Jux makes sense, I retract my earlier statement about there being no reason to change GI-Joe, but It's too bad they couldn't just make a movie about an "elite forces" type of deal with the Joes as the members, and have Cobra as an underground organization that controls things behind the scenes that only high ranking government officials of various countries know about. But then again, I'm not making this move, so, what can ya' do?
Jux actually saying something that makes sense. Miracles can happen. Seriously, I really think they should just drop the idea altogether. I think it's a miracle that GI Joe toys are selling right now - during US involvement in Vietnam, Hasbro ended up changing GI Joe into a group of "adventurers" and alien-fighters in order to avoid political problems. (Link)
Eh... if Mark Wahlberg plays Duke, that in itself is enough to make the movie crap. He is the most 2D cardboard actor that's ever had the pleasure to bore the shit out of me.
You know, as far as Destro and his mask not working as a concept for a live action movie, I just have to point at Fantastic Four, and to a certain extent Hellboy, and say that masked villans CAN work in action movies. Also, if you throw in cloning of solders on Cobra's side, maybe even lifting a central plot linking the cloning/Serpentor origin, then you've certainly got a movie more engaging than say, oh I don't know, National Treasure? Come on, people WANT "G.I.JOE:A Real American Hero", The Movie, not "Random Throwaway Army Movie #9574932."
We basically watched Hugo Weaving voice act for 2+ hours...and it worked great. A steel mask isn't a big leap, nor is a hood for Cobra Commander. Storm Shadow doesn't have to be masked all the time if at all, and Snake-Eyes would work fine being played by the stuntman. And a mysterious badass masked ninja guy who doesn't speak would actually be no less cool on screen than drawn on a page IMO.
I don't know why the discussion is about whether or not Cobra could be credible... people in masks simply make the actor work harder, and done well masks rock. Considering that most of the Joe team don't exactly look like battle hardened warriors I would have thought the discussion would focus on them.
MARK WAHLBERG AS DUKE?!?!?! Ah hecks no, fool, that is just wrong! I love movies that bring light to unknown talent, or the "smaller screen" actors. I'd honestly prefer to see him as Alex Mann or the mute Snake Eyes ;-).
Yes, Jux, we can read the article - the only one linked to in this thread, to be specific. I am not saying you don't make fair points, only that I don't see anything from the filmmakers that back you up. All I see is a quote from the hypothetical director (how many did Spider-Man and Superman Returns have before finally being made?) laying the blame pretty specifically at Bush's feet. I think, if the problem is current perception of the US abroad, there are other ways to handle this than to upend the franchise. If its simply fighting terrorists in general, then they just ought to drop the film completely until the time comes that they can sell it. Of course, I'm not even sure this is the problem its made out to be, else why would we be getting Rambo 4? And I don't quite see how this is a violation of The Rule. We're not discussing politics per se, so much as the impact of politics on films. If we were able to do it with United 93, we should be able to do it here.
For CC, the steel mask or hood isn't the problem, so much as the bright blue costume and hissss speech. With Storm Shadow, one could question if the general movie audience would be willing to mix ninjas in with a "military" film. Destro is harder. CC's hood is easy to explain (we see real masked terrorists frequently on the news), and the battle helmet is simple and functional. Destro's mask more ornamental than practical, and I imagine conversations between the two characters might be a bit tough to film without either registering facial expressions. I won't even mention Destro's costume, as that most assuredly has to be changed.
Ya know, I wouldn't miss a live action G.I. Joe movie. Really. Honestly, with the stylized characters (especially from Sigma 6) it would be even harder in many ways to adapt to the big screen. What I wouldn't mind is a nice high-quality CGI film (I know, we have Valor Vs. Venom) that is oriented to the 13 plus crowd. Keep it accurate to the original content, but kick up the violence a bit.
Joe comic >>> Joe toon, so the comic should be used as a jumping off point IMO. The toon is largely just silliness. There is no hiss speech in the comic (and never even entered my mind until now), never mind any hint of the Cobra La nonsense. With a couple of tweaks, the comic origins of Cobra would work fine for a movie. In fact, with some of the recent retconning of CC's motives, they could actually tap into anti-American sentiment, at home and possibly abroad, and even make them quasi-sympathetic ala Magneto and Co. You may be right about all the villains running around in masks all the time. Storm Shadow could stand to just go unmasked, period, and also be portrayed more as CC's personal bodyguard rather than superbadassninjaman. Maybe just hint at any SS/SE connection in flashback, but not zoom in heavily on the ZOMG ninja aspect. Destro, too, doesn't need to be masked all the time, but the mask should at least be present at some point(s). Perhaps when CC is with Destro, he's Mr. Unmasked Arms Dealer Guy; that way one of them shows facial expressions and such. Maybe when he's interacting with Joes, he's Mysterious Steel Mask Guy. They could leave the connection dubious; at some point it's revealed, to viewers not familiar enough with the character, that they're the same person. Somethin' like that maybe. After those three, they really shouldn't use more than one or two more named Cobras anyway and they wouldn't need to be masked. I'd use Zartan, ditch the outfit and the stuff on his face, and just make him 'Ethan Hunt gone bad' Mr. Disguse. The only other one I'd say warrants throwing into the mix would be 'Fred,' who's main purpose would be to show that Cobra has operatives within the government itself. Show one, hint that there's more...CGs, though never explicitly referred to as such. That could be good. What they're talking about now, they should just save themselves the embarrassment, not call it GIJoe, and release it straight to DVD.
