cobra- a chance encounter with the Baroness- who loved Duke until he let her brother Rex (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) died in combat- leaves the weapon in Duke’s hands, and both characters reeling with feelings long forgotten.
There’s more to the story, but why bother recounting it? What people want to know about is whether Sommers delivers the goods, or puts another nail in Gen X’s childhood coffin. No doubt both positions will be argued endlessly. I can’t really find much wrong with Sommers’ high-tech update of the iconic franchise. Rather than comic relief the Hell out of the film, and camp it up big-time like he did the “Mummy” flicks, Sommers just lets any humor come out naturally, and plays it straight. That doesn’t mean all the humor works, but it’s not as miserable as some of my least favorite moments in Michael Bay’s “Transformers” films are.
Where Sommers really delivers is in the action scenes. There were moments in the Paris showdown that threw me out of the movie, but otherwise he delivers a big-canvas action picture with skill and excitement that gave me tingles- this has always been a good indicator of an action flick’s ability to “work” for me. But a lot of that comes from the fact that Sommers lets the action be driven by character motivations. Yes, some of the effects are simply terrific, but without compelling characters, all the money in the world means jack and squat in the long run.
All the actors score in their roles. Some bring predictable power to their roles (Quaid, Eccleston, and Jonathan Pryce as the President of the United States), some a physical prowess that will wow you when in action (like Park and Lee during their battles together), and some a sex appeals that fanboys will always get behind (Nichols and Miller). The unknowns were Tatum and Gordon-Levitt, friends who co-starred in last year’s startling “Stop-Loss,” but who bring their characters down to Earth (kind of- Gordon-Levitt as The Doc becomes over-the-top baddie at the end, but the core of what developed his character is never in question). Also of question was Wayans as Ripcord- the actor could’ve made Ripcord this film’s Jar Jar Binks or Skids and Mudflap, but color me surprised- Wayans actually made me care for this character. Of course, it’s not hard to forget his work in “Requiem for a Dream” when his comedy work is so up front in moviegoers minds.
Bottom line is, check your brain at the door. Sommers sets up a sequel in ways that’ll either make you cringe or hope the film resonates enough to merit one, but it’s hard not to feel a little bit of a buzz by the time the film ends. Go Joe!!
