by generalsjoes | Feb 28, 2013 | 40 Days until G.I. Joe: Retaliation, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 2, G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, G.I. Joe: The Movie
Can you feel the excitement? Probably not quite as strong now, with 29 days to go as it will be when we get within 10 days… or 5. I don’t know about you folks, but this daily countdown has been a blast, and I’m thrilled that Twitziller has been rocking it out, not missing a beat.
We have our 29th reason to look forward to G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and it immediately struck a chord with me.
#29:
Those four letters… VTOL. I don’t know about anyone else, but I had never even heard of the VTOL concept until… well, until I was 10 years old. Like so many other real world military ideas, I first learned about them through the lens of being a G.I. Joe fan. VTOL, Vertical Take Off and Landing was initially introduced to me with the Skyhawk and the Rattler, years before words like “Harrier Jet” were even in the public vernacular. Terminology like “Covert Operations”, “NATO and Warsaw Pact”, and even “Commando” were introduced thanks to the wonders of G.I. Joe in the 80’s. Can you even imagine a toyline today using words like that on toys designed for 8 year old little boys? I’m not sure I can.
The VTOL concept was used in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra as well with the Howler and to a limited extent with the Cobra Gunship, but it’s important to note how it’s carried forth here, too, both in the film and in the toys. Fans made the immediate connection to the Howler (not to mention the Rattler) when viewing the footage you see the grab from above, and the Ghost Hawk II looks to be a great evolution of that vehicle from the first G.I. Joe film. I love that these concepts that seemed so natural to us young boys still invade the public mind, and are very certainly being used in the film universe quite well.
To keep up to date on the 40 Reasons why G.I. Joe: Retaliation will be great, make sure you are following Twitziller on Twitter, and keeping it right here on GeneralsJoes as well. The previous entries can be seen below.
by generalsjoes | Feb 27, 2013 | 40 Days until G.I. Joe: Retaliation, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 2, G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, G.I. Joe: The Movie
That’s right, G.I. Joe fans. Thirty short days until G.I. Joe: Retaliation launches its attack on theaters across the United States. This very exciting landmark is again emphasized by Twitziller’s next Reason Why G.I. Joe: Retaliation will be Great. And you can see this reason below.
#30:
You can’t see it, but I’m giving ole Twitziller a slow golf clap right now. Very good reason to look forward to G.I. Joe: Retaliation, for sure. Yes, G.I. Joe has always had elements of fantasy in it, and in some cases, very strong elements of fantasy. But the beauty of G.I. Joe has always been how well those fantastic elements blend into more real world situations. One place where many folks felt like G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra fell down was scenes like the Paris Pursuit scene where wildly unrealistic (and somewhat visually unconvincing) Accelerator Suits tore through the streets of the European city. That, to many folks, put the film way over the science-fiction edge, not just from a technology standpoint, but also because the obvious CGI really drew people out of their immersion in the film.
Director Jon Chu has stated several times that he wanted G.I. Joe: Retaliation to feel grittier and more realistic. He wants viewers to see the dirt and feel the punches. This is all done best with practical effects accentuating the real life action on screen, and not replacing the actors too obviously. Certainly there will still be a healthy sample of computerized effects. These days in an action film there almost has to be. But from what we’ve seen of the trailers and footage so far, and from what Chu has said, when possible, the effects will be more practical and real world. I welcome it.
Keep checking back with Twitziller on Twitter and GeneralsJoes for updates, and the previous entries can be seen below.
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by generalsjoes | Feb 26, 2013 | 40 Days until G.I. Joe: Retaliation, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 2, G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, G.I. Joe: The Movie
Pushing on, closer and closer to March 29th, and Twitziller continues his own brand of countdown! The next reason to look forward to G.I. Joe: Retaliation has been Tweeted!
#31:
It may sound funny, but there’s something about a rappelling assault that I really love. The adrenaline rush in any military TV show or movie as the special operations troops come flying down their ziplines, unhooking their weapons and preparing to kick ass is unmatched. I love that whole atmosphere. Obviously most of the G.I. Joe: Retaliation “zipline” play features are built around the high altitude ninja mountain combat sequence, but speaking as someone who just got the Tactical Ninja 3-Pack with Agent Mouse, this concept is pretty neat as well. Who didn’t love swinging their action figures by strings as a kid?! I know I did. Pretty cool to see director Jon Chu still playing with that mindset, just on a larger stage.
Keep checking Twitziller on Twitter and GeneralsJoes for the latest reasons to look forward to G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and check out the previous entries below.
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by generalsjoes | Feb 23, 2013 | 40 Days until G.I. Joe: Retaliation, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 2, G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, G.I. Joe: The Movie
The days continue to click by, and yes, weekends count! Twitziller doesn’t believe in taking weekends off, and has posted Reason #35 to look forward to the upcoming G.I. Joe sequel.
#34:
While so many characters got established, well-developed storylines over the past 30 years, I tended to navigate to the more obscure characters simply because those characters had more flexibility to fit my personal view of the G.I. Joe universe. Zartan was the exception. His character, personality, and abilities were unique and such a perfect example of what made G.I. Joe and Cobra so great. Right on the fringe of real world and science fiction, this chameleon-like master of disguise could be anyone anywhere.
The film universe explained this away with nanomites, and while many fans had issues with the nanomites, this was a great somewhat more “real world” reason behind Zartan’s bizarre abilities. The Cobra master of disguise being the central core of the sequel’s plot was a great step towards unifying the movie universe and building the story forward. Check out the rest of the list here on GeneralsJoes, and see previous images below. Thanks as always to Twitziller for coming up with this excellent list.
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by generalsjoes | Feb 22, 2013 | 40 Days until G.I. Joe: Retaliation, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 2, G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, G.I. Joe: The Movie
Only 35 short days until G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and Twitziller has provided Reason #35 that the film is going to be great! He picks a big one for this Friday, and one that I think many other G.I. Joe fans will agree with.
#35:
Ah, the HISS Tank… if there is a more timeless, iconic vehicle that represents the Cobra organization, I don’t know what it is. Classic vehicle design in the 80’s was a craft and an art form unto itself, and that was never more evident than with the HISS Tank. The unique sloped armor, those angled treads…it had a distinctive shape and style that was rarely replicated. Like the X-Wing and Millenium Falcon for Star Wars, it became a visual representation of the entire Cobra structure. So many early G.I. Joe Marvel issues focused on this singular vehicle, from the hand-to-hand fight with Hawk and Destro, to the Baroness’ injury…the HISS Tank almost became a character of its own. While many cutting edge vehicles made appearances in the Rise of Cobra, none of them had that unique Cobra aesthetic (no, not even the Night Raven really) but the scene of HISS Tanks slowly rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue immediately created a sense of dread… awesome dread.
Another great choice. Be sure to read back through the list on GeneralsJoes, follow Twitziller on Twitter to continue the discussion, and check out the last batch of images below.
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