G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is a 2009 American military science fiction action film based on the G.I. Joe toy franchise, with particular inspiration from the comic book and cartoon series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. The film is directed by Stephen Sommers, produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and co-written by Stuart Beattie, based on a 1998 screenplay by John Paul Kay. G.I. Joe features an ensemble cast based on the various characters of the franchise. The story follows two American soldiers, Duke and Ripcord, who join the G.I. Joe Team after being attacked by MARS troops.
After leaked drafts of the script were criticized by fans, Larry Hama, writer of the comic, was hired as creative consultant and rewrites were made. Filming took place in Downey, California, and Prague's Barrandov Studios, and six companies handled the visual effects. The film was released on August 7, 2009, worldwide, following an extensive marketing campaign focused on the Mid-American public. The Rise of Cobra opened at the top of the box office and grossed over $302 million worldwide by the end of its run. Critical reception was mostly negative. The sequel, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, was released on March 28, 2013.
Cast:
G.I. Joe
Channing Tatum as Duke (Conrad S. Hauser)
The lead soldier. Lorenzo di Bonaventura was originally interested in casting Mark Wahlberg,and when the script was rewritten into a G.I. Joe origin story, the studio offered the role to Tatum.Tatum had played a soldier in Stop-Loss, an anti-war film, and originally wanted no part in G.I. Joe, which he felt glorified war.
Marlon Wayans as Ripcord (Wallace A. Weems)
A pilot with a romantic interest in Scarlett. A fan of the franchise, Wayans was cast on the strength of his performance in Requiem for a Dream. Bonaventura said that the film showed Wayans could be serious as well as funny.
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Heavy Duty (Hershel Dalton)
An ordnance expert and field commander of the team. Common was offered the role of Heavy Duty's cousin Roadblock,[9] although Bonaventura previously indicated Heavy Duty was being used in that character's stead.[4] Stuart Beattie ultimately chose to have Heavy Duty instead of Roadblock.[7]
Dennis Quaid as General Hawk (General Clayton M. Abernathy)
The Joes' commanding officer. Quaid described Hawk as "a cross between Chuck Yeager and Sgt. Rock and maybe a naïve Hugh Hefner". Quaid's son convinced him to take on the part, and the filmmakers enjoyed working with him so much that Stuart Beattie wrote "ten to fifteen more scenes" for the character.He filmed all his scenes within the first two months of production.
Rachel Nichols as Scarlett (Shana M. O'Hara)
She graduated from college at age twelve and became the team's intelligence expert. Having left school so early, she does not understand men's attraction to her. Nichols was the first choice for the role.Nichols had dyed her blonde hair red – Scarlett's hair color – for her role in Star Trek, which she filmed before G.I. Joe. She burned herself filming an action sequence with Sienna Miller.
Ray Park as Snake-Eyes
A mysterious ninja commando who took a vow of silence, a departure from the character's traditional difficulty in speaking due to grievous vocal wounds, a close member of the Arashikage ninja clan, and Storm Shadow's rival. Park specifically practiced wushu for the role, as well as studying the character's comic book poses. Park was already familiar with the character but knew very little of the surrounding saga of G.I. Joe versus Cobra, so he read the comics to further understand the character. He was nervous about wearing the mask, which covered his entire head quite tightly, so he requested to practice wearing it at home. He found the full costume, including the visor, very heavy to wear and akin to a rubber band; he had to put effort into moving in it. Leo Howard plays the 10-year-old Snake Eyes.
Saïd Taghmaoui as Breaker (Abel Shaz)
He is the team's communications specialist and hacker. He is seen chewing gum during the Battle of Paris in an homage to the original character.
Karolína Kurková as Cover Girl (Courtney A. Krieger)
Hawk's aide-de-camp. Kurková described going from her modeling career to making such a film as "an amazing experience," but said she was upset about not taking part in any action sequences.
Brendan Fraser (uncredited) as Sgt. Stone (Geoffrey Stone IV)
At first, it was reported he was going to play Gung-Ho, but it was later revealed he was instead playing Sergeant Stone.According to the director's commentary on the DVD, Fraser begged director Stephen Sommers to be in the movie, making it his fourth collaboration with Sommers after the The Mummy franchise.
Cobra[edit]
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Cobra Commander (Rex Lewis/The Doctor)
The Baroness' brother, a former soldier who was thought to have been killed during a mission led by Duke – instead, he became the disfigured head scientist of Military Armament Research Syndicate (MARS). USA Today reported that Gordon-Levitt would play multiple roles. Gordon-Levitt wore prosthetic makeup under a mask that was redesigned from the comics because the crew found it too reminiscent of the Ku Klux Klan. Upon seeing concept art of the character, Gordon-Levitt signed on because; "I was like, 'I get to be that? You're going to make that [makeup] in real life and stick it on me? Cool. Let me do it.' That's a once-in-lifetime opportunity."Gordon-Levitt is a friend of Tatum and they co-starred in Stop-Loss and Havoc. His casting provided extra incentive for Tatum to join the film.Gordon-Levitt described his vocal performance as being "half reminiscent" of Chris Latta's voice for the 1980s cartoon, but also half his own ideas, because he felt rendering it fully would sound ridiculous.
Christopher Eccleston as Destro (Laird James McCullen XXIV)
A weapons designer and the founder of MARS who is the main villain in the early part of the film. Irish actor David Murray was originally cast as Destro, but was forced to drop out due to visa issues.Murray was later cast as an ancestor of James McCullen in a flashback scene.
Sienna Miller as The Baroness (Ana Lewis/Anastasia DeCobray)
The sister of Cobra Commander and a spy.Years earlier, The Baroness was going to marry Duke, but he left her at the altar, due to his guilt over her brother's apparent death. Miller auditioned for the part because it did not involve "having a breakdown or addicted to heroin or dying at the end, something that was just maybe really great fun and that people went to see and actually just had a great time seeing."Miller prepared with four months of weight training, boxing sessions and learned to fire live ammunition, gaining five pounds of muscle.She sprained her wrist after slipping on a rubber bullet while filming a fight scene with Rachel Nichols.
Lee Byung-hun as Storm Shadow (Thomas Arashikage)
Snake-Eyes' rival; both were close members of the Arashikage ninja clan. Lee was unfamiliar with G.I. Joe because the franchise is unknown in South Korea, but Sommers and Bonaventura told him that it was not necessary to watch the cartoons to prepare for the role. Lee was attracted to Storm Shadow's "dual personality," which he stated has "huge pride and honor." Brandon Soo Hoo plays the character as a ten-year-old.
Arnold Vosloo as Zartan
A disguise expert who serves Destro.
Kevin J. O'Connor as Doctor Mindbender
A scientist in McCullen's employ who developed the nanomite technology.
Other characters
Jonathan Pryce as The President of the United States of America.
Gerald Okamura as The Hard Master, Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow's ninja master.
Grégory Fitoussi as The Baron/Daniel DeCobray, husband of the Baroness.
Post a Comment