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!

New G.I. Joe Retaliation poster debuts!

It’s been a while since there’s been anything new on the G.I. Joe: Retaliation front.  The film is currently slated for a March 29, 2013 release date (which is only 2 days before a certain admin’s 40th birthday) and promotion for the spring debut hasn’t really ramped up yet.  So, imagine my surprise yesterday when I saw this GEM of a poster hit the web.

G.I Joe Retaliation movie poster

Seriously– click to make this image larger and you’ll see why I like it so much.  First off, it doesn’t come across as “G.I. Joe starring The Rock” nor is it “Channing Tatum IS G.I. JOE!”  It’s an ensemble piece that highlights the more prominent core cast (and Duke).  It’s also got one piece that was missing from so much of the promotion for both Rise of Cobra and Retaliation thus far– the Cobra logo.  Hasbro has 30+ years invested in that single piece of branding and yet it was barely used in promoting any of the live action G.I. Joe endeavors thus far and that’s a real shame.  I’d argue that the Cobra logo is the single most-recognized symbol in all of the G.I. Joe mythos.

Some of the older G.I. Joe fans out there might remember the ad campaign for the 1989 release of Batman, starring Michael Keaton.  (Still, in my opinion, the BEST of the Batman films.)  One particular commercial featured nothing but silence and a slow fade in of the Batman logo with the words “June 23” at the bottom.   It was simple, effective, played on symbolism that the general public already knew, and ruined nothing of the film’s plot.  Plus, it set itself apart from the usual “noise” found on TV by being silent.  I can recall a conversation between my parents stopping because they thought something was wrong with the TV during the ad.  In other words, it got their attention.

Regardless, the new Retaliation poster looks amazing in my opinion and is something that I’ll be trying to track down to add to the family room.  It’s a far more interesting visual piece than the previous posters released.

Amazon.com Renegades & Retaliation 4-packs are “in stock”

UPDATE: The Renegades pack is once again BACK in STOCK but this seems to change daily.   (5/11/2012)

Mondays… the nemesis of most individuals seldom brings good news.  However, this Monday might be a bit different for Joe fans.

Amazon.com has listed BOTH of their exclusive 4 packs as “in stock” as of this morning with a list price of $39.99.  Sadly, that’s essentially high retail price for each of the figures but there are some advantages.  In the case of Retaliation the pack provides a means for Joe fans to get their hands on the figures well before the official end-of-May release day.   For Retaliation fans, it’s a chance to get different deco’s of 3 primary characters and an all new 4th character in the form of the Red Ninja!

Non-affiliate links are below:

G.I. Joe Retaliation Sneak Peek 4-pack

  • Duke
  • Roadblock
  • Snake Eyes
  • Cobra Commander (black deco)

G.I. Joe Renegades 4-pack

  • Duke
  • Snake Eyes (with trench coat)
  • Storm Shadow
  • Red Ninja

G.I. Joe: Retaliation trailer #2 is now online!

It went up late last night courtesy of Machinima.

Feast your eyes on the awesomeness that contains HISS tanks, Cobra as “special forces units”, and more of Firefly, Cobra Commander, and Storm Shadow.  Oh yeah, and apparently Roadblock has kids?!!

It’s a solid solid trailer!  In all seriousness, this trailer looks to be miles ahead of anything that was released for Rise of Cobra in anticipation of that film’s release.  Solid character portrays, minimal Channing Tatum exposure (who STILL manages to be the weakest part of the trailer), and some awesome looking action.

June 29 better get here soon!