I ended up deciding to go see G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. I was sort of interested when I first saw a preview since I had watched the cartoons after school back in the 80s. I wasn't sure about seeing it for a while, but then I decided to go ahead and see the movie. It isn't great and has it has issues, but it works as a mindless action movie for the most part.
A weapons manufacturer has unveiled his newest weapon, nanotechnology that can eat metal in a warhead. The development of the new weapon was funded by NATO, who just happens to be getting the first four warheads made. A military group is assigned to deliver the weapons and they are attacked by a group of people with very high tech weapons and equipment. That group, led by Baroness, is after the warheads and only stopped when an elite military force, G.I. Joe, arrive. Duke and Ripcord are the only members of the original military team who survive. They manage to join the Joe team, mainly because Duke recognizes Baroness as the woman he'd been engaged too, Anna. It turns out that the weapons manufacturer is actually involved with the attempted theft and he and his group have bigger plans.
The plot is rather thin and not that strong, though it is sort of interesting. Things really aren't that complicated even there has been an attempt to make things more complex but adding in more backstory, like the history between Duke and Baroness. Some of those things are sort of interesting, but they really didn't add that much to what was going on. The movie is longer than it needs to be. Things are set up for another movie. I basically have forgotten just about everything from the cartoon and I've never read the comic books, so I have no clue what sort of things were changed.
There are a lot of action scenes throughout the movie. There are fights between various characters, shootings with some sort of futuristic high tech pulse type guns, chases, and explosions. The action scenes are entertaining for the most part, but they do go overboard at times. Shakey camera work turns up during some of the action scenes, which I still find annoying. There are a lot of special effects. Some of them look cool, while others aren't as good. It is very clear that more attention and effort was put into the effects than the actual story.
There are a lot of characters in the movie, most of which really aren't developed. The cast is fine, though nothing that special. Sienna Miller does do well as Baroness even though she has to say some really bad lines.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie and think it works as a mindless action movie. It wasn't as bad as some critics have said. In some ways it was better than the new Transformers movie...at least there were the crude attempts at humor.
I did get a review posted at Epinions if anyone wants to take a look.
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
