Time: 118 Minutes
Age Rating: M – contains violence
Cast:
Channing Tatum as Conrad Hauser / Duke
Dennis Quaid as General Clayton Abernathy / Hawk
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Hershel Dalton / Heavy Duty
Rachel Nichols as Shana M. O’Hara / Scarlett
Marlon Wayans as Wallace Weems / Ripcord
Saïd Taghmaoui as Abel Shaz / Breaker
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the Doctor
Christopher Eccleston as James McCullen / Destro
Sienna Miller as Ana Lewis / Anastascia DeCobray / the Baroness
Lee Byung-hun as Thomas Arashikage / Storm Shadow
Arnold Vosloo as Zartan
Jonathan Pryce as the President
Director: Stephen Sommers

I remember liking G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra at the time it was released, not being familiar with the action figures or cartoons it was based on. I decided to revisit it out of curiosity, considering all the negative reactions and reception it has been receiving. I wouldn’t call it a good movie, but I still enjoyed it.

I can’t comment on the accuracy The Rise of Cobra has to its source material, I can only comment on it as an action movie. As that, it’s very generic, full of cliches, and has a forgettable and thin plot. However, it really benefits from embracing the cheesiness, silliness and campy elements with dumb jokes, over the top villains, and knowing what kind of movie it is. Considering how simple the movie is though, it really would’ve benefitted from a runtime shorter than 2 hours.

G.I. Joe has a good and stacked cast, even if the actors aren’t necessarily giving great performances. Channing Tatum is fine, he’s not a good lead, but he’s not really given much to work with here. The villains shine the most. Lee Byung-hun is a standout as Storm Shadow, while Sienna Miller and Joseph Gordon-Levitt have fun hamming it up.

Stephen Sommers has had plenty of experience directing blockbusters, though nothing he’s made since 1999’s The Mummy has approached the heights of that movie. Still, he has made an entertaining movie here. Visually, it feels firmly placed in the 2000s with all the saturation. The visual effects aren’t the best with some shaky CGI, but isn’t quite as bad as in some of Sommers’ previous movies like Van Helsing and The Mummy Returns. The action is over the top, dumb, and enjoyable to watch.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra isn’t good, but is nonetheless entertaining as a silly and cheesy over the top action flick.