Thundercats was most definitely created to sell toys. Now the people behind the writing an animation tried their best to create an amazing story they had the same limits and expectations of having certian characters in each scene to promote toy sales.
Been thinking recently that Bionicle, in my own words, is, "the best anime that doesn't exist." Redesign the creatures and characters so that they looked like what they did in-universe (because what they looked like as toys vs. in-universe were two entirely separate things) rewrite some parts to punch them up, and DO IT ALL WELL, and you'd legitimately have one of the greatest stories ever put on the small screen. Hell, the final battle makes The Rumbling look like a joke in terms of scale. If you know, you know. :)
The problem with Snake-Eyes in live action is that they shied away from his comicbook backstory - the fact that he wears the mask because he's horribly disfigured and doesn't talk because his vocal chords were destroyed.
You have nailed it. This movie had me feeling like I was back in my bedroom as a child having a Joe adventure with my action figures. It came though at a time when movies were critiqued way too harshly and fun was not allowed anymore and they all had to be real and grounded. The way every character got ample screen time was so well done and these days it would end up being a 3 hour movie to do that. I also don't mind Retaliation either.
first I forgot that this movie existed, but the cast was stellar and I remember I was excited to watch it out of nostalgia that we had 80s shows in the 90s in my country I think it was enjoyable and fun to watch.
Retaliation got Major reshoots. The first scene when channing tatum and his friend died is reshoots. Studios said everybody hates test screening and forcing them to change the characters. Zartan and cobra commander is original scene, every storm shadow scene is original. But every Dwayne Johnson scene is reshoots
I've personally always thought this movie was awesome and seeing this movie constantly get hate I've thought am I the one that's crazy for really liking this movie but I'm really glad to see this movie does have it's fans even if it's a small minority and also I wish Stephen Sommers woul come back and direct more movies again his movies were always fun and extremely entertaining.
Same here I enjoyed it a ton. Fast pace, the power suits were fun, fascinating action and visuals. And Snake Eyes was amazing. He did not said a single word yet was one of the best characters
There's a lot of stuff being made by committee these days for sure. That always happened but having entire third acts be reshot a month before release is becoming a standard practice unfortunately
@@BetterWithBob I challenge anyone to read the God butcher story (arguably the best Thor story) a dark and blood soaked tale and say Waikiki’s oeuvre shows he’s perfect for it. Waikiki declared how he hates Thor and was utterly wrong for the film because he can’t do anything other than shite humour, does a film turning Thor into a dispenser of shite humour. Compare that to Werewolf by night, which isn’t some great work of art, but it’s been made by people who understand and like what they’re doing and have the capacity to put their vision on screen. I blame the producers for their hiring policies, lack of a plan and not trusting anyone they hire to do the job they are being paid for.
4:23. Storm Shadow's line is my favorite part. When a person analyzes it they can tell that: It shows how smart Snake Eyes can be even though his role is just the silent ninja. And it shows how well Storm Shadow knows Snake Eyes despite the decades that they have been apart.
Stephen Sommers has the four things I want in my movies, "darkness, fun, comedy and adventure". The Mummy and Mummy 2, Van Helsing, G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, Odd Thomas and Deep Rising have all these elements. I can't say that any film today, in 2023, have any of that. No director these days do that, not even the MCU. Whether you think Stephen Sommers are good or bad, I still have fun watching them.
Van Helsing’s one of those movies that defined my childhood. Such a fun movie and never lets off the gas from start to finish. While everyone else was obsessing over dating vampires and werewolves at the time, van helsing and blade taught me they meed to die 😂
MCU is what feigi want, to copy every solo movie he did based on superman 1. Meanwhile Stephen Sommers has that old B-movie from 50's style which is dumb action horror. Although many people Will angry to me but many of directors from 80's and 90's grew up with B-movies from 50's. Even alien writer based his script on 50's alien B-movie i forgot the title though😅
What I really remember loving when I first watched tjis is the way they moved in thsoe power armors in Paris. It's so freaking cool and unlike how other movies would portray stuff like enhanced speed. It had so much force and momentum, it felt so powerful when they ran.
I remember hearing many bad things about it and then watching it and enjoying it a lot. As always, not everything needs to be a critically acclaimed character study a la There Will Be Blood. It was a good movie for the source material.
*Could it be a teeny-tiny bit character study? You know, just for audience sympathy perhaps.* I saw this in a theater and fell asleep for the whole underwater battle. My date nudged me back to the living and assured me I didn't miss anything relevant. The writers missed a great opportunity to make a statement about war or terrorism or IDK faaamuhly.
I knew the franchise was doomed when he didn’t return for the sequel 😢 I loved the cast. The script just needed to be polished and embrace the comic elements of Gi Joe
Tbh I had fun with Retaliation. It carried the spirit of action figures on screen. Dumb but an awesome, entertaining action movie. And the Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow scenes were great. Lady Jaye was cool too. So was Ray Stevenson as Firefly. And Jinx. Oh yeah and Bruce Willis was in it too.
@@matthewk4912retaliation has better action but directing felt like something is missing. I knew they doing Major reshoots later on and realize no wonder retaliation felt something is off
Great video. I only recently found your channel with your Underworld and Van Helsing videos. I watch a lot of analysis and retrospectives, your videos are well made, balanced presentation and easy to watch.
The GI Joe movies were so close to being not just good, but pretty damn great. SO close. A few creative decisions here and there, maybe swapping a couple of characters around--while keeping the cast--and it really could have taken off. To me, what the movies failed the hardest to land was the Rogues Gallery, and that's an issue I took to heart since that was always my favorite part of Joe.
knowing it's ray park inside the suit doing all the stuntwork with snake eyes is incredible, also the actor that played storm shadow was great, as well as the doctor himself playing destro.
This movie will always have a special place in my heart. I was entering high school in 2009 and this was one of the last dumb fun action movies based on toys I liked as a kid I watched. And I remember my friends and I had fun watching it
As someone who never had any prior experiences with the GI Joe franchise ( I'm from the UK) I enjoyed it as a dumb sci-fi action comedy movie similar to Men In Black. I even enjoyed the second one. Although that's probably mainly a combination of The Rock, Bruce Willis and Storm Shadow's character arc
Casting Ray park a martial artist as snake eyes is brilliance... you cant go wrong with a pure physical actor rocking out a non-speaking non-face showing role. Two words: Darth Maul
You know I never knew what the issue was with this film, I saw it in the theater and enjoyed it and a few months ago I saw it again and again why did people hate this so. The action was solid and the cast was pretty true to the characters. It's a fun movie not perfect but fun.
Im Nigerian and never knew this movie wasn't adored. I watched it in high-school and loved it. Wasn't familiar with GI Joe beforehand. I also developed a huge crush on snake eyes😅
While I dislike the fact they made Baroness a brainwashed good guy, killed one of my favorite Joes, Cover Girl, with no fanfare and made GI Joe an international operation, instead of a Real AMERICAN Hero, just because of how much the writers disliked Bush and the Iraq War, I still enjoyed this silly movie and wished that we got more of a straightforward sequel instead of Retaliation killing off Duke and writing out almost everyone else.
They nailed Cobra Commander in The Rise of Cobra and Retaliation because he is not a coward but a very powerful schemer and leader. Also, the visuals, the talks about nanomites, and other scientific endeavors give a clear reason as to how he took over MARS and transformed it into Cobra.
@@BetterWithBob In Retaliation, Cobra Commander still kind of won as all the major countries lost their nuclear weapons while Cobra's military facilities are loaded with tons of advanced weapons and bunkers originally created for MARS Industries. The lost of his satellites might have set him back some decades but time does not deter Cobra. Plus, it will take months for the GI Joe to regain the foothold and strength they have.
Ray Park as Snake Eyes and Lee Byung-hun as Storm Shadow was perfect casting and execution. All the good things and things they did right were both taken and amplified in the sequel. Why I think Retaliation is one of the best bits pf GI-Joe media. The actors in this, and the sequel *felt* like they were the characters they were playing. Destro/McCullen was greedy schemer, Dr/commander worked as both a great Cobra Commander voice and played Dr. Mindbenders normal role as an inhuman science loving psycho. Baroness was perfect, the Joes were each unique in character. I already talked about Snake and Storm. Hawk was a true leader. So on and so forth.
I never played with G.I.Joe figures or read the comics for they weren't wide spread (or even available?) in Germany when I was young, but I love this film. If I were on the jury, your case would be granted ...
The film might not be what everyone was quite expecting, but I've always enjoyed it. I even upgraded it from DVD to Blu-Ray a few years ago. The cast is pretty good, even if Tatum is a wooden here, but he REALLY seemed like he had a far better time in the sequel where he was short-lived in. If they had Cobra Commander don the classic domed mask at the end, I think it would've marked a better feeling about a lot of things here. I like how Retaliation got a lot of the aesthetics more accurate to the classic franchise iconography, but I found a lot of the film rather dull. The villains were the only ones there that felt like they were putting in a genuine, charismatic effort. Rise of Cobra felt a lot more fun, even if Sommers over relied on CGI to a fault (some scenes look blatantly like green screen sets).
I think this movie is honestly quite underrated, but the sequel is definitely underrated. I honestly LOVE Retaliation but it's been ages since I've heard anyone even mention these movies.
MAN, THIS FILM & RETALIATION DELIEVER SOME OF THE BEST SCENES OF STORM V SNAKE IN ALL THE FRANCHISE & THE BEST POTRAYAL OF COBRA COMMANDER AT THIS DATE(even better than Renegades & IDW)
I really hope that some day a studio will throw a couple hundred million at SS again and let him work his magic. He always knew how to use a budget to its maximum potential to make fun thriller/action movies that everyone can enjoy. It's a shame he hasn't written or directed anything in a decade now.
TBH, i actually liked the movie the first time i saw, since the only contact i ever had with GI Joe was the Sigma 6 cartoon and i remember liking it a lot also fun fact, but here in Brazil the toy line was called "Comandos in Action"
Funny, Larry Hama, who created the Baroness character always envisioned her as American. Morgan Lofting the original V.A. Gave the character the accent. Changes how you read the comics doesn’t it?
@@BetterWithBobmaking mummy in china is a huge mistakes, we all know hollywood trying to pleased china audiences with Rush hour trilogy and karate kid (2010) although i never watch that karate kid version because since when china learn karate.
I LOVE THIS MOVIE *I know is really flawled But you can genuinally tell there was an effort to introduce a new generation into this franchise, not mebtionig all the evdient effort put in the cinematography(that chase scene holds up really well today)* *& people act too harsh on it, inoffensive action film at worst*
The truly strange thing about this film is that it was fine . . . as a self-contained new franchise borrowing a few elements from G.I. Joe. The moment you call it G.I. Joe and use the character names, though, the question becomes why almost every single element is different. Why are there enhancement suits instead of, say, interpretations of literally any of the cool vehicles and equipment from the actual franchise? Why make the Baroness so different? Why not let Destro's mask be his family's eccentric way of hiding their identities? It's as though they wanted to use the name and the Snake Eyes ninja stuff, but they didn't actually want anything else. Which I have to assume is exactly what the writers wanted.
I always had a soft spot for this movie. Maybe it was the time in my life when it came out but I remember liking it, and falling off after the intense hatred it got. I also appreciated the Brendan Fraser cameo before he basically disappeared for like 8 years. Though I don’t like Cobra Commander’s octopus helmet
I liked this movie a lot actually. I do wish they didn't have the Baroness face turn though. I much preferred her as a hot femme fatale villain. Ah well.
I definitely don't hate this movie, and was even excited when the sequel came out. There are a lot of choices I found questionable; but it all worked as a whole. I am bitter about making Baroness a good guy. The actor is good enough in the role that I forgive the lack of accent; but she is one of the character's who is anywhere near as iconic as Snakeeyes. There are only so many things you can change about her, and making her a goodguy is one. There is a "good" baroness in the original animated series; but she lived in a parallel universe and (importantly) her being good served to show just how backwards that reality was. (Note to Joe writer; if you want to write a "good" Baroness, put her in a relationship with Steeler rather than Duke. This would impress more fans than it would upset.) Growing up; Baroness was probably my first sapphic awakening. This may give me a bias in terms of how she is portrayed, I'll admit that. However, I know this is a very common experience for a lot of queer female Joe fans. If they wanted a romance in the film and didn't want it to be Scarlet with Duke, make Tatum Flint instead and give us Lady Jay. Having Baroness snog Duke is just icky.
Lets not forget the sequel to this movie! G.I. Joe: Retaliation... I gotta say, these movies have some good scenes and weren't that bad. (and I swear I remember reading somewhere that his character in GI Joe was also supposed to be a relative to his character in The Mummy films) And if we were given another movie, I would give anything to see the WWIII story be adapted better. Especially focusing on the Baroness's arc in that story
It was the first movie I saw in a theather and I love Stephen Sommers films so it takes a special place in my heart. Also it's better than majority of drivel being produced today.
It's Sommers. It's a fun, breezy, well crafted big budget action film. For that, I'm happy. I could give a shit it's somehow "not true to G.I. Joe lore" or some other nonsense nerd shit like that, lol. Sommers is STILL underrated in how he can craft coherent and visually appealing VFX driven spectacle. It's all obvious CGI, but it never suffers from becoming a blobby, sloppy mess of digital soup. It's all clearly staged and exciting. Ppl just loved to bleat about "bad cgi" but they don't know a thing about it. Everyone is so hung up on whether CGI looks as realistic as possible without ever assessing whether the CGI benefits the tone, style, and intention of a film or set piece. To me the creative vision behind the CGI is more important than some arbitrary realism test.
Sienna Miller has a lot of charisma. It's not just about beauty. She knows how to carry herself. She can turn on the flirty bad girl like Stardust and Alfie but then immediately be very soft and disappear into another role like Foxcatcher and American Sniper.
I absolutely love this movie. It reminds what its like being 12, though I never saw it as a kid. It had fun sequences and colorful character. I like it a lot.
I had the sigma 6 and snake eyes action figures growing up, honestly some of my favorite toys ever getting and I wish I still had them, looking at the sigma6 one it almost perfectly fits sigma from overwatch and now I want him as a skin I can play as
I never thought Rise of Cobra was a bad movie. It never was a “bad” movie. A great adaptation of G.I.Joe? Well, depends on who you ask. The film is fine and definitely a fun ride in its own right. Same with its sequel, which I think is an improvement of the first film.
When I saw this in theaters all I could think during the 3r act under-water part was "This is the last act of Phantom Menace, but under the ocean instead of space and the jedi have been replaced by ninjas"
I am a GIJoe fan and a Stephen Sommers fan and I'm glad you made this video praising both of them. Only saw Deep Rising and onwards and love them but will also check out his earlier works.
I absolutely adore your channel and there are so many movies I need you to cover like the syfy Alice in Wonderland, Domino, Speed Racer the list goes on
@@BetterWithBob Yes indeed I’m shocked you’ve even heard of Domino. I think you can watch syfy Alice on here it was a miniseries w big names like Kathy bates.
I just find it funny that Team America parodied this movie FIVE years before this movie came out! Like there are so many similar elements in them it's uncanny!
The reason why Michael bay did not direct G.I. Joe was because Hasbro had planned to make A G.I. Joe movie before making transformers but then us invaded Iraq and it was seen as bad taste so hasbro ended up making transformers directed by Michael Bay instead
and is hilarious because the first movie has a bunch of soldiers on IRAQ or some place like that fighting scorpok and the secuel is in Egypt and China lmao
I rewatched the 2 films after watching your video and I have to say they were both pretty fun. I would like to see a more comic version of GI Joe but they were fun movies. I need to rewatch Snake Eyes but I can say it wasnt a top ten of 2021 lol
13:48 which is ironic considering the actual inspiration behind Cobra Commander’s original design was that of an executioner’s hood from the Middle Ages
Storm shadow & Scarlett are my favorite characters in the movie. although, I do love me some Ray Park (Snake-Eyes), like in Star Wars, you don't hear his voice (a different person was dubbed over the parts were maul was speaking). The Baroness was also great. I actually like most of the main characters in this movie, Zartan was great too. one thing I found kinda lame is how Duke's best friend became Cobra Commander.
Michael Bay should have been put to make G.I.Joe movie and let someone else continue Transformers. Wonder what a Transformers Stephen Sommers movie would be like. Maybe they will let Bay make him a G.I.Joe in the future.
The first time I watched it and two more times after, I always had the feeling that it was too short. It's just plain fun, like the Avengers before the Avengers.
As somebody who never read the comics or watched the tv show, I loved the first movie. I liked the villain side more because their vehicles were awesome!
Okay hear me out. Channing Tatum has always been pretty (attractive) and functional, before being a thespian. I think he would have made a better Snake Eyes and we would have gotten a deeper story as a result with his character: has the war vet who was made mute during a special mission gone wrong. But culling thru joe lore, were they checking boxes, or pulling in the best of that lore? I enjoyed this movie to, but even I saw that sheen would wear off if a second was made, simply from not committing completely to one vision. Storm shadows character is a perfect example on double downing in a cool way. What could have been………
He can act, most notably for me in the first Magic Mike movie, is where I noticed he really put his heart and soul into it (the rest were just for his eventual retirement fund).
@@rutgaurxi7314 The funny thing about Hollywood, is if you are allowed to stay in it long enough you can get better at the type of acting that is required. So many examples of this with. Acting is a craft and skill, unfortunately does not mean you get that break. He was passable in the beginning who eventually got better.
Picture this: Stephen Sommer directing Biker Mice from Mars with performance capture of Jason Statham as Throttle, Dwayne Johnson as Vinnie, Vin Diesel as Modo and Michelle Rodriguez as Carmine.
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I love when people makes a stand and loves the unpopular things and i also enjoyed Battleship.
I was pretty young when I saw this movie, and I loved it. Definitely not a masterpiece, but a good action movie that should not have been a career ender
Actually hollywood want to kick every director that not follow their ideology, you can see how many director were kicked from hollywood from 2010 - 2015. They all of have similarities, director from 80's and 90's Who love produced entertained films. Meanwhile hollywood start to bring new blood that can easily control to spread their ideologies
The first GI Joe movie was actually quite decent. Good cast, good origin story, good entertainment. I liked watching it and i watched it again some time later. Is some kind of a hidden gem imo. The second one however ... uh, bad stuff...
As someone autistically obsessed with G.I. Joe, I bear a great love for this movie. No, it wasn't exactly like the first cartoon, or the first comics series, or the later cartoons, or the later comics series... because they were all different from each other. The idea that there was "one, true version" of G.I. Joe that the movies needed to be "faithful" too is silly. Heck, the Sunbow cartoon and the Marvel comics were in production at the same time and differed drastically from each other in important ways.
I saw this movie in theaters with some friends, I think because of liking Eccleston as the 9th Doctor. I thought it was fun, if silly 😂 I'm a sucker for explosions and car chases!
Thunder cats was not made to sell toys. th-cam.com/video/ZmQA1qK8XOw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=TvNQhdLbgNjgFxSe
I stand corrected
It most definitely was.
Thundercats was most definitely created to sell toys. Now the people behind the writing an animation tried their best to create an amazing story they had the same limits and expectations of having certian characters in each scene to promote toy sales.
@@BetterWithBob. Happens with the Best also.
This video could literally have just shown Rachel Nichols as Scarlett and Sienna Miller as Baroness for ten seconds and the defense could rest.
That's me told lol
We would need someone as passionate as Stephen Sommers to do a Bionicle film.
god, don't put that idea in my head when we know it can never happen
Oh God YES!
@@Patrick-jd1ku *Worse yet, someone thinks it's a good idea and actually make it.* ugh
Been thinking recently that Bionicle, in my own words, is, "the best anime that doesn't exist." Redesign the creatures and characters so that they looked like what they did in-universe (because what they looked like as toys vs. in-universe were two entirely separate things) rewrite some parts to punch them up, and DO IT ALL WELL, and you'd legitimately have one of the greatest stories ever put on the small screen.
Hell, the final battle makes The Rumbling look like a joke in terms of scale. If you know, you know. :)
And the soundtrack has to have all American rejects in it .
The problem with Snake-Eyes in live action is that they shied away from his comicbook backstory - the fact that he wears the mask because he's horribly disfigured and doesn't talk because his vocal chords were destroyed.
The reason why they refuse to follow his lore in current year because its cultural inappropriate according to SJW.
@@boboboy8189too dark for weaklings sjw myb😂
@boboboy8189 Lmao Bruh, what? 😂
@@froznpyro schizophrenia is serious
THATS HIS BACKSTORY THAT'S MILES BETTER THAN WHAT WAS IN THE MOVIE. I WAS ALWAYS BOTHERED AS TO WHY THEY NEVER ADRESSED IT.
I cosign this movie SIMPLY FOR Scarlett and Barroness 😁♥️
The Baroness is the best part of this movie. For all the reasons. LOL
Don't forget Scarlet.
I certainly didn't.
Stephen Sommers knew how to make girls looks Hot in every movie he direct. Meanwhile we keep getting ugly girls in blockbuster movie since 2021
That Cobra Commander reveal is sick. The rest of the movie is goofy, but those 20 seconds are golden.
JGL went hard for that
cobra commander and his stupid voice issue sounded stupid. levit is a good actor but this movie was a miss.
I loved this movie when it came out. Still do. It's a wonderful guilty pleasure.
You have nailed it. This movie had me feeling like I was back in my bedroom as a child having a Joe adventure with my action figures. It came though at a time when movies were critiqued way too harshly and fun was not allowed anymore and they all had to be real and grounded. The way every character got ample screen time was so well done and these days it would end up being a 3 hour movie to do that. I also don't mind Retaliation either.
It was a side effect of every movie wanting to do the Batman Begins or Dark Knight thing and get the critical acclaim that goes along with it
Retaliation has better action but the story is pretty bad
@@BetterWithBobi would said every movie want to be the dark knight post 2008 while every movie want to be avengers post 2012
first I forgot that this movie existed, but the cast was stellar and I remember I was excited to watch it out of nostalgia that we had 80s shows in the 90s in my country I think it was enjoyable and fun to watch.
*Nostalgia is the worst reason to experience anything.* Mostly movies, but also ex-girlfriends.
The Baroness was absolutely eye-catching! 😍
Very true XD
I did like the sequel better because of how clever Cobra Commander and Zartan's plan was
Retaliation got Major reshoots. The first scene when channing tatum and his friend died is reshoots. Studios said everybody hates test screening and forcing them to change the characters. Zartan and cobra commander is original scene, every storm shadow scene is original. But every Dwayne Johnson scene is reshoots
I've personally always thought this movie was awesome and seeing this movie constantly get hate I've thought am I the one that's crazy for really liking this movie but I'm really glad to see this movie does have it's fans even if it's a small minority and also I wish Stephen Sommers woul come back and direct more movies again his movies were always fun and extremely entertaining.
Since the Brenaissance is happening perhaps that'll persuade him to return for a new Mummy/Van Helsing crossover lol
@@BetterWithBob i really hope so , that would be awesome !
Same here I enjoyed it a ton.
Fast pace, the power suits were fun, fascinating action and visuals.
And Snake Eyes was amazing. He did not said a single word yet was one of the best characters
Earnestness is what’s missing from nearly all films…hell, the makers actively not hating the film they’re making would be a start.
There's a lot of stuff being made by committee these days for sure. That always happened but having entire third acts be reshot a month before release is becoming a standard practice unfortunately
@@BetterWithBob I challenge anyone to read the God butcher story (arguably the best Thor story) a dark and blood soaked tale and say Waikiki’s oeuvre shows he’s perfect for it. Waikiki declared how he hates Thor and was utterly wrong for the film because he can’t do anything other than shite humour, does a film turning Thor into a dispenser of shite humour.
Compare that to Werewolf by night, which isn’t some great work of art, but it’s been made by people who understand and like what they’re doing and have the capacity to put their vision on screen.
I blame the producers for their hiring policies, lack of a plan and not trusting anyone they hire to do the job they are being paid for.
@@kettchuk918 I could not stand Thor Ragnarok and didn't even watch Love and Thunder because I just knew I wouldn't like what they'd do
The Paris action chase scene was incredible.
Glad someone else noticed it.
4:23. Storm Shadow's line is my favorite part.
When a person analyzes it they can tell that:
It shows how smart Snake Eyes can be even though his role is just the silent ninja.
And it shows how well Storm Shadow knows Snake Eyes despite the decades that they have been apart.
Paris action chase scene is better than avengers (2012) New York action scene. Joss whedon sucks at action
@@boboboy8189 He sucks at character voice as well
Stephen Sommers has the four things I want in my movies, "darkness, fun, comedy and adventure". The Mummy and Mummy 2, Van Helsing, G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, Odd Thomas and Deep Rising have all these elements. I can't say that any film today, in 2023, have any of that. No director these days do that, not even the MCU. Whether you think Stephen Sommers are good or bad, I still have fun watching them.
He's pretty shameless about how his films are "turn your brain off" quality, although I think they do have slightly more substance than that
The MCU wishes they had movies like Stephen Sommers's catalog. Come to think of it, I wish we had another one right about now.
Van Helsing’s one of those movies that defined my childhood. Such a fun movie and never lets off the gas from start to finish. While everyone else was obsessing over dating vampires and werewolves at the time, van helsing and blade taught me they meed to die 😂
MCU is what feigi want, to copy every solo movie he did based on superman 1. Meanwhile Stephen Sommers has that old B-movie from 50's style which is dumb action horror. Although many people Will angry to me but many of directors from 80's and 90's grew up with B-movies from 50's. Even alien writer based his script on 50's alien B-movie i forgot the title though😅
What I really remember loving when I first watched tjis is the way they moved in thsoe power armors in Paris. It's so freaking cool and unlike how other movies would portray stuff like enhanced speed. It had so much force and momentum, it felt so powerful when they ran.
Yeah 100%!
And let's not forget the music. So adventurish and militaristic, Alan Silvestri sure knows how to invent a style suitable for movies he composes.
Alan Silvestri always is a banger for me. Even if it's in a film sort of "lacking".
I legitimately and unironically love this movie.
Me too haha
Same! It's a 'bad movie' in the absolute best way possible.
This movie isn't even bad, tbh I enjoyed it
I remember hearing many bad things about it and then watching it and enjoying it a lot. As always, not everything needs to be a critically acclaimed character study a la There Will Be Blood. It was a good movie for the source material.
I heard so many bad things and wasn't necessarily surprised when I watched, but I still loved the film
*Could it be a teeny-tiny bit character study? You know, just for audience sympathy perhaps.* I saw this in a theater and fell asleep for the whole underwater battle. My date nudged me back to the living and assured me I didn't miss anything relevant. The writers missed a great opportunity to make a statement about war or terrorism or IDK faaamuhly.
I knew the franchise was doomed when he didn’t return for the sequel 😢 I loved the cast. The script just needed to be polished and embrace the comic elements of Gi Joe
Yeah if they'd waited until after the strike they could have definitely polished it up
Tbh I had fun with Retaliation. It carried the spirit of action figures on screen. Dumb but an awesome, entertaining action movie. And the Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow scenes were great. Lady Jaye was cool too. So was Ray Stevenson as Firefly. And Jinx. Oh yeah and Bruce Willis was in it too.
@@matthewk4912retaliation has better action but directing felt like something is missing. I knew they doing Major reshoots later on and realize no wonder retaliation felt something is off
That's what happen when you have the director like john chu@@boboboy8189
Great video. I only recently found your channel with your Underworld and Van Helsing videos. I watch a lot of analysis and retrospectives, your videos are well made, balanced presentation and easy to watch.
same!
The GI Joe movies were so close to being not just good, but pretty damn great. SO close. A few creative decisions here and there, maybe swapping a couple of characters around--while keeping the cast--and it really could have taken off. To me, what the movies failed the hardest to land was the Rogues Gallery, and that's an issue I took to heart since that was always my favorite part of Joe.
Yeah probably could have benefited from more time to fine tune the script
knowing it's ray park inside the suit doing all the stuntwork with snake eyes is incredible, also the actor that played storm shadow was great, as well as the doctor himself playing destro.
I never watched Doctor Who so I pretentiously know him as the Duke of Norfolk from Elizabeth 😂
This movie will always have a special place in my heart. I was entering high school in 2009 and this was one of the last dumb fun action movies based on toys I liked as a kid I watched. And I remember my friends and I had fun watching it
Aww awesome
I really liked this movie. The Sigma Six influences were clear, and I'm glad they did that over the 80s ARAH. The ROC toyline was fantastic!
Yep, I got a Baroness figure for Christmas last year in fact XD
“that red head is really starting to piss me off” is the most iconic line in the movie and i won’t hear anything about it! she ate!!
But it was a flyby shot that would’ve just passed by most viewers
Haven’t watched this movie in years but I still read this in her voice. Absolutely Iconic 😂
As someone who never had any prior experiences with the GI Joe franchise ( I'm from the UK) I enjoyed it as a dumb sci-fi action comedy movie similar to Men In Black.
I even enjoyed the second one. Although that's probably mainly a combination of The Rock, Bruce Willis and Storm Shadow's character arc
It would be hard to put The Rock and Bruce Willis into something and not result in some form of enjoyment lol
*In the UK it was called **_Action Force._*
I really liked the movie. It was awesome. Definitely better than retaliation.
Casting Ray park a martial artist as snake eyes is brilliance... you cant go wrong with a pure physical actor rocking out a non-speaking non-face showing role. Two words: Darth Maul
Haha I might be biased and say I prefer him as Snake Eyes lol, though I respect what he brought to Darth Maul
You know I never knew what the issue was with this film, I saw it in the theater and enjoyed it and a few months ago I saw it again and again why did people hate this so. The action was solid and the cast was pretty true to the characters. It's a fun movie not perfect but fun.
Agreed!
Agreed. It's a good movie.
Im Nigerian and never knew this movie wasn't adored. I watched it in high-school and loved it. Wasn't familiar with GI Joe beforehand. I also developed a huge crush on snake eyes😅
You have good taste in men.
While I dislike the fact they made Baroness a brainwashed good guy, killed one of my favorite Joes, Cover Girl, with no fanfare and made GI Joe an international operation, instead of a Real AMERICAN Hero, just because of how much the writers disliked Bush and the Iraq War, I still enjoyed this silly movie and wished that we got more of a straightforward sequel instead of Retaliation killing off Duke and writing out almost everyone else.
I just like to pretend that she’s some anonymous person who looks like her and not Cover Girl.
it's a good movie and Joseph Gordon Leavitt is a good villain
They nailed Cobra Commander in The Rise of Cobra and Retaliation because he is not a coward but a very powerful schemer and leader. Also, the visuals, the talks about nanomites, and other scientific endeavors give a clear reason as to how he took over MARS and transformed it into Cobra.
Nicely said
@@BetterWithBob In Retaliation, Cobra Commander still kind of won as all the major countries lost their nuclear weapons while Cobra's military facilities are loaded with tons of advanced weapons and bunkers originally created for MARS Industries. The lost of his satellites might have set him back some decades but time does not deter Cobra. Plus, it will take months for the GI Joe to regain the foothold and strength they have.
I'll never get why people don't like this. I keep rewatching the movie and it's so fun to me.
Ray Park as Snake Eyes and Lee Byung-hun as Storm Shadow was perfect casting and execution. All the good things and things they did right were both taken and amplified in the sequel. Why I think Retaliation is one of the best bits pf GI-Joe media.
The actors in this, and the sequel *felt* like they were the characters they were playing. Destro/McCullen was greedy schemer, Dr/commander worked as both a great Cobra Commander voice and played Dr. Mindbenders normal role as an inhuman science loving psycho. Baroness was perfect, the Joes were each unique in character. I already talked about Snake and Storm. Hawk was a true leader. So on and so forth.
This was my introduction to G.I. Joe. Same how the Michael Bay Transformers was my introduction to Transformers.
A gateway is a gateway XD
I never played with G.I.Joe figures or read the comics for they weren't wide spread (or even available?) in Germany when I was young, but I love this film. If I were on the jury, your case would be granted ...
The film might not be what everyone was quite expecting, but I've always enjoyed it. I even upgraded it from DVD to Blu-Ray a few years ago. The cast is pretty good, even if Tatum is a wooden here, but he REALLY seemed like he had a far better time in the sequel where he was short-lived in. If they had Cobra Commander don the classic domed mask at the end, I think it would've marked a better feeling about a lot of things here. I like how Retaliation got a lot of the aesthetics more accurate to the classic franchise iconography, but I found a lot of the film rather dull. The villains were the only ones there that felt like they were putting in a genuine, charismatic effort. Rise of Cobra felt a lot more fun, even if Sommers over relied on CGI to a fault (some scenes look blatantly like green screen sets).
*_G.I.Joe: The Movie_** was waaaay better.*
Lol in a weird way I found the dodgy CGI part of the charm because it looked so plastic I was like "perfect for a movie based on toys"
I don't even mind Channing Tatum being wooden--he just comes across as a working-class grunt who's legitimately like that.
@@hulkhatepunybanner That animated movie never sat right with me. Cobra-La was just really grotesque and overly weird for me.
I loved it, it was everything I wanted from a GI Joe adaptation.
Had a great time with that movie and crazy how all the movies mentioned are my favorite films as a child
I think this movie is honestly quite underrated, but the sequel is definitely underrated. I honestly LOVE Retaliation but it's been ages since I've heard anyone even mention these movies.
MAN, THIS FILM & RETALIATION DELIEVER SOME OF THE BEST SCENES OF STORM V SNAKE IN ALL THE FRANCHISE
& THE BEST POTRAYAL OF COBRA COMMANDER AT THIS DATE(even better than Renegades & IDW)
I loved Rise of the Cobra. Plus it was far better than the Rock-dominated Retaliation.
I really hope that some day a studio will throw a couple hundred million at SS again and let him work his magic. He always knew how to use a budget to its maximum potential to make fun thriller/action movies that everyone can enjoy. It's a shame he hasn't written or directed anything in a decade now.
TBH, i actually liked the movie the first time i saw, since the only contact i ever had with GI Joe was the Sigma 6 cartoon and i remember liking it a lot
also fun fact, but here in Brazil the toy line was called "Comandos in Action"
GI itself was or the subtitle?
This movie has it ups and down, but it has one of the most underrated casts of the last twenty years, so many great actors giving fun preformances
Yes indeedy
*Some giving "final" performances. Like where did they go after this movie?*
Funny, Larry Hama, who created the Baroness character always envisioned her as American. Morgan Lofting the original V.A. Gave the character the accent. Changes how you read the comics doesn’t it?
Thank you. I enjoyed the GI Joe film as well. Sad to see this was pretty much the end of that director with big movies.
He likely took the fall for Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor as well, even though he only produced it as well
@@BetterWithBobmaking mummy in china is a huge mistakes, we all know hollywood trying to pleased china audiences with Rush hour trilogy and karate kid (2010) although i never watch that karate kid version because since when china learn karate.
It was corny and cheesy but this is what I expect from an action movie.
It's just a 90's movie that was made in 2009.
That is the best line lol
I LOVE THIS MOVIE
*I know is really flawled But you can genuinally tell there was an effort to introduce a new generation into this franchise, not mebtionig all the evdient effort put in the cinematography(that chase scene holds up really well today)*
*& people act too harsh on it, inoffensive action film at worst*
The truly strange thing about this film is that it was fine . . . as a self-contained new franchise borrowing a few elements from G.I. Joe. The moment you call it G.I. Joe and use the character names, though, the question becomes why almost every single element is different. Why are there enhancement suits instead of, say, interpretations of literally any of the cool vehicles and equipment from the actual franchise? Why make the Baroness so different? Why not let Destro's mask be his family's eccentric way of hiding their identities? It's as though they wanted to use the name and the Snake Eyes ninja stuff, but they didn't actually want anything else. Which I have to assume is exactly what the writers wanted.
You summed it up perfectly. Much better than this thirty minute video essay. BWB doesn't understand the movie or why it isn't a good G.I. Joe movie.
I always had a soft spot for this movie. Maybe it was the time in my life when it came out but I remember liking it, and falling off after the intense hatred it got. I also appreciated the Brendan Fraser cameo before he basically disappeared for like 8 years. Though I don’t like Cobra Commander’s octopus helmet
I loved this movie!!! No defense needed. Loved the sequel too. Wish they made more
I liked this movie a lot actually. I do wish they didn't have the Baroness face turn though. I much preferred her as a hot femme fatale villain. Ah well.
Lee Byung Hun great as always ❤
I definitely don't hate this movie, and was even excited when the sequel came out. There are a lot of choices I found questionable; but it all worked as a whole.
I am bitter about making Baroness a good guy. The actor is good enough in the role that I forgive the lack of accent; but she is one of the character's who is anywhere near as iconic as Snakeeyes. There are only so many things you can change about her, and making her a goodguy is one. There is a "good" baroness in the original animated series; but she lived in a parallel universe and (importantly) her being good served to show just how backwards that reality was. (Note to Joe writer; if you want to write a "good" Baroness, put her in a relationship with Steeler rather than Duke. This would impress more fans than it would upset.)
Growing up; Baroness was probably my first sapphic awakening. This may give me a bias in terms of how she is portrayed, I'll admit that. However, I know this is a very common experience for a lot of queer female Joe fans.
If they wanted a romance in the film and didn't want it to be Scarlet with Duke, make Tatum Flint instead and give us Lady Jay. Having Baroness snog Duke is just icky.
Baroness is like evelyn, female villain that are iconic. Changed that and suffers the consequences
Lets not forget the sequel to this movie! G.I. Joe: Retaliation... I gotta say, these movies have some good scenes and weren't that bad. (and I swear I remember reading somewhere that his character in GI Joe was also supposed to be a relative to his character in The Mummy films)
And if we were given another movie, I would give anything to see the WWIII story be adapted better. Especially focusing on the Baroness's arc in that story
It was the first movie I saw in a theather and I love Stephen Sommers films so it takes a special place in my heart. Also it's better than majority of drivel being produced today.
It's Sommers. It's a fun, breezy, well crafted big budget action film. For that, I'm happy. I could give a shit it's somehow "not true to G.I. Joe lore" or some other nonsense nerd shit like that, lol.
Sommers is STILL underrated in how he can craft coherent and visually appealing VFX driven spectacle. It's all obvious CGI, but it never suffers from becoming a blobby, sloppy mess of digital soup. It's all clearly staged and exciting.
Ppl just loved to bleat about "bad cgi" but they don't know a thing about it. Everyone is so hung up on whether CGI looks as realistic as possible without ever assessing whether the CGI benefits the tone, style, and intention of a film or set piece.
To me the creative vision behind the CGI is more important than some arbitrary realism test.
I was surprised how hot Baroness was in this movie. It's the glasses.
Sienna Miller has a lot of charisma. It's not just about beauty. She knows how to carry herself. She can turn on the flirty bad girl like Stardust and Alfie but then immediately be very soft and disappear into another role like Foxcatcher and American Sniper.
I liked the mouth face from the first movies snake eyes
I absolutely love this movie.
It reminds what its like being 12, though I never saw it as a kid.
It had fun sequences and colorful character. I like it a lot.
I had the sigma 6 and snake eyes action figures growing up, honestly some of my favorite toys ever getting and I wish I still had them, looking at the sigma6 one it almost perfectly fits sigma from overwatch and now I want him as a skin I can play as
I never thought Rise of Cobra was a bad movie. It never was a “bad” movie. A great adaptation of G.I.Joe? Well, depends on who you ask. The film is fine and definitely a fun ride in its own right. Same with its sequel, which I think is an improvement of the first film.
When I saw this in theaters all I could think during the 3r act under-water part was "This is the last act of Phantom Menace, but under the ocean instead of space and the jedi have been replaced by ninjas"
I am a GIJoe fan and a Stephen Sommers fan and I'm glad you made this video praising both of them.
Only saw Deep Rising and onwards and love them but will also check out his earlier works.
I haven't seen Deep Rising myself (keep getting it mixed up with Event Horizon)
@@BetterWithBob Yeah, I think that's where his relationship with ILM started.
It’s embarrassing; I was introduced to GI Joe through this very film and it’s not faithful to the old GI Joe series at all.
I absolutely adore your channel and there are so many movies I need you to cover like the syfy Alice in Wonderland, Domino, Speed Racer the list goes on
Oh dang I haven't seen any of those lol. Domino with Keira Knightley?
@@BetterWithBob Yes indeed I’m shocked you’ve even heard of Domino. I think you can watch syfy Alice on here it was a miniseries w big names like Kathy bates.
@@ninaxwings I've heard of it and remember the trailers but never watched it
I just find it funny that Team America parodied this movie FIVE years before this movie came out! Like there are so many similar elements in them it's uncanny!
I've never seen Team America but I've heard about the similarities lol
The reason why Michael bay did not direct G.I. Joe was because Hasbro had planned to make A G.I. Joe movie before making transformers but then us invaded Iraq and it was seen as bad taste so hasbro ended up making transformers directed by Michael Bay instead
Ah...
@@BetterWithBob knowing is half the battle😂😂
and is hilarious because the first movie has a bunch of soldiers on IRAQ or some place like that fighting scorpok
and the secuel is in Egypt and China lmao
I rewatched the 2 films after watching your video and I have to say they were both pretty fun. I would like to see a more comic version of GI Joe but they were fun movies. I need to rewatch Snake Eyes but I can say it wasnt a top ten of 2021 lol
They changed snake eyes lore too much. But baroness in that movie is perfect too
Love the American accent on the last two words, bro. Very--well--earnest.
If you haven't already you should cover another Stephan Sommers movie; Deep Rising.
I haven't seen that one but it's on my list lol
13:48 which is ironic considering the actual inspiration behind Cobra Commander’s original design was that of an executioner’s hood from the Middle Ages
Storm shadow & Scarlett are my favorite characters in the movie. although, I do love me some Ray Park (Snake-Eyes), like in Star Wars, you don't hear his voice (a different person was dubbed over the parts were maul was speaking). The Baroness was also great. I actually like most of the main characters in this movie, Zartan was great too.
one thing I found kinda lame is how Duke's best friend became Cobra Commander.
Michael Bay should have been put to make G.I.Joe movie and let someone else continue Transformers. Wonder what a Transformers Stephen Sommers movie would be like. Maybe they will let Bay make him a G.I.Joe in the future.
Bay's GI Joe would for sure have a lot of great practical effects
Underrated movie with great casting! Channing Tatum is the only one who's not terrific, and he's still fine.
Joseph Gordon Levitt as Cobra Commander is still weird lol
The first time I watched it and two more times after, I always had the feeling that it was too short. It's just plain fun, like the Avengers before the Avengers.
Always liked this movie because of its over the top insane action sequences. So you are not alone.
G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra is a great movie.
As somebody who never read the comics or watched the tv show, I loved the first movie. I liked the villain side more because their vehicles were awesome!
Okay hear me out. Channing Tatum has always been pretty (attractive) and functional, before being a thespian. I think he would have made a better Snake Eyes and we would have gotten a deeper story as a result with his character: has the war vet who was made mute during a special mission gone wrong.
But culling thru joe lore, were they checking boxes, or pulling in the best of that lore? I enjoyed this movie to, but even I saw that sheen would wear off if a second was made, simply from not committing completely to one vision. Storm shadows character is a perfect example on double downing in a cool way. What could have been………
He's been miscast a lot. He's way better suited to comedy or else grittier stuff
@@BetterWithBob I concur. He is a one note actor who struck gold with comedy. That is his lane.
He can act, most notably for me in the first Magic Mike movie, is where I noticed he really put his heart and soul into it (the rest were just for his eventual retirement fund).
@@rutgaurxi7314 The funny thing about Hollywood, is if you are allowed to stay in it long enough you can get better at the type of acting that is required. So many examples of this with. Acting is a craft and skill, unfortunately does not mean you get that break. He was passable in the beginning who eventually got better.
@@saturncrush I'm well aware.
I grew up with this movie and the transformers movies So I love this movie so much nostalgia for me
Picture this: Stephen Sommer directing Biker Mice from Mars with performance capture of Jason Statham as Throttle, Dwayne Johnson as Vinnie, Vin Diesel as Modo and Michelle Rodriguez as Carmine.
I love when people makes a stand and loves the unpopular things and i also enjoyed Battleship.
I haven't actually watched but might check it out one day lol
I was pretty young when I saw this movie, and I loved it. Definitely not a masterpiece, but a good action movie that should not have been a career ender
Actually hollywood want to kick every director that not follow their ideology, you can see how many director were kicked from hollywood from 2010 - 2015. They all of have similarities, director from 80's and 90's Who love produced entertained films.
Meanwhile hollywood start to bring new blood that can easily control to spread their ideologies
The first GI Joe movie was actually quite decent. Good cast, good origin story, good entertainment. I liked watching it and i watched it again some time later. Is some kind of a hidden gem imo.
The second one however ... uh, bad stuff...
Someone else described it as the last fun summer blockbuster before the MCU took off
I didn't like the Baroness turning out to be brainwashed.
Agreed lol
Great child-toy-action-movie. And then Dwayne 'I want to be in every Movie' Johnson stepped in and ruined everything.
I was 13 when I watched this and I loved it... I am 28 now and I still fucking love it no matter what.
Great review …..a new appreciation for Rise of Cobra
As someone autistically obsessed with G.I. Joe, I bear a great love for this movie. No, it wasn't exactly like the first cartoon, or the first comics series, or the later cartoons, or the later comics series... because they were all different from each other. The idea that there was "one, true version" of G.I. Joe that the movies needed to be "faithful" too is silly. Heck, the Sunbow cartoon and the Marvel comics were in production at the same time and differed drastically from each other in important ways.
Very well said
The combat suits looked good on everybody!
you got to do a sequel cuz the snake eyes / storm shadow parts of that movie are PEAK
My kid plays with my He Man toys. I sold the GI Joe stuff decades ago. Should have kept it and Star Wars toys. Worth a fortune.
Rachel nichols was so hot in this I wish she would do more films like these🔥
I saw this movie in theaters with some friends, I think because of liking Eccleston as the 9th Doctor. I thought it was fun, if silly 😂 I'm a sucker for explosions and car chases!
Greatest movie since Stars a New Hope. Absolutely love it.