How Do I Avoid Comparing Retaliation to Zero Dark Thirty?

[Fred Broca]

First all, the title of the thread is a question, not a statement, second I'm going to see Zero Dark Thirty. I knew that from seeing trailer that this movie was going to pose a problem for me. Not in terms of the quality of the movie, but in terms of what I think I JOE movie should be. I saw dudes with breads, (Clutch, and Rock n Roll.) I saw special ops assets (am I using that term right?) boarding a helicopter, (Wild Bill or Lift Ticket piloting the Tomahawk,) there was even a dude with a dog even though the dog was a German Shepard, (Mutt and Junkyard,) a C.I.A. giving the Seal Team Six a briefing, (that could easily been Chuckles, or maybe even Scarlett,) and of course the biggie a Special Ops team going after a bad guy.

I don't want to come away from seeing Retaliation at the end of next month thinking that it should have been move like Zero Dark Thirty I want to as y'all always say, see it for what it is. That's kinda hard because I see JOE as the kid who gets "C's," but he if just applied himself and worked harder he could easily get "A's." Or maybe I should let Zero Dark Thirty be my JOE movie and just insert "x" JOE here? Let's say you.

 

[Giga Bread]

I don't know. As I grow older, I'm starting to embrace the more scifi elements of Joe. I think if it was a realistic military portrayal, I wouldn't enjoy it. I guess, I need some of the fun elements in a Joe movie to keep the escapist feel and if it followed ZDT, it wouldn't be a "fun" movie. I love war movies, but I think you can't ignore some of the more depressing elements they confront and to me, Joe could never compete on that level and would appear hollow.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

It really is tough watching a good realistic military movie and not wishing it was GIJOE, regardless of whether or not an actual Joe movie is being released...my guess is, that no matter what, any Joe movie will never be as good, because at its core, it's made to sell toys to children...

So, you are either going to have to accept that Joe will never be as good and just see both... or, if you can't do that, just see one or the other...



Man, I can't even begin to imagine the heart attacks happening over at HT at the implication that ANY movie would be better than ANY Joe movie that has or will come out...

 

[MMorelock66]

It really is tough watching a good realistic military movie and not wishing it was GIJOE, regardless of whether or not an actual Joe movie is being released...my guess is, that no matter what, any Joe movie will never be as good, because at its core, it's made to sell toys to children...

So, you are either going to have to accept that Joe will never be as good and just see both... or, if you can't do that, just see one or the other...



Man, I can't even begin to imagine the heart attacks happening over at HT at the implication that ANY movie would be better than ANY Joe movie that has or will come out...

I keep waiting to see Snake Eyes and Sgt Stalker in Platoon:/

 

[WVMojo]

I think GI Joe has to be a little over the top (not to the extent of the Expendables), but can't be so grounded in realistic military action that it's being compared to ZDT or any other handful of war movies that you could name.

I know this isn't popular on here, but I want to see some (not every friggin character) Joes have an awesome cliff side Ninja battle. I want to see RockBlock hip firing a gun so big he shouldn't physically be able to do so.

GI Joe is a popcorn flick geared at an audience who wants to be entertained for a couple hours and who aren't expecting an Oscar nominated movie.

ZDT on the other hand will draw some of those popcorn watching movie goers, but I would bet that the larger percentage of people who will pay to see ZDT are expecting another Motion Picture of the Year story, photography, directing, and acting.

It's not a matter of being disappointed in one after watching the other, its more about realizing what these movies are and appreciating, hating, or loving them for that.


And by the way what kind of breads did the guys have? Whole wheat? Rye? Sourdough? Or just plain white?

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

I wanna see Joe realistically done, but with mutable teams spread out around the globe doing specialized things that all pertain to the same mission/end goal...

I DO NOT want to keep seeing Joe portrayed as the f*@#ing A-Team!

 

[Talisman]

G.I. Joe is a straight-up action movie.
ZDT is a docudrama in a crunchy action movie coating.

I don't see the problem. If you like one, great, if you like both, even better, but as has been said, there are some fundamental differences between the two. It's like comparing Lord of the Rings to The Elder Scrolls. Yeah sure, similar on the surface and there are a good deal of shared tropes, but both unique offerings.

I wanna see Joe realistically done, but with mutable teams spread out around the globe doing specialized things that all pertain to the same mission/end goal...

Pursuit of Cobra: The Movie.

Actually that'd make a pretty kickass cartoon.

 

[MAJOR BLOOD]

I have found it easy to tell them apart. I just look at the titles.

 

[NSA]

Yeah I don't really see the similarities perceived or otherwise.

While I am at the forefront of wanting Joe to be more realistic (at least in terms of the toys) I don't have any issue with what essentially makes GI JOE, GI JOE and not Bravo Team or something.

It'd be interesting to see COBRA portrayed as an al Qaeda-type organization, and GI JOE as SEAL TEAM 6.. and I am sure it could be done well with the correct writers etc, but when you get to close to reality you'd likely lose the fun aspects of the Joe brand, which would be a shame.

 

[K-Tiger]

Still want the Japanese to do a Joe series.

 

[Giga Bread]

I wanna see Joe realistically done, but with mutable teams spread out around the globe doing specialized things that all pertain to the same mission/end goal...

I DO NOT want to keep seeing Joe portrayed as the f*@#ing A-Team!

But why does it have to be Joe? Couldn't you just make a really good fictionalized Spec Ops movie that doesn't suck? (sorry, Act of Valor blew) At that point, I don't think I'd care if they had Joe callsigns.

 

[WVMojo]

But why does it have to be Joe? Couldn't you just make a really good fictionalized Spec Ops movie that doesn't suck? (sorry, Act of Valor blew) At that point, I don't think I'd care if they had Joe callsigns.

The action sequences in AoV where great, because lets face it, real these guys know now to do it.

The acting side of it was horrible.

 

[NSA]

Yeah I liked AoV overall.. they conveyed enough of the plot to get from one action sequence to the next.

I think the best acting part was where he was interrogating the guy on the boat.. that guy gave me the creeps.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

But why does it have to be Joe? Couldn't you just make a really good fictionalized Spec Ops movie that doesn't suck? (sorry, Act of Valor blew) At that point, I don't think I'd care if they had Joe callsigns.

It doesn't have to be, but I would like it that much more if it was...I would have a more emotional connection to the film being a Joe fan since the early 80's...it would just be geek out city to watch a bada$$ realistic military movie and see and hear Joes in the leads...maybe slightly in the future so some slight future tech would be acceptable...

 

[YT1]

I JUST WANTED TO TYPE SOMETHING IN BOLD.

 

[NSA]

I JUST WANTED TO TYPE SOMETHING IN BOLD.

That's a bold statement.

 

[Fred Broca]

I know this isn't popular on here, but I want to see some (not every friggin character) Joes have an awesome cliff side Ninja battle. I want to see RockBlock hip firing a gun so big he shouldn't physically be able to do so.

GI Joe is a popcorn flick geared at an audience who wants to be entertained for a couple hours and who aren't expecting an Oscar nominated movie.

^^^^^That. I want balance and that seemed to one of the many problems with RoC, along with straying too far source material, having too many "WTF," moments, being to farcical at times. It as asked too much from the viewer in terms of suspending disbelief and in my opinion, G. I. JOE while having an action/adventure component to it, and characters like S.E. being damn near on The Batman's power level, the suspension of disbelief isn't really that high. The JOEs and COBRA are suppose to use future tech that leaves you saying, "Yeah, I can see that." I think the accelerator suits would have worked better and been more palatable to use if it were prototypes of S.N.A.K.E. armor that eventually were converted into B.A.T.s.

And by the way what kind of breads did the guys have? Whole wheat? Rye? Sourdough? Or just plain white?

Sourdough and Italian.

I wanna see Joe realistically done, but with mutable teams spread out around the globe doing specialized things that all pertain to the same mission/end goal...

I DO NOT want to keep seeing Joe portrayed as the f*@#ing A-Team!

But if you did that would you run into the problem that superhero movies have when they throw too many villains in, too many characters to focus in on properly character and plot development?

 

[Dr Syn]

^^^^^That. I want balance and that seemed to one of the many problems with RoC, along with straying too far source material, having too many "WTF," moments, being to farcical at times. It as asked too much from the viewer in terms of suspending disbelief and in my opinion, G. I. JOE while having an action/adventure component to it, and characters like S.E. being damn near on The Batman's power level, the suspension of disbelief isn't really that high. The JOEs and COBRA are suppose to use future tech that leaves you saying, "Yeah, I can see that." I think the accelerator suits would have worked better and been more palatable to use if it were prototypes of S.N.A.K.E. armor that eventually were converted into B.A.T.s.



Sourdough and Italian.



But if you did that would you run into the problem that superhero movies have when they throw too many villains in, too many characters to focus in on properly character and plot development?

In it's defence, the Accelerator suit nonsense was either from another script or the director splicing in ideas from another project.

This is Hollywood, which had early Transformers scripts with no dialogue for any Transformers. Another one, if my memory didn't fail me, had the Decepticons become Nuclear powered at the end so they can't be harmed else they'll cause fallout or something dumb.

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

But if you did that would you run into the problem that superhero movies have when they throw too many villains in, too many characters to focus in on properly character and plot development?

I've said it before...this is why I think Joe would work better as weekly series...

 

[Psycho Joe Guy]

Just keep in mind that much of Zero Dark Thirty is every bit as made-up and fake as ROC and you'll be fine. All the supposed "military criticism" of ZDT 'being too close to real' was Hollywood BS. Suspend your disbelief and take the popcorn ride and hope that Bruce Willis wasn't too bored to halfway act. Dwayne Johnson doesn't usually phone it in, so he'll be entertaining at least.

 

[Fled74]

In it's defence, the Accelerator suit nonsense was either from another script or the director splicing in ideas from another project.

True, the director did say in the DVD bonus features that he'd written an early script called "Accelerator" and no studio wanted to make it, so he incorporated the suits into the Joe movie.

 

[Giga Bread]

The suits really didn't bother me that much. I think it was more how terrible that scene was overall.

 

[Monkeywrench]

the worst part of the robocop scene was Scarlet on the motorcycle. That was so bad it makes me cringe.

 

[Fled74]

Shut up! I liked it!

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

The CGI in that section of the film was horrid HORRID!...I remember the trailers featuring part of that scene with them in their robocop suits and talking about it on a thread at HT...them tards defended it..."it's just not finished!...it'll be finished in the film!"...uh, no, it IS that bad, along with the whole film...

 

[Psycho Joe Guy]

the worst part of the robocop scene was Scarlet on the motorcycle. That was so bad it makes me cringe.

...but the BEST scene was Scarlett on the medivac! Let's hear it for gravity!