GI Joe:Retaliation
Apr. 24th, 2013 07:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redfiona99The reason I put the trailer stuff in a separate post is that this is going to get long, out of all proportion with the importance of the film, the quality of the film and all reason.
That being said, it's not as bad as the critics would have you believe.
This is even easier than in the first film because it's almost as though the film makers made 2 films and then realised they had to tie them together. Which was done. But very loosely.
I think part of the problem was that there was a huge shift in tone from Rise of Cobra and Retaliation. RoC was a family-orientated action flick while this is just an action flick. There's also a shift in technology, with RoC being 20 years in the future, while this was more like 5 years in the future + Firefly's bugs (which I want some of) and nanotech.
The other thing is the almost total shift in characters. Which would be fine if they even mentioned this. I mean, they're a military unit, loses are inevitable but Ripcord is Duke's best friend in the first one so the total vanishment of him, Scarlett, Breaker, Heavy Arms and General Hawk without explanation is a bit of a shock (I choose to believe that they're all just in different units). It also changes the nature of the Joes. In the first one, you can buy them as being a multi-national UN Force. In this they try to give them the powers attached to that but they've been made over to being a US Army unit, and you don't get to be both. A UN unit will not be responsible to the US President, and a US unit will not be able to invade Pakistan. Which is basically what they do.
Lady Jay is basically Scarlett with even more Daddy Issues. Flint is the least likely armed service person, ever. Because pratting about not on a mission, fine, pratting about while on mission, not fine and would get you kicked out of the regular army, never mind a squad that's supposed to be the best of the best, sir! He also suffers from Hollywood's peculiar recent decision to give every secondary male character (or indeed lead) who is supposed to be a bit of a wild man a huge fascination with the naked female form. I'm not sure what character information I'm supposed to glean from this other than he's less sexually and emotionally mature than my friends were when we were all 12 year old basement dwellers.
The Rock (who may actually be Dwayne Johnson on the cast list) is by no means the worst actor in this. And he works well for the character. Except for the bit at the end where he murders Firefly. Because Joes are supposed to stand for truth, honesty and the Joe way, and killing downed enemies is not that way. You arrest him, and stick him in a cryo-tube. Them's the rules. I'd be more forgiving if it was supposed to be a more "realistic" film, but it's GI Joe.
I loathed Bruce Willis's character (Colton). I get it. He's supposed to be a crankily charming old general. Forgive me if I don't find stuck-up sexist pigs charming. There's no way that, nowadays, they'd try crankily charming for someone who said to The Rock that Pacific Islanders are only good for secretarial work so I don't see why I'm supposed to think it's okay when he implies that about women. I also don't care that it's probably supposed to be some sort of test of Jay's character. She's good enough to get into the Joes, strong enough to pull off the incredibly difficult manoeuvre they pull to get out of that well, she's already good enough.
Ahem, it may have pissed me off a bit.
That being said, they've found a way of making me want an induction hob.
Colton's behaviour is made even worse when contrasted with Snake Eye's behaviour. He's never met Jinx before. She's the cousin of his mortal enemy. He is able to defeat her in single combat (in a scene less cool than the trailer made it look). But his superior tells him she's on his team so he treats her like a team member and trusts her to look after her parts of the mission. Mission - kidnap Storm Shadow and make him suffer - looks even cooler in the film than in the trailer. It is the awesome highlight of the film.
It's also about the only thing Snake Eyes gets to do. I think they realised that all the Hard Master stuff was going to require a character who could react so Storm Shadow gets that storyline. Which barely makes any sense. You mean in 20 odd years no one thought to double check that it really is his sword? I can see why he's pissed off. And I think, for a guy having to act through a faceless suit, Ray Park managed to convey guilt reasonably well. I suspect that guilt was why Snake Eyes let Storm Shadow go at the end of the film. I wanted to see the scene just after the reveal where those two have to explain themselves to each other but I also know this was not a film where I was going to get that scene. I think that's one of those things, they kept trying for realism-ish and missing.
For instance, the underground jail in Germany. Do we really think that the German government are going to be okay with that kind of prison? No. Okay, so it's a US base then. But then it wouldn't have German guards.
Also, let's be honest, after 4 minutes of that Head Warden, I was looking forward to the immense pain Storm Shadow was about to inflict upon him.
Ray Stevenson as Firefly wins this year's Christopher Ecclestone Memorial Award for "Just Because We Know What Accent You Were Going For Doesn't Me That It Was Good, Or Even Passable". Not that he wasn't fun. Firefly was lots of fun.
As was Jonathan Pryce, who appeared to be having a whale of a time being both evil President and good President. And I loved his and Cobra Commander's plan. It could actually work. And getting rid of everyone's nukes was a master-stroke, because it would have been hard for any nation to rebuild those without Cobra noticing.
London being destroyed would have made a change had the Star Trek trailer not been on before this. We (me and the work colleagues I went to see this with) were starting to notice a pattern. Also since, with one exception, we were all northern, I don't think it had quite the effect they were hoping for. Not to mention they appear to have not told the actors who were playing the British Ambassadorial team that it was London that had been destroyed because they didn't react at all when the Indian Ambassadorial team were in tears. I've heard of the stiff upper lip but that's ridiculous.
It's exactly what it says on the tin. If you don't like mindless action films, then this isn't for you.
That being said, it's not as bad as the critics would have you believe.
This is even easier than in the first film because it's almost as though the film makers made 2 films and then realised they had to tie them together. Which was done. But very loosely.
I think part of the problem was that there was a huge shift in tone from Rise of Cobra and Retaliation. RoC was a family-orientated action flick while this is just an action flick. There's also a shift in technology, with RoC being 20 years in the future, while this was more like 5 years in the future + Firefly's bugs (which I want some of) and nanotech.
The other thing is the almost total shift in characters. Which would be fine if they even mentioned this. I mean, they're a military unit, loses are inevitable but Ripcord is Duke's best friend in the first one so the total vanishment of him, Scarlett, Breaker, Heavy Arms and General Hawk without explanation is a bit of a shock (I choose to believe that they're all just in different units). It also changes the nature of the Joes. In the first one, you can buy them as being a multi-national UN Force. In this they try to give them the powers attached to that but they've been made over to being a US Army unit, and you don't get to be both. A UN unit will not be responsible to the US President, and a US unit will not be able to invade Pakistan. Which is basically what they do.
Lady Jay is basically Scarlett with even more Daddy Issues. Flint is the least likely armed service person, ever. Because pratting about not on a mission, fine, pratting about while on mission, not fine and would get you kicked out of the regular army, never mind a squad that's supposed to be the best of the best, sir! He also suffers from Hollywood's peculiar recent decision to give every secondary male character (or indeed lead) who is supposed to be a bit of a wild man a huge fascination with the naked female form. I'm not sure what character information I'm supposed to glean from this other than he's less sexually and emotionally mature than my friends were when we were all 12 year old basement dwellers.
The Rock (who may actually be Dwayne Johnson on the cast list) is by no means the worst actor in this. And he works well for the character. Except for the bit at the end where he murders Firefly. Because Joes are supposed to stand for truth, honesty and the Joe way, and killing downed enemies is not that way. You arrest him, and stick him in a cryo-tube. Them's the rules. I'd be more forgiving if it was supposed to be a more "realistic" film, but it's GI Joe.
I loathed Bruce Willis's character (Colton). I get it. He's supposed to be a crankily charming old general. Forgive me if I don't find stuck-up sexist pigs charming. There's no way that, nowadays, they'd try crankily charming for someone who said to The Rock that Pacific Islanders are only good for secretarial work so I don't see why I'm supposed to think it's okay when he implies that about women. I also don't care that it's probably supposed to be some sort of test of Jay's character. She's good enough to get into the Joes, strong enough to pull off the incredibly difficult manoeuvre they pull to get out of that well, she's already good enough.
Ahem, it may have pissed me off a bit.
That being said, they've found a way of making me want an induction hob.
Colton's behaviour is made even worse when contrasted with Snake Eye's behaviour. He's never met Jinx before. She's the cousin of his mortal enemy. He is able to defeat her in single combat (in a scene less cool than the trailer made it look). But his superior tells him she's on his team so he treats her like a team member and trusts her to look after her parts of the mission. Mission - kidnap Storm Shadow and make him suffer - looks even cooler in the film than in the trailer. It is the awesome highlight of the film.
It's also about the only thing Snake Eyes gets to do. I think they realised that all the Hard Master stuff was going to require a character who could react so Storm Shadow gets that storyline. Which barely makes any sense. You mean in 20 odd years no one thought to double check that it really is his sword? I can see why he's pissed off. And I think, for a guy having to act through a faceless suit, Ray Park managed to convey guilt reasonably well. I suspect that guilt was why Snake Eyes let Storm Shadow go at the end of the film. I wanted to see the scene just after the reveal where those two have to explain themselves to each other but I also know this was not a film where I was going to get that scene. I think that's one of those things, they kept trying for realism-ish and missing.
For instance, the underground jail in Germany. Do we really think that the German government are going to be okay with that kind of prison? No. Okay, so it's a US base then. But then it wouldn't have German guards.
Also, let's be honest, after 4 minutes of that Head Warden, I was looking forward to the immense pain Storm Shadow was about to inflict upon him.
Ray Stevenson as Firefly wins this year's Christopher Ecclestone Memorial Award for "Just Because We Know What Accent You Were Going For Doesn't Me That It Was Good, Or Even Passable". Not that he wasn't fun. Firefly was lots of fun.
As was Jonathan Pryce, who appeared to be having a whale of a time being both evil President and good President. And I loved his and Cobra Commander's plan. It could actually work. And getting rid of everyone's nukes was a master-stroke, because it would have been hard for any nation to rebuild those without Cobra noticing.
London being destroyed would have made a change had the Star Trek trailer not been on before this. We (me and the work colleagues I went to see this with) were starting to notice a pattern. Also since, with one exception, we were all northern, I don't think it had quite the effect they were hoping for. Not to mention they appear to have not told the actors who were playing the British Ambassadorial team that it was London that had been destroyed because they didn't react at all when the Indian Ambassadorial team were in tears. I've heard of the stiff upper lip but that's ridiculous.
It's exactly what it says on the tin. If you don't like mindless action films, then this isn't for you.
