GI Joe ROC movie Discussion Thread !! SPOILERS!!

Seeing as how I decided I couldn't wait and went to see the movie tonight with Kup, and i still haven't gone to bed yet. I'll be the first to start up this thread.


!!!!!!IN CASE YOU MISSED IT BEWARE THIS THREAD HAS SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



BECAUSE KNOWING IS HALF THE MOVIE!!!!!!!!





Ok that out of the way, my inital view on the GI Joe movie is that it was a generaly enjoyable light hearted action flick. Sure it was corny and silly in places, but it never atempted to appear as serious as some of the super hero films out there, or ROTF for that matter. It was light and fluffy with non stop action.

Sure the special effects could have been better, I'm sure they didn't have anywhere near the budget of ROTF, but they were plentifull and enjoyable and reminded me of the cartoon.

One or two elements of the story line buged me, mainly the Baroness/Duke thing but overall I'm not complaining, i could follow it, I can't say the same for ROTF. Though I went in with low excpectations I must admit. It was also kind of annoying as things only went into full swing at the very end of the movie, and certain plot lines were purposely left unconcluded (as opposed to Michael bay forgoten). It means I Want a sequel now grrrr!

Most of the characters were portrayed as I would excpect them, sure there were some significant changes in their origins and backgrounds but they acted much like their cartoon or comic equivelants.

The movie felt as if it was stitched together from the full spectrum of cartoons, toys and comics combined. They weren't confined by trying to be quite as serious as Transformers (odd as that sounds). All the basic elements of the various Joe continuities were there, so they kept things like the lienage of the Mc Cullen clan, the Storm Shadow Snake Eyes rivalry, badguys in crazy suits, sci Fi looking vehicles, future weapons, good old fashioned gun fights, good old fashioned blades. the Pitt, All the cornball cartoon lines, etc.

Lastly four moments I have to admit I got a buzz from:
Kung Fu Grip line
Breakers Bubble gum
Jinx Cameo
Dr Mindbender mentioned

I sure hope it the make another though just to finish of the Zartan story, but I have my doubts.

Its late, so I'll see how I feel about it tommorow, once I digest it a bit.

great movie.

what are your thoughts on Cobra Commander?

Can't wait for the sequel.

I heard there is a USS Flagg cameo

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Originally Posted by JustOwen

great movie.

what are your thoughts on Cobra Commander?

Can't wait for the sequel.

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Cobra Commander seemed to draw on the various joe universe's. I thought it was a little odd how Rex just turned evil because he was so impressed by the Nanomites or something. I'll have to watch that again. However Cobra Commander being a scientest is in keeping with the lame Gi Joe animated movie origin where CC is a Cobra la scientest. Conversely on the other side of the fence he seemed to display the cunning of his comic counterpart manipulating everything from behind the scenes, and he wasn't quite a hissing coward either.

I'm not sure about his helmet either,but if there is a sequel we'll see what he's wearing then.

I hope they make a sequel, but we'll see how it goes.

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Originally Posted by hound

I heard there is a USS Flagg cameo

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Maaaaaayyyybbbbeeeeeee....... ;)

i doubt he is the real CC.

there was a scene where the US president saw someone coming out of a trapdoor in the bunker. He might be the real deal. Destro gave out a hint that there was someone behind him.

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Originally Posted by JustOwen

i doubt he is the real CC.

there was a scene where the US president saw someone coming out of a trapdoor in the bunker. He might be the real deal. Destro gave out a hint that there was someone behind him.

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I had the same thought when I saw the scene given the president's reaction (he seemed to recognize him as someone he knew - not himself) but then the ending showed us that it was actually Zartan.

why did stormshadow die?
i don't understand that.

or did he really die.
he plunged into the water with lot of wounds. i don't think he died.

Spoiler! Please highlight:

The actor has already signed on to do two more sequels, so I don't think Storm Shadow is quite dead yet.

i got a good kick out of the movie and im not even a joe fan

Haven't seen it yet, but I'm looking forward to it (even though I'm not really a GI Joe fan).

Pretty Cool movie. Saw it on Thursday night.

I liked the scifi vehicles and weaponry. It was very cool at the start of the movie how the regular army was outclassed by Cobra. I love that contrast.

Those familar with the Command and Conquer computer game, you can see that they borrowed/share some concepts from GI JOE, and after watching this movie reminds me of this.

The Baroness, Duke thing, its interesting, but seemed to dominate a bit much.

I don't have a clue about the original GI JOE comics or cartoons so I can't compare to this movie.
Overall I enjoyed this movie and it met my expectations, and was easy to follow.

I haven't seen it yet, but does the black Hummer last long?

I'm more of a Cobra fan per-se. :D

Destro's reffereance to me, implied that the world would turn to the American president in the time of crisis, and the president would be Zartan, at least that was how I saw it. I assumed Destro's agenda was rule the world financialy and leave all the boring politics to a puppet ruler (Zartan), but Dr lewis (Cobra Commander) appeared to be the real power behind the throne, and I suspect has an even more sinster plan for Zartan.

The hinted power struggle between the badguys is o so very true to both the comic and the cartoon.

It was interesting actualy, that the bad guys didn't actualy make any demands,with their doomsday weapons. Like in the comics they seemed to be part of a bigger plan to make the world jump in a direction of their choice. At least that's how I read it, but I'm influenced by the Nanomite plot in the Joe Devils Due series. Which the movie seems to have drawn on a bit.

As for Stormshadow, he probably just went into the Sleeping Phoenix like he did in the marvel comic.

Saw it. Liked it. Required me to 'switch my brain off' in some parts but a much better movie all round than ROTF.
Bitch fight between Baroness and Scarlett is cool.

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Originally Posted by TheDirtyDigger

Saw it. Liked it. Required me to 'switch my brain off' in some parts but a much better movie all round than ROTF.
Bitch fight between Baroness and Scarlett is cool.

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i think there is a movie and a possible spoiler discussion already on this thread
http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=5374

saw it last night i liked it, just got to love snake eyes in the paris pursuit. very nice but i think they could get a better character for baroness someone hotter? all in all liked it alot a bit disappointed that shipwreck wasn't there.

Saw this on Friday with the missus, thought it was better movie all round than ROTF. Most things were explained and wrapped up and the elements which weren't fully explored were at least left open to an explanation if a sequel were to be made, unlike ROTF which just totally disregarded unexplained loose ends. Its a movie which doesn't take itself too seriously and at the same acknowledges the fans without pissing in their faces. Movie of the year thus far for me.

PS. What's the name of the character played by Brendan Fraser? I was thinking Sgt. Slaughter but he appears to be uncredited.

It's Sgt. Stone

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Originally Posted by Fungal Infection

S

PS. What's the name of the character played by Brendan Fraser? I was thinking Sgt. Slaughter but he appears to be uncredited.

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oh ye, why was brendan just an extra in this movie?
besides dennis quaid, he's the famous of them all.

I went to see it this morning and thought it was great. I really enjoyed it.

The heroes were cool. I thought they were all getting those power suits shown in the trailer so I was happy it was just for the newbies and the others got to do their regular thing.

The villains were better. I loved the Baroness (up until it was revealed it was mind control that made her evil. Seemed a cop out). Storm Shadow fell straight into freezing ice water, he's coming back. I thought the doctor was Doctor Mindbender.

The action was much more violent than I expected. When those pulse weapons started firing I thought that was going to be what we'd see, but no: swords sliced through people, bullets went flying, heads blown off!

The action scenes were all easy to follow and very enjoyable. Fast running exo suits aside the Paris chase was an excellent action scene. The finale battle seemed to be influenced by Return of the Jedi's Battle of Endor but fun nonetheless. I liked that seemless cut between the jet and submersible at one stage during the fight.

I look forward to a sequel.

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Originally Posted by rateeg

oh ye, why was brendan just an extra in this movie?
besides dennis quaid, he's the famous of them all.

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It was just a cameo appearance, which is the point of a cameo: get someone famous to do an uncredited bit part. The film was directed/written by the director/writer of The Mummy so it's likely he's friends with Brendan.

that explains why he was in it. thanks

I'm pretty sure Lt Stone was the leader of GI Joe Extreme, the short lived 90's larger figure Joe spin-off, so the Sgt Stone Brendan Fraiser cameo also appears to pay homage to the history of Gi Joe, even the parts that were a total failure.

Question: When Rex is in the bunker with Dr Mindbender and he's shown the test subject getting the nanomites...why is General Hawk the test subject?
I thought they were setting it up so that General Hawk would be a doppelganger. :confused:

Also disappointed that Baroness ended up being a good guy. So much better as an evil girl.

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Originally Posted by TheDirtyDigger

Question: When Rex is in the bunker with Dr Mindbender and he's shown the test subject getting the nanomites...why is General Hawk the test subject?

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I have to admit, thinking back, the test subject did resemble Hawk somewhat, but it didn't click for me at the time. I thought it was some random.

I didn't mind the 'Baroness was brainwashed' plotline, except that she was rescued which means in the next movie she's either a good lass (boring), or Cobra regains control of her at the flick of a switch (lame), or she's not in it at all :(

It would have been better imo if the brainwashing truth was revealed but she remained under Cobra influence at the end of the film.

Here what I wrote in the Don Murphy boards last week - I still stand by it as GI Joe was easier to digest and easier to come to a final opinion. ROTF left me confused as right after I saw it I felt it was good but by the next day as I begun to think about the movie, I realized that it was actually pretty crap - Good SFX and arguably good action but that's it.

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I have seen GI Joe. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece of cinema but it is certainly better than ROTF with a simple but coherent plot and fun throughout without any killer bits (like testicles, dog humping, etc).

Overall the action could also be deemed as better choreographed than Transformers with the exception of the forest battle but the CGI effects were certainly inferior to TF2 but used to better effect.

My biggest gripe with the movie was the whole Baroness back story but it wasn't as killer as soft porn pretenders or pot brownies.

It is clear that the people behind the movie did do their research as it was filled with obvious and subtle tributes throughout.

This movie fits more as a 'dumb summer fun' than ROTF as it doesn't have as many tedious bits to endure.

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I was reading various reviews today, and the mainstream critics are savaging the movie calling it lamer than ROTF, while online critics more closely assosciated with nerdom seem to be giving it ok reviews. IGN I think said it was somwhere between Transformers 1 and 2 which is about right by my count.

The funny thing is, unlike when the critics paid out ROTF citing things that also bugged me "to long" "to much caveman humour". Some of the things being paid out in GI Joe are things I enjoyed, like the addition of characters like Breaker etc, Storm Shadow/ Snake Eyes flashbacks, and the Destro proluge. Makes me think GI joe ROC was a beter fan movie than ROTF, cheesy as it was. :p

In any case the movie seems to have done fairly well on its opening weekend, pushing the odds of a sequel even higher. With a possible 3 franchises hitting the mark this year alone Paramount must be rubbing their hands with glee. Sequels ahoy!

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Originally Posted by Lint

I have to admit, thinking back, the test subject did resemble Hawk somewhat, but it didn't click for me at the time. I thought it was some random.

I didn't mind the 'Baroness was brainwashed' plotline, except that she was rescued which means in the next movie she's either a good lass (boring), or Cobra regains control of her at the flick of a switch (lame), or she's not in it at all :(

It would have been better imo if the brainwashing truth was revealed but she remained under Cobra influence at the end of the film.

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Not a big fan of the Baroness background plot myself, however it is hardly un GI Joe as brainwashing was common to both the cartoon and comics. maybe she will go nuts because of it in the next film.

I just watched it.
Truly awesome movie. I reckon its much much better than TF movie 2007 and ROTF...i know its a bold statement but i'm sure im not alone on this?
action packed all the way with a pretty good story line that is straight forward to follow.
i couldnt find any real faults. no boring bits, no ANNOYING bits!!!, no significant plot holes. Had a huge display of gadgets, vehicles and elite tech....great eye candy...comedy was tasteful.

flashbacks were a good treat too and great for non fans like my GF to get up to speed.
i didnt mind the baroness mind washing back-story drifting away from the cartoon/comics cos she was stunning in both good or evil...I'm sure they'll figure out a way to turn her evil again.

At least i can be proud to own 100+ gi joe figures and vehicles now without all the americana bashing...

cant wait for the blu-ray and the sequel!!!

in my opinion, Rise of Cobra is better than ROTF. But not with TF1.
TF1 showed us some good action scenes, great special effects, perfect CG and mostly mikaela is hotter in that movie than ROTF.



bruticus - why americana bashing?

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Originally Posted by rateeg

bruticus - why americana bashing?

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well for a time, US wasnt really popular with the rest of the world (yes even more unpopular than now) and i use to get a lot of crap from my friends cos GI-Joe was seen as a toyline that just boasts about how awesome US is....
fark, just look at all the US flag insignia everywhere or the theme "Gi-joe - a real american hero"....lol...

anyways, i reckon its safe to say i collect gi-joes again...

I don't think the Gi Joe movie is as good as Transformers 1, Transformers 1 managed to appeal to the mainstream and the fans and even the critics. Gi Joe will just appeal to fans and action buffs I think.

Regarding the americana bashing, I can see this sort of thing in the cartoon but as a comic fan I've always maintained that the comic gave a well rounded view of America flaws and all. While the Joes were pretty perfect there were plenty of corrupt generals, dodgy internal departments like the DOD and the CIA, and no shortage of American yuppies. The Joes were also frequently allied to less than reputable leaders of foreign governments just to help extend American interests. The cartoon was pure flag waving, but the comic was more about the values of a solider than that of Amercia.

Also as stated before, I'm more of a Cobra fan. :D

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Originally Posted by bruticus

I just watched it.
I reckon its much much better than TF movie 2007 and ROTF...i know its a bold statement but i'm sure im not alone on this?

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You are not alone, and I don't find that to be a bold statement at all :cool:

You can always be proud of your GIJoe collection, its not like you like them BECAUSE they're american right? I dont eat KFC because its from Kentucky.

Just wanna mention that I saw the movie last night and man talk about non-stop action! I felt I was at the edge of my seat for almost the entire show - no sluggish moment.. well yeah maybe one or two (coming off from the duke-baroness skit). But that was heavily overshadowed by the lots of fight scenes happening all simultaneously - so many movements but amazingly are still easy to follow - even missus and my oldy mates didn't mind it, unlike in ROTF.. The CGIs are not bad at all, I liked it. I'd be happy to watch it again and even right now I'm already sold for the DVD! :D

Now, a couple of the many spots I missed if I may ask, what was that again Ripcord shouted out to eject himself from the night raven jet? And was there a Jinx cameo? I only remember her being the red ninja joe which I might've missed in the film.

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Originally Posted by Wheel-J

Now, a couple of the many spots I missed if I may ask, what was that again Ripcord shouted out to eject himself from the night raven jet? And was there a Jinx cameo? I only remember her being the red ninja joe which I might've missed in the film.

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When Duke and Ripcord are introduced to the Pitt, there is a scene where the stealth suits are being shown of and woman with short dark hair who appears to have asian features is seen. She is presumed to be Jinx as this is similar to what Jinx looked like in the comic and cartoon without her mask.

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Originally Posted by Lord_Zed

When Duke and Ripcord are introduced to the Pitt, there is a scene where the stealth suits are being shown of and woman with short dark hair who appears to have asian features is seen. She is presumed to be Jinx as this is similar to what Jinx looked like in the comic and cartoon without her mask.

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Yeah, that reminds me. Ta! :)

I watched this movie last night, but I missed the beginning of the movie cos we came late. :( Started from about midway into the holographic video conference between Destro and G.I. Joe.

Overall it was an enjoyable movie and I must agree with Lord_Zed that it did feel a lot more closer to the original franchise than Transformers. It seems that Paramount tampered a lot less with G.I. Joe to adapt it for a movie-going audience compared to Transformers. Although it could be argued that Transformers is inherently far more fantastic than G.I. Joe and thus required a greater level of adaptation in order to make it palatable for the movie-going public. But yeah, there seemed to be a lot more homages and original source accuracy compared to the TF movie franchise. The conspiracy theorist in me suspects that Aaron Archer respects the G.I. Joe franchise more than Transformers because he himself has publicly admitted that as a child he grew up as a G.I. Joe fan and not Transformers, and that he didn't really know much about TFs until he was employed by Hasbro. (-_-)

The main thing that I didn't like so much was Baroness - particularly how her 'evil' persona was 'artificially induced' by Cobra Commander which included her love (?) for Destro. One thing I always liked about the original G.I. Joe story was the romance between Baroness and Destro. I was also kinda disappointed with Storm Shadow - he seemed too "bad," although not necessarily evil. I liked how the movie portrayed the murder of their Arashikage master as being somewhat ambiguous - i.e. we saw the master being slain and young Storm Shadow running away but we never actually so how he was killed. It's _looks_ like Storm Shadow killed him but it's not explicitly shown. I always liked the old story where Storm Shadow was basically a good guy but initially fought for COBRA because he was deceived, but later defected to G.I. Joe and fought alongside Snake Eyes. At least, that's how I remember it and admittedly I'm not really a G.I. Joe fan so maybe my memory's sketchy. :p

I also liked the sparring sticks that they had - reminded me of the ones they used in the 1986 G.I. Joe animated movie only electrified. ;)

P.S.: All the gals were HAWT. Was that Cover Girl who got killed by Zartan?

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

P.S.: All the gals were HAWT. Was that Cover Girl who got killed by Zartan?

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Yes according to the talk around the traps, didn't notice at the time because she wasn't appropriately costumed. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

I watched this movie last night, but I missed the beginning of the movie cos we came late. :( Started from about midway into the holographic video conference between Destro and G.I. Joe.

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You didn't miss to much then, just Destro's great great great etc Grandad getting his mask. Admittedly this was another nice homage, but probably just confounded the mainstream audience.

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

The main thing that I didn't like so much was Baroness - particularly how her 'evil' persona was 'artificially induced' by Cobra Commander which included her love (?) for Destro. One thing I always liked about the original G.I. Joe story was the romance between Baroness and Destro. I was also kinda disappointed with Storm Shadow - he seemed too "bad," although not necessarily evil. I liked how the movie portrayed the murder of their Arashikage master as being somewhat ambiguous - i.e. we saw the master being slain and young Storm Shadow running away but we never actually so how he was killed. It's _looks_ like Storm Shadow killed him but it's not explicitly shown. I always liked the old story where Storm Shadow was basically a good guy but initially fought for COBRA because he was deceived, but later defected to G.I. Joe and fought alongside Snake Eyes. At least, that's how I remember it and admittedly I'm not really a G.I. Joe fan so maybe my memory's sketchy. :p

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Agreed with the Baroness thing, she has been Brainwashed before, but she always seemed to have genuine feelings for Destro. Mind you Destro didn't evidence any sign of his skewered but nontheless unbending moral code either.

As for Storm Shadow, in the Marvel comic he joined Cobra to discover the Hard masters killer. Although basically a good guy, a certain Jedi master might say he was tainted by the darkside in the form of vengeance and jealousy. he eventually renounced his vendetta and helped GI Joe, (latter still he was captured and brainwashed again though).

I don't really have a problem with Movie Storm Shadow, as there is as you say some ambiguity on whether he killed his master or not, and his relationship with Snake Eyes seemed spot on. When the original Storm Shadow was on a mission of vengeance he seemed to have little compunction’s about harming those in the way of his vengeance.

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Originally Posted by Lord_Zed

You didn't miss to much then, just Destro's great great great etc Grandad getting his mask. Admittedly this was another nice homage, but probably just confounded the mainstream audience.

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Wait Gok, which video conference? Did you see the whole ambush and first Joe/Cobra battle?

He probably missed the desert ambush...

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Originally Posted by Kyle

He probably missed the desert ambush...

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Oh right that! Damn forgot.

Speaking of which, I only realised yesterday that the Neo Viper figure and the Desert Ambush Elite Viper are different moulds. I assumed the Vipers in the Desert Ambush were the same outfit wise as the later Neo Vipers (Neo Vipers are just upgraded on the inside). Did anyone notice if they actualy looked different?