real american heroes

when you're young and you have 2 older brothers and the only girl in the family, you tend to follow your brothers' every move. i played boy games like hide and seek, wrestling moves, and instead of barbies (i did have 1 barbie), i got to play with action figures - from M.A.S.K to He-man to Mr T to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and to GI Joe. I don't really remember much about the cartoon.. all I remember is that my cousins and my brothers collected GI Joe action figures... Being a typical girl, instead of playing barbie and ken, i matched up the girl joes to the guy joes.. duke and scarlet, lady jane and hawk.. etc..

Then a few months ago.. i heard that GI Joe will get it's own live action movie.. How happy I was. most of my friends who are around my age remembers GI joe so we were psyched to watched it. It was a sure hit just like the Transformers. The film is directed by Stephen Sommers, produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and written by Stuart Beattie based on a 1998 screenplay by John Paul Kay. The film was released on August 7, 2009.

From the Egyptian desert, the elite G.I. Joe team with the latest in next-generation spy and military equipment will go against the corrupt arms dealer Destro and the growing menace from the mysterious Cobra organization to dispute them from plunging the world into chaos.

The movie stars a well known cast led by Dennis Quaid (Hawk) and includes Channing Tatum (Duke), Marlon Wayans (Ripcord), Sienna Miller (Baroness), Ray Park (Snake Eyes), Joseph Gordon Levitt (Cobra Commander) and Korean heartthrob Lee Byung Hun (Storm Shadow). It also features supermodel Karolina Kurkova (Covergirl) and Brendan Fraser (Sgt Stone). I think the actors were well cast, though Channing Tatum and Karolina Kurkova, despite their hotness, needs more improvement in acting. Marlon Wayans was funny and he had great chemistry with Scarlet. Sienna Miller is more popular being a fashionista and Jude Law's ex, but she was pretty good in the movie. I wish Brendan Fraser had more lines in the film. I'm used to watching Lee Byung Hun as the dramatic actor in tragic korean dramas like Beautiful Days and All In, so it was fun seeing him more of a bad guy, but he had the same stony look in practically every scene (his English was not bad though). I love Dennis Quaid i think he fit perfectly as Hawk, but what happened to his cute trademark grin? His grin was more of a smirk all throughout the movie.

The 2 hour movie had so much effects and so action packed, everyone was riveted to the big screens the whole time. Every scene had car chases, GI joes fighting, blasting their techie weapons, and big explosions. It was so much fun to watch because it actually had a story to go with the action, was fast paced and did not drag. The cast worked well together and their lines were funny (though sometimes, Baroness' attempts to humor fell flat). Overall, a great action movie for everyone to enjoy.

I wish they included Flint, Gung Ho and Lady Jaye but the ending hinted at a sequel (and I read that Dennis Quaid signed on for 2 more sequels) so hopefully more GI joe characters will be included in the sequels!