Movie Review Of G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra

Would you like my review of G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra?

I will give it to you in two words.....

Absolutely awesome!

This was the best movie that I have seen this year.

Seriously.

Now, before I went to see the movie last night, I noticed that the reviews for the film kind of fell into two categories.

Number one, people who actually followed G.I. Joe or people who actually like action films loved it.

Number two, movie critics who want every movie to be another "Atonement" mostly hated it.

So I went and watched the movie myself.

And I absolutely loved it.

What I appreciated the most is that it stayed true to so much of the G.I. Joe mythology from the 1980s.

Instead of trying to "reinvent" the franchise as so many other remakes of established properties have done (such as the "new Battlestar Galactica" abomination), this film respected the 1980s version of G.I. Joe and took it seriously.

And that is what I was truly hoping for. A movie that really took G.I. Joe seriously.

But not only that, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was much better than I was anticipating.

The action scenes were absolutely jaw dropping and the story moved along at a brisk pace. The writers squeezed a huge amount into two hours that seemed to fly by all too quickly. There was tons of eye candy and almost constant fight scenes, but there was also enough of a story that even my wife loved the film (and she is not an action film fan at all).

Some of the noteworthy performances in the film include the following.....

Sienna Miller truly stole every scene that she was in. This has got to be the best performance I have ever seen her give. As the Baroness, she was a stylish, yet convincing villain.

Channing Tatum was also outstanding as the lead G.I. Joe character Duke. I even appreciated that the producers put a scar on his cheek as a reference to the original G.I. Joe action figures from the 1960s which always had a scar on their cheeks. A solid performance by Tatum in the film definitely.

Byung-hun Lee was quite captivating as Storm Shadow. Hopefully we will see more of him in future films.

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was impressive in a supporting role as Heavy Duty. Perhaps he will get an even bigger role in the next film.

Rachel Nichols as Scarlett was good, but she got a bit overemotional in the second half of the film. Although that could be considered a slight flaw in the writing.

When I heard that Marlon Wayans was going to portray Ripcord in the movie, I honestly thought that it would be a complete disaster. But, he was not bad.

Some of the other acting was hit and miss, but with Sienna Miller and Channing Tatum delivering such powerhouse performances, and with the interweaving story lines and amazing action scenes providing constant thrills, there is no way that you cannot call the G.I. Joe movie a smashing success.

After so many other disappointments at the movies this summer, it was great to go see a film that radically surpassed all expectations.

As a fan of G.I. Joe from the 1980s, I heartily endorse this film. Everyone should go and see it. Personally, I can't wait for a sequel. Not only has this film breathed new life into G.I. Joe, but it has set a new bar for the action film genre.

Go see G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra, and go see it now. It is an extraordinary film by any measure, and it is certainly the BEST movie that you will see this summer.