** (2 stars)G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Genre: Action
118 minutes - PG13 rating
Director: Stephen Sommers
Starring: Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, Marlon Wayans, Dennis Quaid, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rachel Nichols, Ray Park, and more.
Brief Plot: Duke (Tatum) and Ripcord (Wayans) are two army buds on a mission to deliver some high-tech warheads. When the warheads are subsequently stolen by a crooked arms dealer they are taken in and fight alongside the G.I. Joes, a secret multi-national military organization dedicated to saving the earth from evil villains. Mayhem ensues as the Joes try to stop the evil terrorists from destroying several key cities in the world.
Best Audience: It's an true-fire action movie; that's where the buck stops. You'll enjoy it if you are expecting that when you walk into the theater. Relentless action violence may make the film unsuitable for younger teens.
My Review: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is a movie with a title that just reeks of 'sequel'. And true to that, the film ends with a realm of possibilities to expand for future installments. It is almost as pretentious a notion of 'franchising' as what we saw in the first Transformers movie and, coincidentally, the two films share much in common. I was ready for Sommers to let me down but he didn't do too bad of a job. Despite some terribly cheesy dialogue, the script and story were decent and had a good twist or two to keep you interested throughout the two hour run-time. The action is non-stop with little or no room to catch your breath, and, like Transformers 2, made me antsy by the time the final climactic battle scenes were underway. Besides Transformers, you may find little hints of Star Wars, Iron Man, X-men, and a variety of other action franchises throughout the film. An attempt at romantic subplot did little to break up the action for me, but the ninja back story proved more effective. Altogether, G.I. Joe is a free-for-all CGI-gorging trigger-happy explosions-laden action-palooza that had some enjoyable moments and some forgettable ones. Despite seeming a bit pretentious, the film doesn't take itself too seriously, and, as long as you don't, you won't walk out disappointed.





