1. Show the damn aliens – At this point the only look we’ve gotten at the V’s that shows us their true nature is when Erika’s partner got killed and when Anna decided to munch on her baby daddy.  Part of what made the original AWESOME was that we as the audience knew what we were up against.  If you had only been exposed to V through this version you don’t even know what they look like.  That’s gotta change.
2. Give the 5th Column a win – So far, their claim to fame is some “John May Lives” message and killing a V soldier that no one knows existed.  In the first incarnation, the 5th Column unmasked the supreme leader on national TV for Christ sakes!
3. Show the V’s as “bad” – during a recent episode, a character said something to the affect of “Tell me something bad that the Visitors have done”.  With the exception of spying on us and the fact that they’re concealing who they are, we don’t REALLY know why they’re so bad at this point.  It was pretty early in the original when we found out that they were here for FOOD.  If the audience is going to care, we need to build the V’s up as a REAL threat.
4. Lose the CGI – I understand that this is TV and not the movies, but just about every shot from the mother ships are just terrible.  This includes interior shots.  We’ve got to do better.

I hate to continue to compare to the original but that’s all I’ve got to go on and that was a hugely successful cult classic.  The fact that after tonight it WON’T be following Lost is actually a good thing.  Lost is a phenomenal show, but as a lead in to another sci-fi I’m not sure it’s all that great.  When Lost is over, people either run to message boards or blogs to chat or they’re too wiped out to try and get into another intense show.  I’m not saying that it should follow a comedy, but Lost isn’t the best choice.

• First off… it LOOKS great.  I recently re-watched the original and the special effects were TERRIBLE.  This show isn’t movie quality CGI but I’ve got to say it’s some of the best that I’ve seen on TV.
• The updates to the story are well done – and necessary.  They’ve brought the story into current day scenarios by using references to terrorist cells, universal health care, etc.
• Political stance – I don’t buy it.  The 406 blog has historically been apolitical and I intend on keeping it that way.  There have been many stories that V is social commentary on President Obama.  Quite frankly I don’t buy it and I’ll leave it at that.
• I miss Mike Donovan but I’m thrilled with Elizabeth Mitchell as the choice of the lead and think that she’ll do a GREAT job.
• I LOVE the fact that the V’s have been on Earth for years before the series has started.  A nice update on the original tale.
• Time line – this is a bad thing.  For those that don’t know V is going to have 4 episodes and then take a break until MARCH due to the Olympic games on ABC.  Not sure if this is yet another tactical error on ABC’s part or not.  I hope that the show gains a large following that will indeed return after such a long hiatus.

All of that being said, after one episode I can say that I’m very happy with where the series is going.  There’s some GREAT potential there.  I just hope that they really knock it out for these next 3 episodes to really get people hooked.  Time will tell.

This will contain spoilers – if you want to know nothing about the movie before you see it skip this post and come back after you’ve seen it.

If you’re like me you heard very bad things about this flick.  I heard that it was the worst previewed movie in history, that the director had been fired halfway through, that they weren’t going to allow official movie reviews, etc.  Since most people are going to go into it with the “it sucks” mentality I’ll start off with the bad stuff.

THE BAD STUFF

1. The CGI – it’s fucking terrible.  There are quite a few times where it’s was so bad that it took me out of the movie.  Planes don’t fly accurately, characters do shit that wouldn’t be remotely possible (even when you suspend disbelief) and there are some scenes where you can almost see the green screen technicians standing in the background.
2. The outfits – not so great.  I can’t really put my finger on it but the Joes just don’t look “authentic”.  They’ve got a Starship Troopers look to them… if that makes any sense.  The military folks in The Transformers look much more realistic.
3. Cobra – so the movie is called “The Rise Of Cobra” and you don’t get much of that until the last minute of the movie.  Should have/could have done more.

THE CHARACTERS

• Snake Eyes – Ray Park is a bad ass and he looks great with one exception – he’s got a mouth.  Terrible.  Looks nothing like the original character and there’s not even a “movie” reason for the change.  Not good.
• Baroness – SMOKIN.  Sienna Miller is incredible in this role and looks amazing.  I’ve always thought of Baroness as a bit “matronly” and there was none of that here.  I didn’t dig her back story but I can deal with it.
• Duke – really looked the part but I’ve always thought of Duke as an “older” Joe.  Every time Channing Tatum was on screen I couldn’t help think of WWE superstar John Cena.
• Destro – you don’t see him plated until the end which is fine.  The actor is a little too thin for my liking but definitely plays the cerebral Destro to perfection.
• Ripcord – I really thought Marlon Wayans would get on my nerves.  He didn’t.  Well done Marlon.
• Scarlett – PERFECT casting.  Rachel Nichols captures her character and plays her to a T.  Oh… and she’s HOT!
• Storm Shadow – I preferred the comic version where you didn’t know really who he was and rarely saw him out of ninja gear but I’ve got no problem with this treatment.
• Hawk – Dennis Quaid was a perfect choice for Hawk.  Not a big role in this flick but needed an actor that could pull it off.
• Heavy Duty – bad choice of an actor.  Based on his appearances in Lost and Oz I just couldn’t see Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje in this role.
• Breaker – I’ve got a certain affinity toward this character as he was my first ever figure.  I’m not a huge fan of changing him from American to Moroccan but I was happy with the way he was portrayed.
• Cobra Commander – what… the… fuck.  The back story is wrong, the outfit is terrible and for a flick called “The Rise of Cobra” he’s got no screen time.  You simply cannot have Cobra Commander without the faceplate or the hood.  Awful.
• Zartan – happy to see him in the film and REALLY looking forward to what they do with his character in the sequel.  Nothing like the comic/figure but that was to be expected.

THE GOOD STUFF

1. Action – make no mistake – this is an action movie.  It’s not a retelling of the comic and it’s certainly not the “made for TV nobody gets shot when there’s a milion bullets flying” stuff that you got with the cartoon.  The Paris sequence is great and the attack on the Pit was a treat to watch.
2. Nostalgia – I’ve been waiting for this flick for nearly 30 years.  To finally see the Joes on the big screen was awesome.  I was naturally comparing it to the cartoon/comics but I can honestly say that I was completely entertained the entire way.
3. The origins – I’ve said a couple of times that I don’t like the back story that they’ve given the characters.  This is partially due to MY history with the characters so I can overlook that.  That said, this doesn’t feel like an “origin movie” which it clearly is.  The story moves along quite well and the back stories are told through a series of flash backs in a way that doesn’t detract from the plot.
4. The setup – based on the limited previews that I saw I thought I’d hate the storyline for this flick (what the hell is a nano-mite anyways?)  I was pleasantly surprised that I really found myself caring about the plot.  The ending was tight and totally left some great jumping off points for a sequel.

RECOMMENDATION

In a previous post I bitched about how my childhood was being raped.  Honestly I’m really happy to finally see this flick on the big screen.  I can understand why there have been a slew of negative reviews but if you’re a child of the 80′s like me I’m guessing you’re going to enjoy watching this.  Go into expecting the same characters and plots that you got in the 80′s and you’ll be disappointed.  Go into expecting a fun popcorn action movie and you’ll be happy.  Recommended movie for fans of the G.I. Joe universe.  I was able to overlook the bad stuff and walked out of the theater entertained and looking forward to more G.I. Joe and Cobra.