Okay, take this with a watermelon-sized grain of salt… but movie site Nuke The Fridge has received a message from someone who reports that they saw an early screening of G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and they provided a very positive early review of the film.
This review involves a few spoilers, so I will post the review itself after the jump.
As for the validity of this? Well, normally I wouldn’t put much stock in it, especially considering the fact that the “spoilers” the reviewer reveals are mostly things that could be ascertained from the trailers, and if they’re not, they good just be their own hypothesis based on what we know so far. But combine this report with the rumors that two endings are being screened and it gets just a bit more credible.
Then there’s John Chu’s mysterious Tweet that came through over night as this news was breaking. Yes, it’s practically nothing, but he posted a Tweet that simply said “Soooo0….”. On it’s own, this is totally innocuous, but combined with all of these early screening rumors…I don’t know. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but seems like there could be some meat there.
Now there are also some reasons to be very dubious of this. Even though the news is just “getting out there” now, this review was posted on Nuke The Fridge on April 6th. Jon Chu has Tweeted on April 11th that he is still “making important editing decisions” and he Tweeted on April 10th that he was working with Jackman on the score. So obviously the film isn’t yet in a finished state. I know these early screenings are often done with unfinished films, so perhaps that is meaningless, but something to think about at any rate.
Of course it could also be that Chu is making some changes based on reactions they got at the screening…anyway, take it all for what it’s worth, and check out the review text itself after the jump.
Thanks to GeneralsJoes Twitter buddy and host of the General Geekery podcast NFC JD for passing along word that apparently there are two working endings for G.I. Joe: Retaliation being test-screened for select crowds.
It is currently unknown what is the difference between the two endings, but Nuke the Fridge reports that this is indeed occurring.
There were also rumors of a similar thing happening in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra… in fact, I believe Steven Sommers mentioned in the director’s commentary that a few elements were changed at the last minute with the first film. At one point, Storm Shadow admitted to Snake Eyes that he didn’t kill the Hard Master just before Snake Eyes stabbed him and dropped him into below zero arctic waters…apparently that scene was determined to be too extreme, considering Snake Eyes was a “good guy” and the dialogue was dropped.
Secondly, there were rumors that both Cobra Commander and Destro were supposed to escape, but test audience reaction was so strong that the film was reshot to show the two Cobra leaders indeed being captured. It would be interesting to know what the difference in the two endings might be this time around. Check out the information on Nuke the Fridge.
My only question is, who is being invited to these things and how the hell do I get on that list?
I’m honestly not sure if there is any new footage here or not, but it’s a new ninja-centric TV spot for the film, so here it is! Check it out on YouTube or embedded below.
The carded figure reveals continue, today it’s the wave 1 single pack Roadblock! The first thing you’ll notice is that his left hand is open… Unlike the three-pack version I reviewed as an early sample, this version of Roadblock only has the Battle Kata play feature permanently embedded in one hand, not both. That is some consolation, I suppose!
There is also a massive shoulder brace which I’m not certain we’ve seen in clear shots before, so that’s all good. And hey, with Roadblock you can almost pretend the packaging has unique artwork to represent the character inside!
Almost.
Check out a snippet of the image below, and the full image over at GIJoeClub.com.
Total Film magazine spoke to Jon Chu about G.I. Joe: Retaliation a bit, and focused somewhat on the comparisons between Mr. Chu and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra director Stephen Sommers. The G.I. Joe: Retaliation director had some interesting things to say:
“We’re different filmmakers and have different views on what G.I. Joe is.”
“I love the reality of our Joes. They have relationships with each other, aspirations; they care about the people of the world.
“We’re trying to add a lot more of that rather than doing cartoon fights with laser guns: everything is very practical and we’re doing as many physical things as possible – it’s not all greenscreen.”
Very interesting comments, and I like what I’m reading here. Obviously there was a big focus on special effects in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, especially with the whole Paris chase scene and the fandom reviled Accelerator Suits. I think getting back to basics and back to a more “real world” feel is a great step towards bringing the fans back on board. Very cool little tidbits.
Interesting in the midst of fan hooplah about recent comments from Michael Bay about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it’s very refreshing to read statements from a film maker who seems to understand what the mythology is about and appears to respect the history and make a film that lives up to the spirit of the brand.
