Ugh! Sommers back at the helm for G.I. Joe 2

Stephen Sommers is coming back to direct G.I. Joe 2, according to The Wrap (via IGN). If you're wondering why a sequel would get funding after the abortion that was G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (review), well, its part my fault. I bought 1 ticket to see it. The film had a $175 million budget and only made $150 million in the U.S., but it scrapped another $150 million from the rest of the world. Still, with marketing and advertising, it doesn't sound like a very profitable blockbuster...but I am no accountant. 

One good thing: Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are writing the script. Hopefully that means it will be more than a series of bright quick images for an hour and a half. G.I. Joe is one of the first movies you can watch (since the 20s) entirely without sound and enjoy just as much. It might as well be a music video.

This news is not universally bad, however. Scott Weinberg, of Cinematical, was a huge fan of The Rise of Cobra. 

I'm generally not a big fan of the phrase "guilty pleasure." Like many movie geeks, I don't see the point in feeling "guilty" about a movie I happen to enjoy -- but when you're talking about a broad, silly, goofball flick like G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, it's pretty tempting to employ the "guilty pleasure" defense. And still I refuse. I firmly believe that The Rise of Cobra is precisely what it wants to be: an energetic, tongue-in-cheek, live-action cartoon that has lots of nifty action and a big handful of amusing characters. (For the record. I know virtually nothing of Joe's toys, cartoons, and video games. Just the movie.)

I'm not a fan of the phrase "guilty pleasure" either, but in this case, I'd make an exception.