I know a lot of folks are ranting and raving about the accelerator suits in the Joe movie…I’ve said my piece about them in several different places, and don’t really feel like reiterating here…but I just want to make sure everyone realizes. At Toy Fair, Hasbro talked specifically about the Accelerator Suits, and was very clear about something:
They are only used in one sequence in the entire movie.
The Joes will not be wearing these things for 2 hours. Personally, I don’t have any real issues with the Accelerator Suits in concept. I will admit the CGI looks a bit sketchy…but anyone who has any fears about cyborg powered Joes taking over the entire film, don’t. At most I’d estimate it’s a 15 – 20 minute sequence and that’s about it, the rest of the time will be spent with the familiar reactive armor gear (black suits with armor padding) or standard military equipment.
The reason they are being featured so prominently in the trailers in this latest clip is because they’re flashy, and they show off the effects that we can expect. Well, hopefully, they show off better effects on August 7th. :shifty:
Anyway, just didn’t want people to be getting all wigged out over what is essentially a short sequence in the movie.
It’s not just the suits. It’s how disrespectful they’re handling the property. Changing characters in such a rich universe so drastically. My namesake alone warrants an outright boycott of this abomination.
Now that clips are coming out, you can combine the disregard for the fans of the franchise with a bad script, bad acting, and bad special effects. Oh, and the director had ONE hit a DECADE ago. So yeah, bad direction to boot.
This is not what we wanted nor deserve in a GI Joe movie.
And the lack of promotion around Resolute is criminal. That movie got it right. This upcoming flick on the other hand looks like it’s getting everything wrong.
I won’t disagree with any of that, I was just pointing out a specific source of frustration with the Accelerator Suits. I’m on the record as saying I am viewing the film with VERY cautious optimism…I don’t consider myself a staunch movie defender, I’m just keeping an open mind and hoping others might do the same, though based on what has been seen so far, I can certainly understand why people wouldn’t want to.
Justin, I fully respect your views and opinions and you may be dead on.
However, this is what they are promoting the movie with, so most people will look at it and go “what the?”. It’s team Spider-Man versus Cobra…lead by some skinny guy? Keep in mind that if they choose to promote the movie with this sequence then this is the type of feel for the movie they are trying to convey, this is what they think is cool about the movie and figure we will find cool so we go see the movie.
It’s really unfortunate that things turned out this way. There are definately good things being shown and the budget seems to be there, even if the CGI effects look about a decade behind current cutting edge movies (but then, that’s about where the videogame seems to be as well).
In the end it will all come down to whether it’s good enough or it would of been better if they hadnt even done anything at all.
I have to be honest, my personal expectations were never that high. If the story would of sucked and I could of at least seen an army of Cobra soldiers and HISS tanks I would of been happy enough. But by changing everything and how everyone looks it does come down to story now. And by what we’ve seen, that leaves little to no hope really.
But I guess I’m still a fanboy as I will go see it. I just might not buy it or recommend it depending on what I see. And right now, I refuse to buy anything to do with the movie. Because if it’s really as bad as it looks, only my lack of dollars spent will be heard by Hasbro, as I know they aren’t listening to ANYTHING we are saying right now.
Resolute ruled ! That’s where GIJoe should be heading. And that’s coming from a die hard Storm Shadow fan, so that’s saying something.
Why are we as a fandom so afraid of change? It’s ridiculous. This property has been stagnating since 1994, when they stopped writing new comic book stories and stopped producing new characters. I absolutely love the history of this product, but I have wanted something new and exciting for so long. Resolute helped fill that void a bit and people were willing to watch it and give it a chance. Why is it so different with this movie? There has been a total of two and a half minutes of footage we’ve seen, and you get your battle with Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes. Then you have some new things. Yeah, the CGI is a little questionable, but I’ve watched the clip a few times and I think it looks fun. I really wish people would give this movie a chance. I understand where you’re coming from, because I wish it was more realistic like the comics were, too, but we have to remember that this movie is based on TOYS and that we take ourselves way too seriously and forget that sometimes.
“This property has been stagnating since 1994, when they stopped writing new comic book stories and stopped producing new characters.”
Apparently you missed the excellent Devil’s Due series, America’s Elite, and the current kick-ass IDW comics (GI Joe: Cobra especially). Apparently you missed the late 90s when GI Joe basically died as a toy line. Apparently you missed the renaissance of awesome figures we’ve been getting over the last 5 years.
“Resolute helped fill that void a bit and people were willing to watch it and give it a chance. Why is it so different with this movie?”
Because Resolute hit every right chord with the fans who know the potential of GI Joe and know these characters inside and out. It treated the material with respect, and gave it an edgy and mature tone that was always present in the best stories throughout GI Joe’s history, be it the Marvel series, or the believability put into each of Larry Hama’s file cards.
Sigma 6 tried something new too. And guess what. It failed.
Joe fans know their Joe. And this is NOT their Joe.
Because Resolute hit every right chord with the fans who know the potential of GI Joe and know these characters inside and out. It treated the material with respect, and gave it an edgy and mature tone that was always present in the best stories throughout GI Joe’s history, be it the Marvel series, or the believability put into each of Larry Hama’s file cards.
I’ll be honest. Resolute didn’t really ‘hit the right chord’ with me. IMO the storyline just seemed rushed and ultimately unfulfilling. Sure it was better than most of the other previous cartoon incarnations, but is that really a high standard? Don’t get me wrong, I’m with Justin when he says he’s ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the movie, but I’ve already seen more action in the movie trailer than the entirety of Resolute. And you know what? That’s ultimately what G.I. Joe is all about.
“Apparently you missed the excellent Devil’s Due series, America’s Elite, and the current kick-ass IDW comics (GI Joe: Cobra especially). Apparently you missed the late 90s when GI Joe basically died as a toy line. Apparently you missed the renaissance of awesome figures we’ve been getting over the last 5 years.”
No. I read America’s Elite. It was fun, and I was one of the few people that didn’t crap all over the stories. But it didn’t explore any new area. It didn’t introduce anything to make it current. They tried with WWIII but by then, no one cared and Hasbro was already ready to pass the torch to IDW. The new main series is exactly the same and quite honestly, pretty boring. The Cobra book is good, but no one buys it and a lot of fans don’t like it because it’s too gritty.
Sigma 6 failing is sort of my point. It was a new aspect and when the few people who were entirely against were willing to give it a try and finally gave it a chance, they liked it, but it was too late. Joe fans despise anything new.
And about those accelerator suits: http://xmb.stuffucanuse.com/xmb/viewthread.php?tid=4680 Even with something that pulls them into the real world, people still hate them because it isn’t what they want without ever giving it a try.
Wow. I had heard that this technology was being worked on, but I had no idea how far along they were. That is awesome! Thanks for the video.
Fans are a peculiar lot. If they had on the big screen big floppy balloons and our beloved G.I. Joe characters working on something ‘stupid’ called ‘stratollites’, and falling from said stratollites, and OMG Storm Shadow and Zartan getting killed and big honking lazers coming down from the heavens destroying cities, they would be complaining that it wasn’t lifelike enough. And if they put that ending in there, well, I’d almost gaurantee people would be b*tching up a storm about the sh*t ending. Because it was a horrible ending. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Resolute (I’ve watched it many times on the DVR), and thought it captured the Joe essence well. Come on…where were people in the streets with pitchforks when they found out that Dial Tone was a chick now?!? The blasphemy! 😛
And from what I’ve seen so far, the movie has done the same. Action, fighting to beat Cobra, saving the world, over the top nonsensical ninja fighting, bad chick in leather, so on and so forth, that’s G.I. Joe. So they’ve changed some characters here and there. THEY’VE ALWAYS CHANGED characters! Through 40+ years or however long the brand’s been around, they’ve gone through a consistant change. So Ripcord’s black, seriously, who cares. Cobra Commander’s got a new look. Yeah, it’s a radical approach. Good, bad, eh… I can tell you holding the figure in hand, it looks and feels like a sweet figure. As for how he’ll be interpreted on the screen…I can’t tell ya.
This line has been stale and stagnant for so many years. It’s about time someone breathed some new and different life into it. The movie may indeed suck. I mean, let’s be honest, Hollywood’s only good for a handful of really good movies a year, they’re about to hit the quota. But, man, I hope it’s fun. Who knows. I’m happy for it and hope it does well, and finally pushes G.I. Joe to be a leading toy brand again.
Dude, 15 – 20 minutes is almost a quarter of a 2 hour movie. That’s still as lot of time devoted to those stupid things. Still considering Sommers is already saying how difficult the suits were to film with, and saying that in any potential future films, we’ll see less of them, I get the impression that Hasbro gets that we don’t like them and why.
Sometimes it’s okay to complain about something you don’t like Justin. Because sometimes it forces those responsible to change those things for the better. It may be too late to get rid of the accelerator suits in this movie, but we can darn well make our voices heard about them in any sequels. And that’s a good thing my friend.
Folks have every right to complain. I don’t care. I’m just trying to give everyone the facts. I’ve seen several places where people are fearful that the accelerator suits were going to be used in the entire movie, I was just stating the facts as I heard them, not trying to dissuade anyone from complaining about anything.
I’ve stated in numerous places that I have my OWN complaints about the movie. The CGI looks shoddy, the acting is questionable, I have no problems at all with people presenting educated opinions and criticism. All I want is for people to have the background needed to make those educated complaints. That’s all. No ulterior motive. 😉
Justin, don’t say you don’t care what other fans think about the movie, when you obviously care very much, based on the shear number of blog entries you have here defending it. No, I’m not accusing you of being a Hasbro apologist or anything like that.
But you do seem to have gotten it in your head that the very future of the GI Joe franchise depends on the success of the film, and desperately want to build up as much positive hype around it as you can around it. All despite your own misgivings about it.
I don’t care if the accelerator suits are only used for one sequence, because that’s still one sequence too many IMHO. Especially since they only exist because Hasbro hopes to market a bunch of toys based on that one overblown action sequence.
“Especially since they only exist because Hasbro hopes to market a bunch of toys based on that one overblown action sequence.”
No, Hasbro hopes to market a bunch of toys based on THE ENTIRE MOVIE. ALL THEIR LICENSING EXISTS TO SELL TOYS. RESOLUTE EXISTED TO SELL TOYS. ALL THE COMICS EXIST TO SELL TOYS. ALL 4 PREVIOUS CARTOONS EXISTED TO SELL TOYS. THE PURPOSE OF GI JOE IS TO SELL TOYS.
And yes, Hasbro IS tying the future of the GI Joe franchise to the movie because WHEN THEY DID THAT WITH TRANSFORMERS, IT SOLD A LOT OF TOYS.
I can’t believe they would use these stupid suits! They need to go back to the roots of the comic. THat was my GI Joe. Like when Cobra used SNAKE armor…uh wait… Yep, GI Joe has been using mech like suits since the beginning. GI Joe has had one foot in the future for tech since the beginning. THe movie may indeed suck, but not b/c of the suits. Now I must go play with my Ghost Bear and Pulverizer – that’s the realistic tech I love in my Joe verse…sheesh.
“No, Hasbro hopes to market a bunch of toys based on THE ENTIRE MOVIE. ALL THEIR LICENSING EXISTS TO SELL TOYS. RESOLUTE EXISTED TO SELL TOYS. ALL THE COMICS EXIST TO SELL TOYS. ALL 4 PREVIOUS CARTOONS EXISTED TO SELL TOYS. THE PURPOSE OF GI JOE IS TO SELL TOYS.”
The trouble is, this is coming from a Hasbro that has been insisting for the last few years that they want to be more then a company that sells toys. All well and good, but you know the first step in that is treating your properties in a intelligent, respectful manner, and not just making popcorn movies based on them, that are little more then 2 hour toy commercials.
I’m not begrudging Hasbro the right to make a profit, and as a toy collector, I’m not complaining about there being a toy line based on the movie. But when something like the accelerator suits are written into the movie JUST for the purpose of marketing toys based on them, with no actually benefit to the STORY, I object. The suits don’t serve the story in any way.
“And yes, Hasbro IS tying the future of the GI Joe franchise to the movie because WHEN THEY DID THAT WITH TRANSFORMERS, IT SOLD A LOT OF TOYS.”
For a short while, and then sales returned to what they were before during the Unicron Trilogy. They got another bump in sales from the DVD release. The Transformers movie was certainly successful, but as far as driving up sales, it did little for either the toy line or the comic. Even if the movie is a big hit, don’t count on a long term increase in sales.
“I’m not begrudging Hasbro the right to make a profit, and as a toy collector, I’m not complaining about there being a toy line based on the movie. But when something like the accelerator suits are written into the movie JUST for the purpose of marketing toys based on them, with no actually benefit to the STORY, I object. The suits don’t serve the story in any way.”
Can I ask how you know this? Have you seen the film?
I agree that the Accelerator Suits are just “fluff” but I actually think this sequence was designed more for a splash effects-wise rather than simply to sell toys. I mean, there are only two people wearing the suits. You think they’re going to write and implement this several million dollar effects-laden scene simply to sell two more action figures?
G.I. Joe NEEDS selling points. The film needs all the publicity and all the attention it can get…how many people would be spending all of this energy discussing G.I. Joe if it were simply a team of soldiers fighting a team of terrorists? No. Like it or not, the Accelerator Suits (if nothing else) are generating a TON of attention and a TON of discussion, which will keep G.I. Joe in the news and on the web leading up to the film. When it comes to Hollywood the only bad press is no press.
And like it or not, yes, Hasbro is making every effort to branch out past being a toy company, but it’s still all about the money and the merchandising. Every single step they make outside of toy manufacturing is to expand their brand and make money. As much as the fandom hates to admit that is their one and only single objective.
“”Can I ask how you know this? Have you seen the film?””
Have you seen it that you can be some optimistic about it? Were you involved with the creative process behind it in any way, that you can give honest explanations for any part of it? No, of course not. Like me, you’re judging from these same clips and trailers.
“”I agree that the Accelerator Suits are just “fluff” but I actually think this sequence was designed more for a splash effects-wise rather than simply to sell toys. I mean, there are only two people wearing the suits. You think they’re going to write and implement this several million dollar effects-laden scene simply to sell two more action figures?””
Don’t be naive. The movie line is already going behind the actual movie by including characters who aren’t actually in it. Just like Transformers did. I don’t doubt that Hasbro already plans to release accelerator suit versions of at least every Joe in the movie. To sell right alongside the army fatigues and reactive armor versions.
“”G.I. Joe NEEDS selling points. The film needs all the publicity and all the attention it can get…how many people would be spending all of this energy discussing G.I. Joe if it were simply a team of soldiers fighting a team of terrorists? No. Like it or not, the Accelerator Suits (if nothing else) are generating a TON of attention and a TON of discussion, which will keep G.I. Joe in the news and on the web leading up to the film. When it comes to Hollywood the only bad press is no press.””
You realize that this is the same excuse that Mike O’Sullivan gave for years for the crap DDP pulled. In particular, it’s almost word for word his explanation for their decision to kill Lady-Jaye. And we all know how well that worked out for them. Creating “controversy” and “discussion” won’t be enough to sell the movie if it’s just plain bad.
“”And like it or not, yes, Hasbro is making every effort to branch out past being a toy company, but it’s still all about the money and the merchandising. Every single step they make outside of toy manufacturing is to expand their brand and make money. As much as the fandom hates to admit that is their one and only single objective.””
Oh, I can accept that perfectly Justin. I was NEVER expecting the movie to actually be any good. I accepted all that marketing techno-babble, that there was no way they could or would make a GI Joe movie that actual GI Joe fans would enjoy.
That’s why I refused to get the least bit excited about it, and had no plans to go out of my way to see it. Hasbro can have their movie, just the way they want it, and as a fan, I’ll wait patiently for the line to return to some semblance or normality.
Just don’t expect me to “drink the Kool-Aid” and pretend I like it.
I like this Scrap Iron fellow.
yeah it’s ok to complain about things you don’t like, especially when it’s about something you feel very passionate about like “gijoe”, but it’s also ok to complain about people complaining about something you are passionate about like “gijoe”. right or wrong it’s a natural reaction when you feel somethng you care about is not getting a fair deal, even if you know the thing you care about is far from perfect. it’s almost like having kids, and dealing with something they may have done that’s questionable.
no one is wrong here, everyone is right. i’m 50/50 on the movie, and i’ll know for sure on opening night. there are and there will always be many …many view points among adult collectors on “rise of cobra”. were not all going to agree and it’s ok to complain and it’s ok to defend, everyone has valid points. and that’s why were all here to discuss these points.
” I accepted all that marketing techno-babble, that there was no way they could or would make a GI Joe movie that actual GI Joe fans would enjoy.”
Sorry, but that is just ridiculous, and a broad sweep of the opinion brush.
Essentially, you’re saying that anyone who enjoys the movie isn’t an “Actual GI Joe fan.” Nice. I’m glad you’ve provided the measuring stick. What else shouldn’t I like to be an “actual” GI Joe fan? A metal face that can emote? A mute commando/ninja who befriended a wolf? An island created by manipulating tectonics with an underwater dynamite blast to form a “home base’ for a flamboyant terrorist organization who’s leader is a faceless, nameless enigma in a blue KKK hood, and who’s elite troops undergo plastic surgery to look alike and change their names to Fred while their primary scientist runs around shirtless with a monocle, a handlebar mustache, and a purple cape? Ninjas and Bikers and VTOL A-10’s…Oh, MY!
Oh, mechanical suits of armor. Got it.
“Heh-heh-heh! Cobra air superiority will crush these insufferable GI Joes like–” Cobra Trooper…on a HANG GLIDER. Issue 11, page 15; Marvel run.
You’re right about that Nas, that was out of line of me. I knew it was wrong of me to say right after I posted it. But this board doesn’t have an editing feature. So I’ll apologize for making such a ridiculously broad statement. Okay?
What I meant was that for the last couple of years we’ve been lectured that we shouldn’t expect a GI Joe movie that’s true to the history of the comic. A GI Joe movie that’s true to the characters. We can’t even have a GI Joe team that’s an American anti-terrorist strike force.
Supposedly because those things wouldn’t sell to a modern audience. Supposedly mainstream moviegoers wouldn’t see a movie that pays respect to the source material it’s based on. In short, everything most GI Joe fans would want in a GI Joe live action movie, they can’t have.
I accepted that, just like I accepted it when Hasbro said they had to drop the word “terrorist” from the packaging. The way I accepted it when Hasbro told us they had to paint the figures in obnoxiously bright, and give all the vehicles loud annoying electronic action features.
So I accepted — and I think a lot of other fans accepted — that since according to Hasbro the movie couldn’t and wouldn’t be something I’d enjoy, it was nothing to look forward too. Like Sigma 6, it was Hasbro re-imagining GI Joe in a way that I didn’t like, but supposedly would sell.
And that’s fine. It’s it’s acceptable to you, great. I really hope that those of you who like what you’ve seen of the movie, enjoy it. But how about leaving the rest of us alone, and dropping the “accept change” and “have an open mind” lectures?
It’s wrong to ask people to waste money on something they don’t like the looks of just to “give it a fair chance.” It’s Hasbro and the studio’s job to sell people on the movie. Not you. And not Justin. There, I hope that’s not too broad a statement for anyone.
I’m down, Scrap. And I think it’s reasonable to hope for more of what you, as a fan, really like. Ideally, like you suggest, one wouldn’t have to be exchanged for the other.
I get your point, and appreciate your clarification. I’m only posting again to say that, and not to get in the last word. Peace,
-Nas
Cool. Thanks man. I get you too. I’m not trying to kill anyone’s enthusiasm of the film. If you’re okay with the accelerator suits, and all that, then really, good for you. for you, the movie is something to look forward to. For me, it’s something to be endured.
But I appreciate you wanting to end this on a positive note. When all this is over, one way or another, I hope we can all go back to just being fans, and not pro-movie fans vs. anti-movie fans. Till then, peace Nas.