If you’ve already watched the film, check out our discussion post.

G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra (2009)

When a shady arms dealer threatens the world with his schemes and the use of highly-advanced nanotechnology, the world turns to G.I. Joe, an elite unit composed of the best military operatives from around the world.

And if that sounds kind of cartoony and silly, then that’s just because that’s exactly how this movie is.

Based on the popular toy line of Hasbro, The Rise of Cobra is your stereotypical Hollywood summer film: lots of bang (literally) for your buck, filled with big explosions, shiny rides, and a general silliness about it all.

However, unlike the season’s former big-explosion film (which is incidentally another Hasbro toy movie), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, this movie was hands down a LOT better. Though far from being a masterpiece, The Rise of Cobra is still a lot more fun, with a style that kept me more interested and entertained than the Transformers sequel.

Directed by Stephen Sommers, who is best known for helming 1999’s The Mummy and its sequel The Mummy Returns, The story moved along at a nice pace, with flashbacks that explain the main characters’ back stories interspersed throughout. While the flashbacks cut into the flow, they were helpful in making the audience care for the characters more. Considering the pretty generic acting that they were exhibiting (or well, needed to exhibit), they needed as much sympathy from the audience as they could!

Special effects were mostly great, but there were a couple of scenes that jarred me (in a bad way) because of the poor quality of effects. Those weren’t important scenes though, and the main action sequences were all well done. If you’ve seen the trailer, then the scene in France is as over-the-top as it seems, and even more fun than any action sequence in Transformers.

If I seem to be comparing this film too much to Hasbro’s other toy/film franchise, it’s because that’s what it feels like to me. It’s like a whole new genre of movie: the TOY movie. However, this one doesn’t have big robots, replacing them instead with near-stereotypical elite soldiers, and is simply silly, unlike the posturing of Revenge, and as a review from the Boston Globe describes it:

The difference between the “Transformers’’ franchise and this is the difference between the aggressively stupid and the acceptably dumb.

The “Joes” are composed of Duke (Tatum), the hero with a troubled past; Ripcord (Wayans), the comic relief and black guy who doesn’t feel like he’s put in ‘just because’; Scarlett (Nichols), the brainy red-head; Snake Eyes (Park, best known for his other roles as Darth Maul in Star Wars and Toad in the X-Men film franchise), a silent martial artist/ninja; Breaker (Taghmaoui), the expert computer genius; and Heavy Duty (Akinnuoye-Agbaje), the resident second-in-command and heavy weapons expert.

Decent performances (by decent, I mean “just the right amount of silly”) by the supporting characters, including Dennis Quaid as Gen. Hawk and Brendan Fraser as Sgt. Stone in a hilarious cameo, round off the good guys.

Unfortunately for the Joes, it’s the villains that shine in the film. Christopher Eccleston as the devious arms dealer James McCullen is able to execute his double-crossing character excellently. Sienna Miller steals her scenes as the femme fatale Baroness/Anastacia de CoBray, and Byung-hun Lee as Storm Shadow (Snake Eyes’ rival ninja) infuses his performance with a balance of ruthlessness and bad-assery. Arnold Vosloo as Imhotep Zartan, the master of disguises, is understated but effective, while Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the Doctor was effective despite his little screen time.

A lot of other reviews are hating on the movie, and I get where they’re coming from. Despite its faults, I still immensely enjoyed Rise of Cobra, and if the box office results are any indication, then a lot of people did too. If you enjoyed Transformers, then this one is even better, sporting a better executed story and not trying too hard to come off as something more than a fun action ride. If you hated Transformers, then you can hopefully enjoy this one more - no gaping plot holes that befuddle you throughout the film, and with better humor to boot.

I’d recommend Rise of Cobra to anyone looking for a fun movie that gives you a lot of action, eye candy, and just the right amount of silliness to make it a great ride. I was about to rate it just a “B,” but I enjoyed it way much more than I expected, and compared to the other summer films, so I’ve gotta give it that “B+.” Just don’t take it too seriously, sit back and enjoy the thrills of a good summer action film.

And don’t forget, “knowing is half the battle!”

*Again, if you’ve already watched the film, be sure to give our discussion post a look!