Movie Review: G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra (2009)

Back in March, an over-the-air TV station played G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra. I watched it many years ago, when it was brand new and in the movie theater, but rewatching it on TV made me think about it a lot. While at Walmart, I found a DVD version of the movie, as well as two other G.I. Joe movies that came out after Rise of Cobra. I didn’t own a copy of the movie on DVD or any of the other movies in the series, so I purchased it and began to watch them.

During this summer, I want to write one post a week about movies that remind me of summer blockbusters. This week I had problems thinking of a movie I didn’t mind reviewing in a post. I recently watched the DVD version of G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, so I decided to pick it for the movie to review this week.

Google’s description of the movie’s plot is…

Armed with the latest in military and spy technology, the team of elite soldiers known as G.I. Joe travel around the globe to wherever their services are needed. In their latest assignment Gen. Hawk (Dennis Quaid), Duke (Channing Tatum) and the rest of the G.I. Joe team take on Destro (Christopher Eccleston), a corrupt arms dealer, and fight the growing threat of the mysterious Cobra organization.

The movie has a large cast which includes Channing Tatum, Dennis Quaid, Christopher Eccleston, Marlon Wayans, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The movie is directed by Stephen Sommers.

I remember when the movie was released, as well as some of the online controversy surrounding the script that was leaked online. When I had the chance to see the movie in theaters, I liked parts of it, but didn’t like other parts of it. To me, the movie wasn’t the worst action movie I ever saw and didn’t mind watching more than once, but it was one I wouldn’t normally watch for fun because I like it that much. All these years later, I wanted to rewatch it and remember if the parts I didn’t like about the movie are parts I still don’t like, or if I changed my mind about it.

Well, I still feel the same way about the movie as I did back then. The movie itself is very nostalgic for me because of the time period and the stories I have about going to see it with my friends. Those memories make the movie very special for me, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best action movie ever or that everyone who watches the movie will actually enjoy it.

The movie’s plot moves very fast and the story could be hard for people unfamiliar with the G.I. Joe toys to follow. The explanations of each character and anything else important to the plot are done quickly via character dialogue. This makes many of the character’s dialogue seem odd and lack a more natural way of communicating with one another. Since there is a lot of plot to catch the audience up on, this probably was one of the only ways for the film to explain the plot, the characters, and anything else the audience needs to know to keep up with the film. I personally don’t mind this, but I believe this is because I watched the movie many times when it was released. The film’s dialogue is very familiar to me and allows me to focus on other parts of the movie. For first time viewers will have problems with the dialogue, especially when it comes to the details of the movie that make it more enjoyable to watch.

The action sequences are, like the plot, faced paced. They don’t show as much blood, guts, and gore as modern day action movies tend to, but there is enough going on that it may bother anyone with a sensitivity to blood, guts, and gore. Like with other action movies I watched over the years, there are certain action sequence I don’t enjoy because of what happens in it, but there are others I’m not bothered by.

Overall, the movie isn’t for everyone. I know my memories and nostalgic feelings for it cloud my judgement about it, but if you are curious about it, the I would recommend to watch it. If the plot or that it is a fast paced action movie with a plot that makes sense after watching it a few times over makes you wary of it, then I’d say don’t watch it. This is definitely a movie that non action movie fans won’t love at all. If you want to watch an action movie in a similar style but is easier to follow, I would recommend Marvel’s Avengers (2012). It has everything G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra has, including a fast paced plot and characters that explain the plot and their back stories via dialogue, but it has a much smoother, more natural sounding dialogue, a plot that speeds up then slows down, and as a whole much easier to follow than Rise of Cobra.

Well, that’s all for now! Thank you for reading!