12th December 2011

G.I. Joe: Retaliation – Quick thoughts and screen caps

posted in G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 2, G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes, G.I. Joe: The Movie |

How can I possibly compose any “quick thoughts” about that 2:50 masterpiece of editing I’ve now watched about a dozen times tonight?  It’s going to be difficult.

Was it what I was expecting?  No.  Was it awesome?  YES.  I love the fact that they unleashed an almost full three minute trailer on us to start things off, rather than a 30 second Super Bowl tease.  Even for being an almost 3 minute trailer, it was crammed full of characters, action, fantasy, and most importantly… spirit.  The general themes and feel of G.I. Joe: A Real American hero can be somewhat intangible.  As ridiculous as it sounds for a children’s cartoon and toyline, I think to achieve the essence of G.I. Joe, you need to find that right balance between science fiction, fantasy, and hard-edged military action.

This trailer did that.

From the high energy ambush in the desert, to the high-flying ninja battle in the mountains, it’s immediately obvious that this film is going to try and cover several different bases all in one shot.  It’s going to try and overshadow and cast aside Rise of Cobra, and it’s going to try to reinvent the property without really “rebooting” the property.  The best of both worlds.

I find myself a bit shocked by some of the choices made, such as the potential deaths of Duke, Scarlett, and the rest of the Rise of Cobra cast, but that feeling is quickly forgotten in a hail of 50 caliber gunfire (from a Ma Deuce no less!) clashing swords, and Cobra FREAKING Commander.

This is no Cobra Commander in a goat-mask wannabe.  This is Cobra FREAKING Commander.  The minute you see him, you know who it is, and that is beautiful.  Something the original film was lacking in a big way.  My first impression?  WOW.  Upon 13 viewings?  Still WOW.  Even as I combed through the trailer to grab over 75 screen caps, I kept on having to watch segments over again, a big smile spreading my lips.

Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Jon Chu, Dwayne Johnson, Ray Park, Elodie Young, Bruce Willis, Ray Stevenson, Lee Byung-Hun, Adrianne Palicki, DJ Cotrona, and many others too numerous to name…  thank you.  Thank you all.  Even at just brushing up against 3 minutes, memories of The Rise of Cobra seem to be fading away, replaced by energy, enthusiasm, and pure excitement over what’s to come.  Well done.

As I said, I gathered together over 75 screen caps…they’re not gorgeous, but hopefully they at least capture some of the imagery and some of the coolness of this trailer.  Off to watch it again.

Related posts:

  1. More screen caps and VIDEO from G.I. Joe: Retaliation ET promo!
  2. G.I. Joe: Retaliation Trailer should be released “imminently”
  3. Entertainment Tonight to feature a look at G.I. Joe: Retaliation Trailer
  4. The countdown to the G.I. Joe: Retaliation trailer continues!
  5. Crave Online gushes about G.I. Joe: Retaliation trailer
This entry was posted on Monday, December 12th, 2011 at 9:28 pm and is filed under G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 2, G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes, G.I. Joe: The Movie. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
  • Gyre-Viper

    “If you’re not following GeneralsJoes, you’re not following GI JOE.” Thanks for the shots Justin!!!! And you’re correct… this was really great.

  • Anonymous

    Thanks, Goggles! Nights like tonight are what I live for as a Joe fan. :)

  • Nickolaibrokethezoom

    I’ve watched it a dozen times already myself, and I can’t possibly be more pumped.
    How crazy is it that we didn’t even really know if Cobra Commander was for sure going to be in it, and then OMG HE’S RIGHT THERE IN THE TRAILER! Wow…Just Wow.

  • Hawkwinter

    I’m just getting more giddy the more I watch this. Everything about it is cool. This by the way, is the exact OPPOSITE reaction I had when watching the first Rise of Cobra trailer. That was more an ever increasing sinking feeling and a growing knot of utter disbelief and disapointment in my gut.

    This…..THIS….is GIJoe.

    Looks like they have plenty of great designs to make toys from, so all Hasbro has to do now is make sure shelves don’t get flooded with wave 1 & 2…..though I’m not sure they can help that one way or another…..might just have to buy them all then :D

  • http://www.facebook.com/Kirbdaddy Brian Kirby

    Pic 34, looks like Roadblock is standing on top of a HISS.

  • Ryan Chad75

    I’m right there with you about the fact that the team from the first one may get whacked, but, a good writer can always find a way to get around that, assuming a sequel is warranted. Which, after seeing this trailer, I think is a STRONG possibility. At, this point I’m cool with it, because I think it helps provide a clean break from the previous film, which is probably a good thing.

  • Hawkwinter

    Anyone else feel a major urge to go buy a ton of GIJoes after watching this?

  • Alexx

    WANT TOY OF GUY IN WHITE. Oh man that costume is awesome! Friggin’ love it! This is gona be a sweet toyline!

  • Revsears

    The potential death of Duke, You said it so it isn’t spoilers. I hope the What’s on Joe your mind covers what that could mean. If Duke is no longer the number 1 military character it would be a radical change from the Joe we know now. Could that be part of the reason the toon, staring duke, was ditched? Traditionally toylines anchored on a minority character to poorly (that was the whole reason the amazing static shock was cancelled as a toon.) Can roadblock be the new face of Joe? Here is a great question, how did Roadblock get passed off in the first one, and his spot given to what many consider a clone, his name band in IDW, and now he could be the “savior” of the Joe movie franchise? How did all this happen?

    My mind is so blown!

  • Emtivmike

    i am really for the evolution of gijoe as a whole. and who better than the rock to do it. i am even glad that bruce willis is in this. i am not a huge willis fan, but i think he may be able to help the transition. plus, i really want a good roadblock in plastic form, and this may be the one!

  • Dr_Syn

    I would if they had them on the shelves (another reason to look forward to the movie, figures back on the shelves in NZ).

  • http://twitter.com/FakeEyes22 David R S

    Thanks for the screencaps!

    It looks to me like Bruce’s outfit is the same as the original 1964 figure! Or, since it’s just green with boots…just coincidence.

    I do think that the HISS-like and Rattler-like vehicles were very intentional, which is cool. I’d never expect a film to go crazy attempting to match toys or cartoons, but I think extra touches like this could help loosely capture a bit of the Joe feel without being too silly.

    Also: cliffside swordfights? That’s nuts! And seems pretty original for an action sequence as far as I know.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jrhunger Jay Hunger

    I’m TOTALLY sure Adrienne Palli…Pala…Lady Jaye loves that you got a screen cap in mid eye-roll. That looks great lol

    I’ve watched this countless times. Every time I see it, I like it more, and just want the freaking thing here already. I hope it stomps at the box office.

    …for our sake…

  • Jamarmiller

    does look awesome, just hope they dont kill duke and the first movie’s cast

    LOVE that they arent rebooting the series, WISH the comic book companies would learn from this.

  • KV

    Looks sweet. Can’t wait for the figures!!! This could be a sweet spot for the franchise–great, action-packed movie hits the screen, at the same time the tooling for the figures has never been better! While having the actor’s likeness on the ROC figs wasn’t all that exciting to me (oh great, another Marlon head), I wouldn’t mind having a few Bruce and Rock figures in my GI Joe collection.

    If I remember my Marvel comics correctly, I think Baroness shot SS as he hobbled onto the beach on Cobra Island, after he’d killed about 100 Blueshirts, three Eels, and a couple sharks. His body was used by Mindbender in his DNA mix for Serpentor *ahem, sorry if that’s too sci-fi for ya* but didn’t the experiment’s shock bring him back from the dead? I wonder if the movie is riffing on that scenario in the white room with the submersion tanks? Not a “creation-of-Serpentor” thing, but just that SS has been known to come back from the dead.

  • Toradoch

    Love bike with the RAM-esque side cannon taking out the perimeter gate before driving through – like Stalker in the first episode of the original mini-series. Subtle tips to the fans that integrate into the movie without seeming forced fitted make for a fun flick for all.

  • Dutch Joe

    Tons of GIJoes! Guess I have to be a bit more patient as the movie will hit the Netherlands two months later than the States …



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