It would appear that Kansas City is where the advanced screening was, and Latino Review reader “P Ben” chimes in with his review.  While many folks will probably already start screaming “PLANT!!”, this review was extremely positive!  The reviewer loved the film and indicated that the audience overall did as well.  I’ll take this one with a bit of a grain of salt (as I would if it were overly negative), but I’ve gotta say this is sounding like a potentially good thing.

Both articles mentioned that the final film seems to be a lot better than early negative buzz was indicating…  Click the “Full Article” link below to read the entirety of the review.

Just got out of a screening for GI JOE in my hometown of Kansas City. It was at the AMC Mainstreet. They said we were one of the first audiences to ever see it so here’s my review:

I definitely loved GI JOE growing up and I remember playing with the toys and reading the comic. And of course I watched the cartoon show whenever I could. I was excited when I first heard they were making a GI JOE movie. It’s something I would have died to see when I was growing up. However, I was also nervous when I saw some of the images and heard about some of the casting choices. So I went into the screening excited and a bit worried but really had no idea what to expect.

But after seeing the movie tonight all I can say is HOLY SHIT! – this movie blew away my expectations. It’s a really good movie. It’s a ton of fun and a great ride. And much closer to the GI JOE I remember than I was expecting. The audience was really into it throughout and they applauded at the end. As we walked out of the theater you could hear how excited people were about having seen the movie. I can honestly say that it’s one of the most entertaining and fun summer movies I have seen.

For one, it has amazing action in it. There are 5 huge action sequences which are as good as anything I’ve ever seen. In particular there is a scene in Paris in the middle of the film that is just mind-blowing. This scene alone would be worth the price of admission. There is also a great ambush scene in the woods, a great training sequence, an attack on the The Pit and a huge underwater sequence at the end. Also we get to see Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow have some great sword fights, which I loved.

Also the characters are great in the film and it has all the main ones I remember like Duke, Scarlett, Hawk, Baroness, Zartan, Destro and Cobra Commander at the end. And of course Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, who were my two favorite characters growing up. We also learn a lot about these characters in flashbacks, which was great to see. And one of the biggest surprises for me was Marlon Wayans as Ripcord. I was expecting him to be too over-the-top but instead he is great in the movie and adds just the right amount of humor, which the audience loved. He’s not goofy. Instead he’s a good soldier and is incredibly heroic in the film.

I think the biggest surprise for me is how much I loved the story in the movie. It was a great action-adventure story with characters and relationships that I really cared about. There are also several story surprises in the film that I wasn’t expecting. Especially the last scene in the movie, which has a great twist.

I would really place this movie right up there with STAR TREK and UP as the movies I have liked most this summer. And I can’t wait until I can see it again. It’s that much fun.