GI Joe: Rise of Cobra = PREDICTIONS! Smash hit or awful failure?

Discussion in 'Movies and Television' started by Kickback, Feb 17, 2009.

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GI Joe: Rise of Cobra - Box Office Hit or Box Office Flop?

  1. Successful! Box office hit!

    36.3%
  2. Failure! Box office flop!

    63.7%
  1. Erector

    Erector I ruined the Hall of Fame

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    Spiderus won the thread. Close it, now.


    In fairness, GI Joe was the backup strip to the UK TF comic. It was ORIGINALLY called Action Force but got renamed into GI Joe, I assume to tie in with the US. So a certain amount of people will remember it as that. As far as the cartoons go, I don't remember.
     
  2. Omnius

    Omnius Guest

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    Actually you're right there, didn't it change circa 1989? Not sure about the comics but I found the original movie on DVD in a shop today for £2.99 and that was titled GI Joe. :) 
     
  3. grimlockams prime

    grimlockams prime Check you feet

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    If Snake Eyes is french I'm gonna punch A.The director,and B.the writers.
     
  4. Witwicky Camaro

    Witwicky Camaro Sabbatical Is Required

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    To be perfectly honest, I hope this movie doesn't fail because it doesn't look as terrible as most are procaliming it to be ((IMDB.com, most of the "interwebz")). I'm not getting the sense of a terrible action movie, and Stephen Sommers directing sorta gives me hope if only because he Directed The Mummy and I love that movie, and kinda enjoyed Van Helsing.

    Their "X-Men"-Eqsue uniforms work for me. From what I remember, most of the actors in Street Fighter looked too much like costume-party goers wearing their characters original costumes (but then that was a low-budget movie). I can only imagine how odd the actors in G.I. Joe would look like in their mitch-match fatigues/camouflage, and blue cobra costumes. [Pause] Oh...Hang on, they've updated their costumes since the 1980s. My Bad. Anway, it fits the perimeters of the status-quo "Superhero" movie look, plus black is an "Objective" sort of color IMHO. No personality, no diversity unless paired with something else.

    But, truth be told, I don't see this movie doing a major sucusess because of the hestiation its being met with, oh, not to mention Channing Tatum and Marlon Wayans (audience repliant, if your not A: a Tatum Fangirl or B: A Wayans fan).
     
  5. Jarodimus

    Jarodimus the guy with that scan Veteran TFW2005 Supporter

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    Put me in the "near the break-even point" camp. I voted for "flop", though, because if it just breaks even, a flop is how it will be seen.

    It'll probably be #1 for the first week, and maybe even the 2nd, as I don't see much competition on the schedule. The third week, it'll probably down to at least #3 behind Inglorious Basterds and Final Destination 4. (And really, probably farther down, because some of those romantic comedies from the first 2 weeks will probably start lower but have better legs.)

    But I don't expect the U.S. opening weekend to be more than $50M or total to be more than $200M. In the non-U.S. markets, I expect near-total tankage.
     
  6. Ziero

    Ziero TFW2005 Supporter

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    ...wait, wut? So laser guns, robots, flight pods, MASS Devices, shape shifters and all those other iconic (i.e. the things people LIKED about GI Joe) things don't count as Sci-fi? G.I. Joe has always had it's toes in the futuristic end of the comic spectrum, it's always had high-tech, space-aged, super science fiction fantasy driving it forward. The only difference is now that the age we live in, the ideal of sci-fi military stuff has changed some, and it's going to be reflected in the new movie.

    When one of the original 13 joes is a "Laser Rifle Trooper" it's hard to pass it off as not being "Sci-Fi"

    Transformers was successful because it had a lot of action, a lot of explosions, a lot of comedy and a fair amount of drama. It wasn't in any way the realism, especially when compared to G.I. Joe. Because to be blunt, in this day and age, that guy next to you could be someone involved in super secret anti-terrorist forces.

    Star Wars was "War" too, and it was marketed to kids just fine. The original G.I. Joe had no problem reaching kids, why would this movie? G.I. Joe isn't about "war", it's about action. And as long as it has tons of action, some decent humor, and likeable characters it'll be fine.

    And they are doing a "rated R"(MA-14 iirc) version of G.I. Joe, and ironically, it's a cartoon.

    While I won't say anything about the single figures, I doubt the vehicles will stay on the shelves long. A lot of them are really nice. And some of them are straight up repaints of older stuff. And hell, even the single packs aren't bad toys in any way, movie Baroness looks a lot better then the first two 25th Anni Baroness. And if I had the space, I'd gladly pick up the Pit. A massive playset for my all my G.I. Joes that comes with it's own Ping Pong table, how is that not awesome?

    Wasn't he supposedly french in the comics too? Or did they never actually reveal where he was from?

    Personally, I think it will do ok, but not awesome. As someone earlier made the comparison, it'll be like the Hulk from last summer. It did well and was a fun flick, but not the best one and nothing incredible. But then again, I'm biased as I don't like a lot of the changes they've made to the characters. But just because they've changed things older fans may get pissed over, doesn't mean it won't catch the attention of newer fans.
     
  7. kronos

    kronos PSN = METROPLEX_84

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    i think most will be surprised by its success..
     
  8. DeathsHead

    DeathsHead Well-Known Member

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    I'm not quite sure how to vote on this one. It looks appalling, but then the Matrix sequels were shoddy and hugely popular...

    Not true - it initially had it's own publication as Action Force (I own most of the issues!), but was later merged with Transformers as the market for both products began to dwindle somewhat. The comic was fantastic.

    The toys were also sold under the banner of Action Force.

    It's all a matter of opinion, but I'd have to agree with the general dismay at the material screened so far - I also think it looks laughable. I'm certainly willing to give it a chance though.

    I must respectfully disagree. Creative adaptation is the key here. It is quite possible to apply some sensible adjustments to the already very popular Joe inconography to bring the outfits into 2009. What seems to have happened instead (and I can admittedly only judge from I've seen) is the baby vanishing out the window with the bath-water. Some designs work because they work - it strikes me as rather churlish to constantly change things for the sake of it.

    It may not be an ideal example as its still essentially a toy, but the images below of the Sideshow Cobra trooper look markedly more 'realistic' to me than the accelerator suits and in fact have a good deal in common with current SWAT uniforms - you just need to seriously tone down on the use of the garish logos.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    My problem with much of the new look is exactly that it has "no personality, no diversity".

    (By the way, Street Fighter is one of the worst examples of any kind of film, and it's costume and production design are no exception - cheap, nasty and devoid of any style whatsoever. It shouldn't be used as a yardstick with which to judge other movies.)


    Are they that good then? The figures I saw were awful - the all black look is not a good thing...

    Not as far as I know. I understood it that he was American, as almost everyone else was, and a Vietnam vet.
     
  9. Eric

    Eric VOTE.

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    While I think it'll be a failure, it'll probably do well in its opening weekend.
     
  10. Ra88

    Ra88 Dutchman!

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    It will most likely be a big hit, what being a big over the top action movie (I especially think that kids will love it). It's DB:E that will most likely fail.
     
  11. Chaos Muffin

    Chaos Muffin Misadventure Veteran

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    If it's bad, I'll keep watching it over & over until It's my new fav movie.

    I think it'll be good, but may have it's awkward moments

    If they throw alot of Cobra & tech in there, then I'll probably love it.
     
  12. Optimus1986

    Optimus1986 TMNT & Hulk Fanatic

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    I think it will be one of those movies where it's a huge hit, but it's not that good (a la Batman Forever) and it will make a sequel. People that grew up on G.I.Joe will, of course, be disappointed, because Hollywood doesn't want to "offend" anyone overseas. In short, they took an American concept and sugar coated it for foreign audiences who will hate it anyway, simply because Americans made it.
     
  13. odelay

    odelay Downunder-bot

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    The Joes look more like Starship Troopers.
     
  14. jourdo

    jourdo TFW2005 Supporter

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    I can see it doing well, so I'll go with hit.
     
  15. Th0r4z1n3

    Th0r4z1n3 PlastiqueBoutique.com Veteran

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    My thoughts exactly, I don't think it will be TF big but it will do well in the box office... at least as a Joe collector I hope it does. There should be another option for "box office success/fan failure".
     
  16. Eric

    Eric VOTE.

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    Feel free to say that I've been living under a rock, but I just found this out TODAY:

    WHY THE HELL is Christopher Eccleston (the guy who played the ninth incarnation of the Doctor from Doctor Who) playing as Destro in this movie? Did he just randomly walk on to the set one day and the director thought "Gee, Mr. Eccleston seems to be on our set. Let's use HIM as Destro! Fire the other guy who'd make a better Destro, we found our replacement!" :banghead:  HUGE blow right there.
     
  17. Kickback

    Kickback @GeekWithChris Administrator News Staff

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    You get a poor director, you get poor casting decisions. It results in a poor movie. This has "Street Fighter 2" written all over it. We just need Jean Claude to show up and do a Sonic Boom.
     
  18. shibamura_prime

    shibamura_prime Food Truck or BMW Moderator

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    I personally see no problem with that...
     
  19. Takao

    Takao Well-Known Member

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    Can I say modest hit? It's looks really generic, but will bank on the name. But because it is generic it won't be a $700 Million movies worldwide. Probably around $250-$400 million worldwide.
     
  20. Omnibus Prime

    Omnibus Prime I'm too old for this shit TFW2005 Supporter

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    Agreed on all counts, although I think it'll split the fan vote in the end. All the advance criticism is awfully reminiscent of the run-up to the TF movie, which didn't look especially promising from the trailers either. I don't see GIJoe being as widely embraced by the fandom as the TF movie in the end, but who knows. The bottom line is, if it does well, it's good for the brand; If it tanks, the brand takes a hit, and we better really enjoy those 7-packs. And just like TFs, whether or not it's considered a success will have little to do with the fans' reception.