Midnight movies aren’t usually my thing. I made an exception this time because I knew G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was going to be a visually stunning, action-packed movie. The one thing to keep in mind when seeing this is that it is not art, it is purely entertainment. In other words don’t expect it to earn a Best Picture nomination. The movie doesn’t bring anything new to the table as far as original ideas are concerned either, but it sure looks pretty flaunting what it does have.

Twenty minutes into the movie is all it takes to get a good idea about what the rest of the movie is like. Everything revolves around four nanotechnology based warheads developed by international arms maker MARS which is run by Destro. The Joes want the city-destroying nanobombs in their hands while Cobra aims to terrorize the world with them. The rest of the movie is essentially a big game of tug-of-war with the warheads in the middle.

The plot is formulaic and uninspired but the execution of its parts is both explosive and exciting. The high point of this explosive action is a chase scene in downtown Paris involving a tanked up Hummer, Duke and Ripcord in powered armor suits, and Scarlett on a motorcycle. The damage done to the City of Lights in this scene is massive and irreparable and highlights a conspicuous absence of consequences in the movie. So many people are killed, both combatants and civilians, that I’m surprised the movie managed a PG-13 rating. Continue reading “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”