Should Sommers return for the sequel?

[terry78]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2009/08/gi-joe-opens-to-100-million-worldwide-but-will-it-hold.html

It's already been confirmed there will be one now, but if he doesn't come back, who would you want to take over the directing duty?

[batboy99]

I dont see why not. I dont care what anyone says, no his movies arent grea,t but they are good summer action movies.

[Timstuff]

He did a good job IMO. He made a fun movie with likeable characters (well, except Tatum as Duke who was very flat, but he was acceptable), and I trust his vision enough to bring him back.

[batboy99]

Agreed. Though, I didnt think Tatum was that bad. The only time I felt he was bad was when he ''yelled''' attention! (Which he barely yelled)

[Timstuff]

I don't think Tatum was bad, he just didn't really leave much of an impression on me in either direction.

[batboy99]

I agree, but he didn't have ALOT to work with. Well, none of the actors did.

Duke didnt come off as the ''leader'' type, but really, it didnt seem like the role called for it.
Sure, he could have been better, but I think he did fine. He wasn't wooden or anything.
One problem is his accent. It's too ''street tough'' for Duke. if he can get rid of that, he will be even better.

[lou2099]

Brian DePalma should direct the sequel.

[lou2099]

edit

[souloffire]

Sommers is a turd of a filmmaker.

[Reflex]

I don't mind if Sommers comes back or not but my problems with the film weren't due to anything he did.

My biggest problems were with casting. Duke was too young for the group, Channing Tatum should have played Falcon or someone else. If they wanted Duke he should have been older and in a senior position. Where was Lifeline? What kind of Spec Ops team goes into the field without a Corpsman? Snake Eyes mask should have been like FBI HRT wear, just a neoprene facemask to cover the features, not a bulletproof mouth stupid looking thing.

Also, why was the balance of power so different between GI Joe and Cobra? Sonic weapons vs. assault rifles. Didn't make sense.

And why did they wrap up The Baroness character story like that? It was very weak. What are they going to do with her now?

In the next film I'd like to see Beachhead, Flint, Lifeline, Mainframe, and other notables.

[UltimateJustin]

In the next film I would like to see quality.

[Nathan]

Don't know if people would call me crazy for this, though he wouldn't do it anyway since he's busy with other things, but I'd like to see Michael Bay direct a G.I. Joe movie. I think he could do some great stuff with his military connections and his keen eye for action scenes. The only thing that would worry me, is his juvenile humor seeping into the movie.

[cronosred]

Please keep Bay away from this franchise, thanks to him I have no further interest in seeing another Transformers movie. I liked what Sommers did with the first movie and I would like to see him come back for the sequel.

[Kable24]

I think Bay is more suited for GI Joe than he is for Transformers. The guy can get the military to help out in any of his movies and get some of the high tech equipment that civvies normally don't see. Bay could make a GI Joe movie what it should be. I don't mind Sommers as a director, but I want something a little more close to the comics. Marvel Comics GI Joe.

[Reflex]

I agree that Bay has tremendous support from the military and would bring a lot to the table if he got a crack at GI Joe, but I don't think it could be much better than Sommers GI Joe unless they get a better script. GI Joe's faults were with the script in my opinion, not the director.

[Majik1387]

I thought the first movie was great, and I enjoy most of Sommers' movies, so definite yes.

I'd like to see someone else try to combine the toys, cartoons, and comic storylines and do a better job.

[Mace Dolex]

Michael Bay would at least make G.I.Joe less superheroic and more militaristic, ditch the accelarator suits and have them in more recognizable uniforms.

Stephen Sommers just got his paycheck and did what he was told without any thought or care for the final product, and where was Larry Hama in all this as consultant?

[Nathan]

With Bay, we would've probably gotten something more closer to the Resolute cartoon, and that's all I'm asking for.

[Reflex]

I'm glad there are still some people that still think highly of Bay. I think he is amazingly talented and would do an awesome job with GI Joe, just his connections with the military would already give it greater credibility. Resolute is the direction they should have gone, for a cartoon it was less cartoony than the Sommers film. lol!

[Mace Dolex]

There is a podcast interview with original Duke voice actor Michael Bell and when asked about his thoughts on the movie he jokingly said that after 30 minutes he couldn't see it because it was so loud.

He did say Sienna as Baroness was excellent but came down hard on break dancing fool Channing Tatum saying that his acting was wooden but blamed the majority of it on the director, that he felt the movie lacked character and was just turned into a dumb summer flick.

http://moonbase2.libsyn.com/

[TheComicbookKid]

http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/01/06/screenwriter-hired-for-gi-joe-sequel/

So it's actually happening? Huh.

[Timstuff]

If Sommers has a better script I think he'll do fine. I have no problem with him returning, and I think I'd actually be a bit disappointed if he doesn't.

[superion]

James Cameron or Quentin Tarintino.

[MessiahDecoy123]

Doug Liman who directed "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and "Bourne Identity" should direct.

and the sequel should be closer to the source material.

[Timstuff]

Liman would be a good replacement if Sommers comes back. If the new director is an upgrade rather than a downgrade then I probably wouldn't miss Sommers much.

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Not to keen on Sommers returning to be honest, but wouldnt be devastated if he did, I would just prefer someone who is better at characters. Len Wiseman comes to mind, he can do great action and good character scene's, Die Hard 4.0 proved this IMO.

With all the rumoured trouble on the first movie, not sure Paramount would want Sommers back either.

[That-Guy]

I voted "no" but I changed my mind. I think he should come back. Why? Well, because he's already ruined this franchise to the point where a sequel doesn't have a chance of being watchable, so better that he spends the rest of his worthless career making crappy G.I. Joe movies, versus signing onto another property and promptly running that one into the ground.

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

^I think a sequel has potential, but they need to focus on other characters, namely Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow.

[That-Guy]

Characters? What are characters? We just need more explosions and fake looking vehicles!

[Theweepeople]

I voted "no" but I changed my mind. I think he should come back. Why? Well, because he's already ruined this franchise to the point where a sequel doesn't have a chance of being watchable, so better that he spends the rest of his worthless career making crappy G.I. Joe movies, versus signing onto another property and promptly running that one into the ground.

lol. That's an interesting perspective to have on the situation. I somewhat agree. GI Joe was disappointing, destroyed by critics, and had a lackluster boxoffice gross for a film with a 175million budget. The sequel will need to be nothing short of amazingly better than the first to bring fans back. I have no interest in a sequel and won't ever be watching any Stephen Sommers movies again.

I'm quite baffled at how bad Sommer's movies have become. I was never a big fan of his movies but, a few of the earlier ones were somewhat entertaining. After "The mummy returns"(Which wasn't that good.) the quality of his movies has dropped off considerably.

[DACrowe]

The things that worked about the first that should be an absolute to come back: Sienna Miller and Ray Parks.

Everything else is negotiable, but the things that absolutely would need replacement are the screenwriters (which they apparently are already doing) and Tatum as the lead. Duke or not, he is a terrible actor. But he is more likely to come back than Miller, I suspect.

sommers is passable. His tone is extremely campy, but considering that is the direction the studio wants, it works. Better than it did for Van Helsing, anyway.

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

^I do agree about Tatum, he was terrible in the first movie, I hope they dont have him as the lead this time as he simply wasnt interesting enough for me to care about him. However Snake Eyes was.

[Timstuff]

lol. That's an interesting perspective to have on the situation. I somewhat agree. GI Joe was disappointing, destroyed by critics, and had a lackluster boxoffice gross for a film with a 175million budget. The sequel will need to be nothing short of amazingly better than the first to bring fans back. I have no interest in a sequel and won't ever be watching any Stephen Sommers movies again.

If that was true you wouldn't be here. ;)

Anyway, Paramount was apparently pleased with GI Joe's perfomance since it brought in a huge amount of money from merchandising and other tie-ins, even if it was of only mild success at the box office considering its budget. What a lot of people forget is that the movie was rushed into production since they wanted to make it before the writers' strike, and given that plus the fact that it was an August release it actually did quite well. With the next movie they have more time to work on it since there is no impending crisis to speed up its deadline, and there's plenty of time to do re-writes if the script has problems (and it's being written by the Zombieland guys, which is a great start). A better script and more time in pre-production should mean that GI Joe 2 will be a lot better than the first, even if Sommers returns as the director (and personally, I kind of hope he does since I loved the first movie, even if the story was kind of dumb).

[Timstuff]

^I do agree about Tatum, he was terrible in the first movie, I hope they dont have him as the lead this time as he simply wasnt interesting enough for me to care about him. However Snake Eyes was.

If they do bring Tatum back they need to get him an acting coach ASAP and make sure to shove Duke's character into the background, since Tatum is an awful actor and cannot carry a film as a leading man. I would not shed one tear if they replaced him. They recast Katie Holmes in The Dark Knight and it did not ruin my perception of it being a consistent sequel with Batman Begins.