Greatest American Heroes…

"It's dumb" – One of my youth

    Yes it's dumb, of course it's dumb. If you have ever seen the old cartoon you know that the stories of GI Joe are more about the cool characters and vehicles than any kind of cohesive plot. Running around the world to find bits of dead emperors or looking for rare elements to fuel a world destroying device are not stories of mythical proportions. However, they are a blast to watch (even still) because of the nostalgia and the fun factor, something I think GI Joe nailed from the get go. I think the franchise appeals to me because it feeds some of the things I really enjoy without even bothering to answer some of the more obvious questions might ask such as:

Where does Cobra get all the money for their equipment?

How does one manage to build an undersea base like this without anyone noticing… or one in the desert… or in space… or whatever?

Despite the fact that Joe HQ is always in the same place why is that Cobra never does a full on assault and wipe them out? Instead they only break in when they need to free someone or steal information?

Why would anyone follow Cobra Commander given his penchant for crackpot ideas and then why is it easier to make Serpentor instead of just having Destro or some other genius do it?

When they are busy destroying the world in very obvious ways why does Cobra need stealth bombers?

    These are just a few of the questions someone who wants may realism may ask. It is what a moviegoer with little familiarity with the subject matter may ask as well. As far as I am concerned GI Joe is the BEST interpretation of the source material to the big screen as I have seen in a long time. It doesn't take itself seriously but hits almost every note spot on and as a result it is a heck of a lot of fun. It is better than Transformers in that it knows what it is, a movie based on a cartoon, comic, and most importantly a toy line. It has the big battles folks would want, the cool character fights a la Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, it even has some good character development (which surprised the heck out of me) and felt like a great start to the franchise. I know it isn't going to hit everyone the right way but seriously if you love big action and some good laughs with a decent if paper thin plot you will enjoy GI Joe. Here are some of the things that I was glad to see in the film:

• GI Joe as a military group is big. They are multi-national (which makes sense in today's world but also as to how the rest of the world saw GI Joe in the 80's. While they were American to the US and to us they were marketed as a world force to the rest of the world) and there are lots of Joes. I was terrified this was gonna be some podunk unit with like 6 members and its not. There is lots of room for cameos of characters we know and love and I dug that… although I wish they would have done that more in this movie...
  
• Cobra is also big, although not called Cobra yet. What's cool they is that they are called MARS which is a reference to the source and not some new creation for the movie. It really seems like the makers of the movie wasn't all that interested in introducing too many new elements.
  
• Snake-Eyes was perfect except for one thing… and I may be breaking my own rule here… why does the guy need a mouth on his costume when he doesn't even talk? It looks dumb. I am sure they thought the face "needed something more" but I disagree. Maybe some venting or something but… a fake mouth!?!? Still the character was awesome.
  
• The overall plot was absolutely note perfect GI Joe bliss. Nano-bot missiles that destroy entire cities and have a kill switch to shut em off? Wicked idea that fits in nicely with the other world domination plot ideas from the other incarnations of the series.
  
• The battles are spectacular and well filmed, especially the underwater battle.
  
• Destro (Christopher Eccleston) was awesome and I loved his transformation and the idea behind it (despite the effect looking pretty dumb)
  

 

If you have been looking for a fun film this summer I don't think this one will let you down. It succeeds where other films of its kind fail, it knows that the material cannot be taken too seriously except in the way that is respects the source material. Transformers wanted so badly to be taken seriously. With a wink and a nod I believe this film makes you feel like you would be an idiot and lose a lot of the fun factor if you took it seriously and when it comes to this flick knowing that is half the battle! Yo Joe.