So … last night David and I were invited to attend the Hollywood premiere screening of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and we HAPPILY made our way to Grauman’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood Blvd. for the event. Ever since it was first announced last year that G.I. Joe was headed for the big screen I was ANXIOUSLY awaiting its release. I’ve been a HUGE G.I. Joe fan since I was a young child. My best friend in Elementary and Junior High School, Jeff Fuhrman, and I used to pay G.I. Joes together and would pretend to be characters from the cartoon all the time (particularly when we were learning how to swim in 6th grade, we were both very scared of the huge diving platform but pretended to be brave Joes when we had to take the plunge). I loved collecting the G.I. Joes from the 80′s (ie. the small action figures) rather than the larger, Barbie-sized dolls from the 60′s and 70′s (tho I do have an anniversary edition Cobra Commander action figure that is on the larger size) … but I’m digressing. I’ll admit, the first commercial for the movie that we saw on SuperBowl Sunday earlier this year had me worried … then there was all that bad buzz … but I can ASSURE you — the movie is really freakin’ fun!

From the first peek at Joseph Gordon-Levitt as The Doctor/Cobra Commander, I had hope that the final product would be as cool as the cartoon was and I am SO RELIVED that the movie turned out so well. Let me be clear here, G.I. Joe is LIGHT YEARS better than Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I’m convinced that fans of the cartoon will love the movie version … which is basically a cartoon come to life. The colors are vibrant and bold and really make it feel like a real-life cartoon. The FX are STUNNING. This movie was made by Paramount, the same studio who did the Star Trek movie … they know FX. I believe it cost $175 million to make this film and it shows … they did not skimp on the CGI, I just loved all of the battle/action scenes. Let me address the “robot suits” used in the film that everyone seems to hate. To be honest, the suits are just G.I. Joe versions of the Iron Man suit … it worked in that movie and it works in this movie, too. Plus they are only used in one action sequence … but really, all of the action sequences are amazing! Three key sayings from the original cartoon are used in the movie and very adeptly, I might add. Be on the listen out for the classic G.I. Joe phrases — A real American hero, Knowing is half the battle and “life-like hair and Kung-Fu grip” (which was the way the action figures were described on the packaging). There are a few G.I. Joe cameos which I don’t want to spoil … but wait ’til you see who plays Gung Ho ;) I also loved how multicultural and gender friendly the film is … the Joes and Cobras are made up of many races and the women are not treated as weak characters. Sienna Miller‘s Baroness is BAD ASS! In all honesty, she was my fave character (tho Storm Shadow comes in a close second). Channing Tatum has a shirtless scene … people, what more could you want?

There are a few things that I didn’t like but they are so marginal, they don’t really detract from the movie overall. Marlon Wayans (Ripcord) is the weakest character in the film. He does the comedy relief but mostly, I just wished he’d shut up. I REALLY didn’t like what they did to Cover Girl … you’ll know what I mean when you see it but I was all WTF??? That part didn’t make any sense to me at all. I didn’t really like the connection between Duke and The Baroness (but I did like the connection between The Doctor and The Baroness). She is a purely evil character and should stay that way. Snake Eyes never speaks, we all know this, so why does his costume have lips? It’s freaky … I could do without the lips.

I did like many of the changes to the story that have been added for the movie … the familial connections between characters, the revelation that the Baroness‘s last name is de Cobray and the explanation on how Zartan is able to be a true master of disguise. Seriously, I could go on and on. I had A BLAST last night … I cannot wait to see the movie again. I’m just so happy that one of my fave childhood cartoons was turned into a very entertaining movie. GO SEE IT. I’m pretty sure you’ll love it. I loved it a lot. The ending was BRILLS!!!!!! See it and then lemme know what you think.

Here are some of the pics that I snapped at the premiere on our way in:

After the jump, check out the pics I snapped at the after party — you have to see who I got to meet …

Channing was SUCH a sweetie, it’s always nice running into him. It’s even nicer when he puts those big arms around me ;) I was totally charmed by Sienna Miller … she looked AMAZING in person. I told her I was married and we got along famously ;) I keed … but I did tell her how much I loved her as The Baroness and she blew me kisses. She was sweet.

I have to give a shoutout and much love to DJ Bizzy, who djed the party and hails from Detroit Rock City (by way of Philly) along with my girl Charlie Pinto who always takes such great care of me at Paramount events:

We had SO MUCH FUN. I’m just so happy that the movie turned out so well, I want to tell everyone. Don’t believe the hate, go see it for yourselves. It’s outrageously over-the-top and fun as hell … it’s just what you’d expect from a cartoon come to life.

This afternoon, I fly back home to Detroit for a couple of days so I’ll be comin’ atcha from the Midwest tomorrow and Sunday … have a great weekend! And please, lemme know what you think of G.I. Joe ;)