25 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation– Jinx!

Twitziller continues his countdown to the premiere of G.I. Joe Retaliation with today’s image: Jinx!

Jinx is a character that received a lot more exposure in the Marvel Comics series than she did in any of the animated adventures from Sunbow.  (She made her only 80’s animated appearance in the controversial G.I. Joe: The Movie.)  The blind-fighting cousin of Thomas Arashikage, this female ninja was reported to bring bad luck to anyone who worked with her.  Yet Jinx, like most of the females in the G.I. Joe mythos, was hardly a damsel in distress.  Strong, capable, and deadly Kim Arashikage was force to be reckoned with on both the screen and the page.

This time around she’ll be brought to life by actress Elodie Yung as she throws on some yellow and black to assist Snake Eyes in what appears to be a daring mountain top extraction mission worthy of a similar scenario carried out by Snake Eyes and Agent Helix in the IDW solo Snake Eyes series.

We’re less than four week away… and G.I. Joe Retaliation looks better and better with each passing moment.

Check out the rest of Twitziller’s reasons to get excited for Retaliation below:

 

26 & 27 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation!

Twitter user Twitziller is back with two more reasons to be excited about G.I. Joe Retaliation!  Due to the hectic schedule of the weekend, these two images will be presented without comment:

You can see the entire series of reasons to look forward to G.I. Joe Retaliation below!

We’re under four weeks now!

28 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – Storm Shadow

Twitter user Twitziller continues his “40 Reasons to Be Excited About G.I. Joe Retaliation” series with today’s image: Storm Shadow!

One of Larry Hama’s INFINITE contributions to the G.I. Joe mythos was the tale of Thomas Arashikage also known as Storm Shadow.  Whereas the Sunbow animated series presented the Cobra Ninja as a spooky sounding foil for the G.I. Joe Tracker Spirit, the Marvel Comics series took a decidedly different approach.  Storm Shadow was shown to be working for Cobra only to find out the true identity of his uncle’s killer.  Once he had this information, Thomas did the only thing he could– contacted Snake Eyes, set aside their differences, and went on a two-ninja assault of Cobra Island!  Later, he’s put aside his ties to Cobra entirely, join the Joe team, and even serve as a mentor to Cobra Commander’s son Billy.

In the film universe, as portrayed by Byung-hun Lee, Storm Shadow is portrayed as a conflicted mentor to the Baroness who is at odds with his own past.  It looks like G.I. Joe Retaliation is going to confront head-on the real story as to who killed the cinematic Hard Master!  It also looks like Tommy will be fighting on the side of angels before the film is over.  Either way, I’ll be there opening night popcorn in hand!

Check out Twitziller’s previous entries in the series below.  We’re getting closer, gang.  Closer every day!

27 days to go!

30 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – practical effects

Twitter user Twitziller continues his “40 Reasons to Be Excited About G.I. Joe Retaliation” series with today’s image: practical effects!

The modern cinematic world is one dominated by CGI.  More often than is necessary, filmmaker’s fall back on computer generated imagery to solve any and all manner of problems.  From removing unwanted elements such as safety harnesses to changing a character’s eye color, CG has become incredibly common place.  Yet, there is a certain plausibility that comes from practical effects that digital effects still can’t replace.  Go back and watch the old Bond films and you’ll see what I mean– that guy jumping off of a cliff on skis really did jump off of a cliff on skis!  The eye can tell it’s not faked and therefore the scene has a higher level of tension.

G.I. Joe Retaliation appears to be going that route as well.  Real effects involving real stunt work.  I’m not saying that there isn’t any CGI in the film nor am I saying that CGI can’t be impressive but there’s something to be said about doing things the old-fashioned way.

Check out Twitziller’s previous entries in the series below.   The days until the film’s release are getting fewer and fewer in number!

29 days to go!

31 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – rappelling assault!

Twitter user Twitziller continues his “40 Reasons to Be Excited About G.I. Joe Retaliation” series with today’s image: rappelling assault!

High octane plausible action: this is what much of G.I. Joe Retaliation seems to be based upon!  While the shots of ninjas swinging around a mountaintop retreat appear to use a significant amount of CGI, it’s shots like this that showcase a real world practical effects approach to action.  It’s the kind of sequence that you’d have seen back in heyday of the action movie– the 1980’s!  Roadblock is going for “shock & awe” in this sequence and, unless Cobra troopers have nerves of steel, the sight of a 6″+ heavyweight fast roping down with a SAW should be enough to send them running back to Cobra-La!  (Yes, I went there.)

Check out Twitziller’s previous entries in the series below.   The days until the film’s release are getting fewer and fewer in number!

30 days to go!

32 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – Cobra helicopter

Twitter user Twitziller continues his “40 Reasons to Be Excited About G.I. Joe Retaliation” series with today’s image: Cobra helicopter

Going back to the original G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline it’s pretty obvious that Cobra has always had some really innovative vehicles.  From high-speed tanks like the HISS, to the powered CLAW glider, to the one man helicopter the FANG, the armies of the serpent have had a solid technological edge.  In the trailers for G.I. Joe Retaliation we’ve been given the briefest of glimpses at this new piece of Cobra’s aerial arsenal and it’s left this Joe fan wanting more!  Sleek, black, and sporting the Cobra logo– it’s the perfect type of weapon to fit into Cobra Commander’s stable.  (Why there wasn’t a toy version, I’ll never know.)  Regardless of the role it plays in the film, it’s just another piece of the puzzle that forms my anticipation for this film!

Check out Twitziller’s previous entries in the series below.   I for one cannot wait until I can post “0 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation”!

32 days to go!

33 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – One the run!

Twitter user Twitziller continues his “40 Reasons to Be Excited About G.I. Joe Retaliation” series with today’s image: On the run!

Story-telling is all about building tension– putting the heroes in a place/situation that they absolutely HAVE to escape from.  It’s about getting the listener/viewer on the edge of their seats and making it all but impossible for them to miss “what happens next.”  A classic technique to build that kind of tension is to completely turn the tables on the heroes, remove them from their support network, and make them the underdogs.  IF everything that we’ve seen in the G.I. Joe Retaliation trailers is correct then this is EXACTLY what will be happening in the film.  The Joes are turned into fugitives and put on the run with Cobra rising to a place of both respectability and power.  The villain is in a position of strength and the heroes are left at a profound disadvantage.  Oh yeah, that’s the meat and potatoes of a good action story right there!

Check out Twitziller’s previous entries in the series below.   I for one cannot wait until I can post “0 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation”!

32 days to go!

34 Days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – Zartan

Twitter user Twitziller continues his “40 Reasons to Be Excited About G.I. Joe Retaliation” series with today’s image: Zartan!

Sequels are tricky things.  Sometimes they emulate the source material too much with a sense of “been there, done that” and other times they divulge wildly from the original, with mixed results.  With G.I. Joe Retaliation, director Jon M. Chu was faced with a difficult task as the original film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra left many plot threads dangling at the end.  Zartan, altered by nano-mites, had successfully replaced the President of the United States.  (This was the entire point of the first film.)  Would the sequel acknowledge this rather big thread or go its own way.

It would seem that former approach was chosen as the trailers make no bones about the fact that Zartan is still impersonating POTUS– in a big way.  In fact, all of the events shown in the trailers seem to be a continuation of the plot lines that were begun in the first film.  Zartan appears front and center and we even get a glimpse of Arnold Vosloo (even if it is just a quick CGI morph) that shows audiences that the fact of Cobra’s “Master of Disguise” will be dealt with in the film.  Now, if only he keeps on whistling “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow…”

33 more days until this film EXPLODES on the big screen!

35 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – the HISS Tank!

Twitter user Twitziller continues his “40 Reasons to Be Excited About G.I. Joe Retaliation” series with today’s image: the HISS tank!

If Cobra has a signature vehicle, this is it!  Forget the CLAW, SNAKE armor, FANG, etc.  As a kid, the HISS tank grabbed my attention with his combination of perceived speed and firepower!  When you combine those details with the fact that I never owned one as a kid and you’ll fully understand my obsession with the vehicle.  In the first Joe film, audiences were treated to a modified Night Raven that was part of the M.A.R.S. arsenal.  This time around– we’re getting the full-blown Cobra treatment and it looks fantastic!  Just look at the shot– a series of HISS Tanks rolling on the U.S. Capital building.  Oh yeah, that’s not upping the stakes at all, he said sarcastically!

34 more days until this film EXPLODES on the big screen!

36 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – concept design

Twitter user Twitziller continues his “40 Reasons to Be Excited About G.I. Joe Retaliation” series with today’s image: concept design!

I find that I’m in complete agreement on this.  G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra took the film version of Joe in a definite sci-fi direction.  Sonic weapons, nano-mites, accelerator suits (*shudder*)– all of these were pretty far removed from the realm of reality.  Retaliation is opting for more of a “future weapons” look– especially when it comes to the Joes.  The use of the Ripsaw tank as the Tread Ripper and the incorporation of hi-tech body armor for the team members shows that this film is looking at things that are just on the cutting edge.  Even better– waves 2 and beyond of the movie toy line are shaping up to be pretty spot-on recreations of these designs.  So the studio and Hasbro seem to be walking hand-in-hand to give fans a much more cohesive and plausible vision of G.I. Joe.  Boo-yah!

35 more days to go…