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  1. #1

    G.I. JOE: RETALIATION-- now delayed until 2013!

    Not that I care about this film or anything, but I find it absolutely stunning that they pulled it so close to its release. I mean, the tie-in toy line is already starting to roll out and now there's nothing for it to be tied to! Really? 3-D? No one cares if it is in 3-D. That isn't going to make more people see it. The people who were going to see this are going to see it 3-D or otherwise.

    Yep... Hollywood continues to be stupid due to greed.
    OK... I BLOG. YOU READ. at
    **Steven Sterlekar (1969-2001)**

  2. #2
    I find it interesting that they've decided to delay the film after Battleship's pitiful opening weekend. I'm thinking the 3D thing is just an excuse to rework the movie to prevent it from being another big-budget flop.

    In any case, I hated Rise of Cobra so much that I really just want to see this entire GI Joe movie franchise fail.

  3. #3
    Battleship didn't flop in its opening, it was soft but it came in at $25 mil which raised its global take to $240 mil, which is $30 mil over its original budget. So Battleship made its money back in a month or so, that's decent considering what it was. I do agree that its weak opening here in the US is probably what made them think they needed to take it to 3D for a moneygrab and distance itself from a shaky start.

    That said, Hasbro as a toymaker can afford to make this move right now, they have Battleship toys, Avengers toys, Amazing Spider-Man toys, Transformers Prime toys, those are all getting entertainment pushes during the summer, so if GI Joe has to roll out without a movie, it's not as bad a hit. I still think it's a monumental blunder to screw their retailers over like that though, and to waste all that money on toys for a movie coming out in 10 months instead of 1.
    Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.

    "We named the dog 'Chewbacca'!"

  4. #4
    Except the retailers will HATE Joe for this. The line's been struggling for a few years due to heavy pegwarming from less exciting figures (Renegades Cobra Commander and Arctic Destro of late, mostly). They just got a ton of figures to push a movie that, surprisingly, was getting mostly good buzz. This is on the heels of the phenomenal failure of the ROC line overall; Walmart actually gave up on Joe for a while and some stores still won't carry them.

    Now, those figures are going to come out a full nine months before the movie with no media support (and there's that thing about retailers being taxed on items they have at the end of the year). They don't (for the most part) resemble any previous incarnation, so nostalgia won't be a factor. Plus, the MSRP has increased to $10, while the articulation has been cut out of an awful lot of figures and some are plagued with action features.

    It's popular to complain about "death of the line!" whenever a manufacturer does what we don't want, but this really could be it for Joe.

    To save it, they're going to have to do something drastic. I'm thinking let the Retaliation stuff roll, sell any that's left now to Ross, work on a better (and more movie-accurate) line for early next year with plenty of awesome new non-movie figures that collectors have been begging for (IDW Crystal Ball, anyone?), and haul @$$ to bust out a fill-in line of re-releases, repaints, and any canceled figures that made it to the production stage.
    Tommy, close your eyes.

  5. #5
    The stock tax thing isn't whatever they have at the end of the year, it's on any stock they've had for over a year, over 365 days.

    Yeah, the retailers might be annoyed at stocking a line without support, but on the other hand, they have existing shelves for GI Joe, so they won't be too upset as it's not going to be taking up any more real estate nor pushing out another line. Now, if they front-loaded product in order to do displays or special deals during the movie's release, that's where they'll really get mad, and rightfully so.

    Perhaps GI Joe needs a break if this is the way Hasbro is going to run it.
    Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.

    "We named the dog 'Chewbacca'!"

  6. #6
    Heading into theater #8 to see The Hunger Games today (love getting to see movies when they FIRST come out), there was a GIJ:R poster on display, with this year's release. Collector$' item? Should I a-stole'd it?

  7. #7
    Larry Hama apparently saw Retaliation today and had this to say on Facebook:
    Saw RETALIATION today, and I loved it. Huge improvement over ROC.
    Good enough for me to actually take this risk to see it in a theater.
    Tommy, close your eyes.

  8. #8
    I don't know, ROC was a critically-acclaiming live TV show. Charles S. Dutton has always been a great actor.

    I keep getting commercials for Olympus Has Fallen and GIJ mixed up, until the COBRA logo is seen on the banner.

  9. #9
    Not just Charles S. Dutton, but Rocky Carroll as well, but it got too preachy halfway through its run.

    Annnnnyway, Larry Hama isn't a benchmark with his recommendations (he's a bit generous at times), but I might go see this anyway if I can get somebody to risk suffering it with me. The fact that it has real Joe vehicles and costumes is a step up from ROC already.
    Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.

    "We named the dog 'Chewbacca'!"

  10. #10
    Minor Spoilers (If you haven't seen the trailers, that is.)
    Saw the film in laser projection 3D in Burbank, CA with JT (Go Team SSG!). I loved the aesthetic of the film in terms of its tech's fidelity to the ARAH show/toyline and the way Cobra worked. Saying it was better than ROC doesn't say much, but it was far superior and seemed less expensive. The Rock is charismatic in everything he is in (which seems like it's running at about a movie a month, along with being the WWF champion) and he was here again. It was difficult to watch much of the film without laughing or cringing at times, but I just kept reminding myself that the film was a cartoon made flesh. I agree with JT that the film was hindered by the previous film and trying to fit into its world, as opposed to starting fresh. I'd like the next one to be completely free of any story ties to the first and move forward from where this one left off. There is definitely a lot of fertile territory left to mine for story elements. Considering an important story point in the film takes place in London, could a future film connection to the Red Shadows and Action Force be possible?

    Fanboy Gripes:
    *Flint was a warrant officer, not a sergeant. If I recall the Joe chain of command from the cartoon, it went Hawk, Duke, Flint, Beachhead. The comic had a few other generals giving orders in the first part of the run. Roadblock was not number two.
    *Firefly was always so concerned with anyone seeing his face and now seems to love removing his mask. The same can be said for Storm Shadow. FF and SS acted as though they were written by Sam Hamm (for those that get the reference).
    *The Rock physically dwarfs everyone around him and, as such, him having difficulty in fighting Ray Stevenson was not very believable.
    *The RZA as Blind Master could have been so awesome... in another dimension of space and time.


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