YouTube video game reviewer IrateGamer got some hands on time with The Rise of COBRA at E3, and put together a nice mini-review. Along with the review itself, he mentions that Firefly is an end boss for one of the levels, but does specify that we won’t get to battle against the Crimson Twins or Serpentor. Most interestingly, he shows a quick clip of the roster selection interface, and amongst the characters that we already know about is “Backblast”, a fairly obscure Joe that apparently might have made the cut as a playable character. We don’t know for sure, but he’s mixed in with a roster that includes many characters we know are playable. The full list on the roster is:
Backblast
Agent Helix
Shipwreck
Beachhead
Kamakura
Sgt. Flash
Duke
Scarlett
Storm Shadow
Baroness
Firefly
Destro
Heavy Duty
Ripcord
Gung Ho
Obviously it remains to be seen if these are all acually playable characters, or if they’re just included with the unlockable “filecards” that have been mentioned. Time will tell. Check out the full review below, and thanks to HissTank.com forum member Imperial Serpentor for the info.
The MTV Movie Blog caught up with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and spoke to him about the drama surrounding Stephen Sommers’ rumored firing and the potential outcome of the Rise of COBRA film. He seems to indicate that it’s just gossip and rumors, but also has some important things to say about the film in general.
“G.I. Joe’ is like playing with toys. It’s very simple and its really fun and that’s all.”
I find it more than a little ironic that perhaps the most beleagured actor of the entire film offers some simple advice that I think a lot of Joe fans and people in general need to take into consideration. Sometimes a film, especially a film based on a toyline, just needs to be simple and fun and that’s all. Ultimately, if this movie does that, and entertains me for two hours, I’ll have no complaints. Check out the full interview here.
Obviously in a vein similar to the recently revealed International version, a new poster for The Rise of COBRA was unveiled today via SuperHeroHype and ComingSoon.net. There is obviously a new background to this poster reflecting a few of the different environments in the film. Click on the image below to enlarge.
El Mayimbe joins Latino Review cohort El Guapo in confirming that Stephen Sommers has NOT been fired from the film. According to his Twitter Page:
“GIJOE update from Gracie Mansion: don’t belive the hype folks. Stephen Sommers has final cut. 100% confirmed. Trust me. No spin, just fact.”
Latino Review is very well connected in the film world, and El Mayimbe had an accurate script review online well before everyone else on the internet. If he says it, I buy it. This, of course, does not guarantee the film is any good, but it sounds a lot better than it did this morning.
HasbroToyShop.com reports that they now have the MARS Trooper 3-Pack in stock for $24.99 plus shipping. You can find that item right here.
They also have a special deal going on right now where if you buy a DVD Battle Pack, you get to choose any single figure for FREE. Check out the details here, and shop their DVD Battle Packs here.
EDIT – Don’t forget to use gijoe10 as a discount code to save some cash!
El Guapo from reputable film website Latino Review has spoken directly with Lorenzo Di Bonaventura about the testing for the film and the whole firing of Stephen Sommers rumor. This is straight from the horse’s mouth:
**UPDATE**
Latinoreview wanted to get to the bottom of this so we spoke directly with Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura about this whole firing mess and here’s what he had to say:
Lorenzo: It’s very unfair to Steve, it’s completely untrue he was never asked to leave or been fired or any of that. That’s ridiculous. The movie tested very well.
I hear it tested as good as the first Transformers.
Lorenzo: Well listen, we tested very well and I don’t compare the movies because they are different movies, but you know I think its really destructive for a director…It hurts a guy’s career when people go around talking about that he was fired or he didn’t do a good job and truth is he did a really good job. People are going to enjoy the movie and the test audiences enjoyed the movie.
He did a very good job the movie tested well and it couldn’t be more false that the studio in anyway did anything negatively to Steve.
So what really happened in the editing room?
Lorenzo: Nothing that doesn’t happen on every other movie, which is that you constantly work and work and work and you make it better and better. We had a delay on visual effects so we waited a long time to finish the movie but that’s the only thing. I don’t really know why that would be interpreting it negatively but I guess it was.
In regards to the testing the film has had so far:
Lorenzo: Everybody was happy, the studio was happy, the filmmakers were happy, the audience was happy with the movie. We had three test screenings, three different times and tested it and each time it just got better and better. We started off in a good place and we ended up in even in a better place, which is what you hope on a film from testing it.
So there you go. Straight from Lorenzo as he debunks the firing story. Like I said, I’ve heard from my sources that the film was tracking well. We’ve stuck up for this film from the get go. Why? Because we’re fans of G.I. Joe. And I’ve mentioned on Twitter and here numerous times that I think the movie looks kick ass.
All know is fans want a good G.I. Joe movie despite the Hollywood politics. We’ll find out when it hits theaters on August 7th.
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Everyone here knows I’m an uber-fanboy, and that I’m a devout supporter of G.I. Joe and Hasbro, but I’m straying on the “false rumor” side of things. Latino Review has SCATHED early examples of the G.I. Joe film in the past, they have no reason to support it, and they’re supporting it, I see no reason to go against that grain. Regardless of the Hollywood political garbage or potential implications, there’s nothing we can do at this point, I’m just going to enjoy the ride.
At this point the haters are going to hate, the supporters are going to support, and little will change anyone’s mind this close to the film’s release. I’m still staying cautiously optimistic with hopes of 2 hours of entertainment on August 7th. Even if I’m not entertained, I’ve got at least a few years worth of awesome toys coming in 2009 that’ll take care of that for me.
