Films | Movies

G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra (2009)

What’s poppin:

Lee Byung-hun…and the fact that sexy oppa, along with Sienna Miller, makes being a baddie so, so good.

C’mon, how can it NOT be good when a G.I. Joe, who is suited up in an expensive high-tech suit giving him superhuman strength STILL eats the dust of the very human bad guy as they run through Paris? Bwah ha ha ha ha….

The ONLY reason K-popped! rushed to the cinema — weaving in and out of Friday evening rush hour traffic — is because Lee portrays Storm Shadow in G.I. Joe: TRoC. And boy, the 39-year-old Hallyu star sure doesn’t disappoint!

He’s suave, he’s full of charisma and he’s molten lava hawt (and he almost made me go Rain, who?).

Lee Byung-hun easily shifts from being a Hallyuwood star to a Hollywood actor and his trump card is his mastery of the English language.

It’s undeniable that Lee is oh-so comfortable with the language and there isn’t any cringing, trying-too-hard-moments when he flawlessly delivers his lines in the flick.

As the cool as cucumber ninja Storm Shadow, Lee is a smooth criminal – deliciously unfazed and oozing malice.

Storm Shadow (left) to Baroness: ‘Yeah, I’m not taking
any chances with the A(H1N1) flu virus around. I
go out protected.’

As for the movie itself…well, let’s just say G.I. Joe: TRoC isn’t action movie gold. It has a very cartoon vibe to it. I can picture 10-year-olds gaping in awe and wonder at the out-of-this-world gadgets and machinery on display in the show.

It’s every little boy’s military fantasy come to life and there’s no big surprise here since the Joes are based on Hasbro’s action figures.

My advice: Don’t take this CGI-laden flick seriously. Especially so when you have an air fight with lines such as: “Bogey at 10 o’clock!”, which is instantly followed by “Oh no, I’m hit, I’m hit!”.

Electrifying: ‘When you said I needed a buzz, I didn’t know you
meant getting fried by lightning!’

Nonetheless, G.I. Joe: TRoC entertains. And for fellow K-popped! friends, the bonus comes in watching one of Hallyuwood’s biggest stars fitting in and doing well in a Hollywood production.

이병헌 오빠, 화이팅!

The plot:

Black vs. White: Who says bad guys can’t wear white?

Nanobots and high-tech gadgetry take centre stage as the Joes takes on an evil organisation that is led by a notorious arms dealer.

Watch it:

It has been showing in Malaysian cinemas since Aug 6.

Pics credit: IMDb.com

13 thoughts on “G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra (2009)

  • eonjehna

    I don't know. Lee Byung-Hun will make it very hard for some other Korean actor to come back up against. His english was near perfect, and the way he portrayed Storm Shadow was awesome! Cool, tough, suave, and totally in-charge! His fight scenes were great because he has the perfect build for the ninja stereotype.

    Rain, I'm afraid, might be too tall and bulky to effectively portray a lithe, stealth ninja. We shall see.

  • Orchid

    Although Rain didn't do as well as LBH in Speed Racer, i'm looking forward to Ninja Assassin (in Nov 09). He's the lead in a Wachowski Bros movie!!!

  • eonjehna

    haha. you definitely should be saying 'rain who?' after this movie! 🙂

  • Quite a lot of air time! I didn't time it, but maybe 30 minutes out of the 1.5 hours show?

  • || Lyññ ||

    It's already on my list of 'Must watch Movies'….hahaha…

    I love the trailer… Can't wait to watch it^^

  • kpop_rub

    Sienna Miller is a home wrecking ho… LBH does not need to be hanging around an STD filled bag like her… Sorry I just really can't stand her.
    The acting in the movie was horrendous. The action scenes were too much CG and drawn out. Despite all of this I thought LBH shined and I was entertained, which I guess is the point. The shirtless scene was a treat as well.

  • I totally agree!~

    Somehow, this was one of the rare films, where villains were more charismatic and cooler than good guys (G. I. Joes).

    Read that the flick's #1 at the
    U. S. Box office since the opening day (earned many times more bux than box office #2)

    You know what?
    Secretly, I wished LBH would wear some eye-makeup just like he did in "nom, nom, nom" ("the good, the bad, da weird") hE LOOKED SOOOO HOT WITH A LITTLE EYELINER, HEHE..

    Anywayzzz, I really loved it w
    hen he riped off his jacket off (just like Rain rips his shirt off) at the end of the film – reminded me of Bruce Lee.

    So hot!!

  • I am so glad LBH oppa didn't wear his mask that often in the movie. Now, if he played Snake Eyes, he would have to cover up his face and not speak the whole time. That would be such a shame. So i'm glad he's Storm Shadow instead! And a mighty cool one. I liked the chemistry with Sienna Miller. He and her became good friends after the movie. Guess they spent lots of time together filming those scenes.

    Oppa Fighting!

  • His English pronunciation improved so much~

    No wonder Steven Spillberg showed interest to LBH – Lee Byung-Hun was the only one who seemed to ACT! With his charismatic laser-beaming eyes…LOL

  • methanol

    I watched it last night!! Lee Byung Hun is good, and there is a shirtless scene.hehe..

    Even my friend who doesn't care about k-pop world said that "he is cool".

Leave a Reply