Another online movie review site, iesb.com has seen an advanced screening for G.I. Joe…and while a full review hasn’t been posted yet, they have tweeted a few nice lines of praise:
“yes, Gi Joe delivered.”
“I mean gi Joe seriously delivers @elmayimbe is not a plant”
IESB is a fairly reputable, objective review site, who certainly hasn’t cut G.I. Joe any slack through the production process. More good words…
There must have been another series of screenings for critics, because a bevy of reviews have started showing up online in various places, and guess what? People love G.I. Joe: The Rise of COBRA. I know, I know…they must ALL be plants, right? They must all be in bed with the studios…there’s no possible way this many people could actually LIKE a film. It’s unpossible.
Well, so far, it’s getting some great buzz in the critics’ circles. The latest:
Everyone one of them says the same thing…great action, a brisk, well-paced plot, and awesome escapist fun. Can’t wait for next week! Full Reviews can be read after the “Read the rest of the story” link below!
I know there’s a stigma attached to AintitCoolNews.com, and specifically to Harry Knowles, but truth be told, it’s a very reputable site amongst the online film crowd, and there are lots of folks out there who take AICN’s word as gospel and trust what they say. I’ve been an avid reader of AICN for many years now, and though I’m not the film nerd I used to be, I still reference it several times a day and take particular interest in their reviews.
Many times I’ve heard their opinions are slanted depending on what studio, what director, etc… but I’m not sure I buy that. After all, I’ve seen many of the same things said about me, so I kind of know (in a VERY limited sense) what it’s like in their shoes.
So, with all of these early screenings kicking around, I was really hoping to see some professional opinions about The Rise of COBRA. We got pretty good word from Collider.com, but many folks were yelling “PLANT!” at every positive word that came around. Well, I’m sure the word plant will come up again, but Harry Knowles got some face time with Rise of COBRA himself, and his review of it is glowing.
There are spoilers scattered about, so I’ll paste the entire thing down below.
I know there are still haters out there looking for the ultra realistic “Platoon” version of G.I. Joe, but it’s looking and sounding more and more like this is going to be right up my alley. I’ve always loved the way the property bridged science fiction with the military, and that’s exactly what’s going on here. Perfect. Anyway, full review is below. Thanks very much to The Terror Drome for pointing out this info.
A forum member of AintitCoolNews.com message board “The Zone” reported that he saw an early screening of G.I. Joe: The Rise of COBRA, and these were his thoughts:
“I wanted to write something lastnight but i wasn’t really in the mood and i’m still not in the mood really. I will say this though, this was much better than i was thinking it would be. I walked in there with extremely low expectations and came out mildly surprised. The print i saw was a work print so there were some unfinished effects and other things that needed to be touched up. For those who followed the comic you may be disappointed with some of the backstory (like i was) but let’s face it, any comic that hollywood translates to film they are sure to add some of there own content whether we like it or not.”
More interesting info is that another forum member asked him about Brendan Fraser’s cameo, and this was his response:
“Brendan Frasier is in this film for about 5 minutes early in the film. I believe they said his name but i couldn’t catch it but he is wearing a beret just like Flint or Lt. Falcon so he might be either character.”
That pretty much confirms to me that Brendan Frasier is Sgt. Stone.
Also, “DVDChris” from the forum DVDTalk.com says “It’s nice to hear all these positive reviews coming out. Hopefully the haters will give the movie a chance. I got a chance to see the movie at a pre-screening myself and agree with all the reviews I’ve seen so far. It’s a very fun action movie, not at all what I was expecting.” That post is here.
Ultimately everyone will make up their own mind, but I do think it’s great to see such a positive reaction early on in the screening process. Thanks to Jergor of HissTank.com for these links!
Amongst the several people around the country who apparently saw an advance screening of G.I. Joe: The Rise of COBRA, Steve ‘Frosty’ Weintraub from renowned movie site, Collider.com got some time in a theater seat and shared his thoughts here.
According to Weintraub, this film is like a cartoon come to life, only with more action. How can you go wrong. In fact, you could almost say he raves about the film, with quotes like “The action scenes are really well done and there are a lot of them. While some expensive action films make it impossible to follow what’s going on, “G.I. Joe” is easy to follow. I never lost track of who was where or what they were doing. This is in stark contrast to a film like “Quantum of Solace” which was all over the place. That opening car chase looked like it was shot and edited by Stevie Wonder. By contrast, you always know what’s happening in “G.I. Joe””.
He goes on to say “The movie is cheesy but fun. Yeah, the dialogue is corny and everyone was either a good or a bad guy, but that’s the cartoon. Also, it never went for the really cheap joke or any bathroom humor. Sorry Bay, but you could learn from Stephen Sommers on this one.”
Awesome. Freaking awesome. This is exactly what I’ve been hoping to hear, and so far, the reviews are 4 for 4 what I’ve been expecting and hoping for all along. To read the full review, click here, or check out the “Full Story” link below. I’m really fired up over this early response!
Thanks to Josh Dahl of the Terror Drome for the heads up that a member of Brian Bendis’ message board on 606Studios.com caught an advanced screening of G.I. Joe: The Rise of COBRA and posted his review here.
Some minor spoilers, so I’ll mirror the text after the “break”.