If it doesn't sound good, I don't think you will enjoy it. But if a two-hour action summer movie is what you are into, you're going to have a great time. Unlike Michael Bay's Transformers movies [vomit], these do not thrive on crass sexual content and language. This film knows what it is, and director Stephen Sommers doesn't try to do any better. It's obvious Sommers and his crew had a great time making it. NOTE: In spite of what others said, this is a very violent film--about as violent as you can get with no blood or gore. One notable scene involves a man melting, and another involves a man having a white-hot iron mask forcibly applied to his face as punishment. Beware!
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Too violent for kids, too childish for grown-ups.
Themes in this movie include: revenge
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 13–15
The good stuff
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Role models:
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was written by James Rocchi
Parents need to know that this relentless action adventure inspired by the '80s cartoon/toy line is filled with extreme (albeit minimally bloody/gory) violence. Kids will want to see it because they're the ones who play with the toys, but there's no end to the parade of characters who are slashed, stabbed, shot, or dispatched invarious other ways (it's important to note that, unlike in the similarly inspired Transformers movies, most of the victims here are people, not machines). There's also a lot of potentially scary medical imagery -- needles, scalpels, painful-looking procedures, and more -- and some intermittent strong language (including "s--t"). And Hasbro, the company that makes G.I. Joe toys, co-produced the movie -- meaning that the story doesn't contain product placement so much as the product placement contains a story.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about the movie's violence. Despite dozens of on-screen deaths, the movie earned a PG-13 rating -- do you think that's accurate? Do bloodless deaths have less impact than gorier ones?
- It's also worth talking about the consumerism side of things. What do kids make of the fact that this is a moviebased on a line of toys? Is the movie's goal to sell more toys? If not, what is it?
- Why do you think the movie takes a fantasy-oriented approach to bothviolence and terrorism? Does it make those issues any less scary?
Have you seen it? Review It!
More on G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
What’s the Story?
Set in a hypothetical near-future, G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA pits a multinationalbest-of-the-best fighting force ("the Joes") against a high-tech, highly motivatedterrorist group intent on shattering civilization withnanotechnology-based armaments that can devour metal nearly instantly. As Duke (Channing Tatum) -- the Joes' newest recruit -- gets closer and closerto the evil plotters, he realizes that one of them, the amoral Baroness(Sienna Miller), is actually his long-lost ex fiancee.
Is It Any Good?
Combining the globe-trotting style of modern techno thrillersand the cartoony, bloodless, high-tech look of modern effectsblockbusters with an unhealthy dose of '80s nostalgia for the originalcartoon, G.I. Joe feels like it's trying -- incredibly hard -- to beall things to all people. And so it fails to be anything to anyone. Tatum tries to invest his between-fights dialogue with emotional meaning and sincerity, but it's like trying to stuff vitamins into cotton candy -- futile and messy.
Director Stephen Sommers proved that he could craft decent PG-13 action withthe Mummy films; he also proved, with Van Helsing, that he can let hislove of effects triumph over the storytelling required to make a real film. Many (infact, almost all) of G.I. Joe's effects-heavy action sequences have theplastic, weightless, meaningless computer-generated emptiness of avideo game. And while the costumed, code-named, stylized characters arefaithful to the original cartoon, they aren't especially engaging orreal beyond their fidelity to the source material. Too cartoony andchildish for grown-up action fans and too violent and grisly for kids,G.I. Joe is an action film whose glossy shine is matched only by itsglib cynicism.
Movie Details
Studio: Paramount Pictures, Director: Stephen Sommers
Run time: 107 minutes
Theatrical release: 8/7/2009, DVD release: 11/3/2009
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for strong sequences of action violence and mayhem throughout
Run time: 107 minutes
Theatrical release: 8/7/2009, DVD release: 11/3/2009
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for strong sequences of action violence and mayhem throughout
Our Members Say
See all 77 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 14 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
Summer Popcorn Fun!
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Perfect for age 11 and 12.
Very violent, but not too violent.
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I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
Very good, ages 10-17!
This movie was AWESOME!!! It was violent, but no blood until the end. People 10-17 will love it!
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I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Ok movie for tweens and up...
This movie is violent, but it's interesting and has a good plot. It's not great, but not horrible. Come on CSM, 1 star, really? It's not scary at all and it has some awesome matrix moves. It probably should be PG.
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I rate this title on for age 6 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
why is it PG-13 it is not bad at all it should be PG.sure it has some violent parts but it should be PG.i just mean come on!!!!!!
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I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- Excessive consumerism
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
violent but not horrible
I liked it stupid but very fun and cool.
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I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
Good movie; get's a little stupid at parts. For tweens and up
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I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
Terrible
Worst movie I've ever seen. DENNIS QUADES HEAD IS SO BIG! I think that they could have made this movie much better if it wasn't so futuristic.
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Excessive consumerism
More fun than I expected, No problem for my kids
This is one of those movies that to me is like watching a cartoon. Most of the violence is so over the top - not to mention with almost no blood - that it's completely unbelievable. Example - bad guy in an all white suit, involved in an exploding car wreck. Steps out with a minor cut on his head, and his white suit still impeccably clean. My kids and I laughed at that. I'm usually super careful about violence in movies, because my 10 year old can be sensitive to some things, but this was fine for him. I'd definitely say ok for 12 and up, 10 and up depending on how sensitive your child is.
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- My highlights are:
BEST MOVIE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AWESOME!!! this movie is the best movie i have ever seen i have seen it 11 times and it never gets old. my only concern is the violence. peoples heads get blown off and they get stabbed in the eye. but there is no blood exept when storm shadow and snake eyes fight. and snake eyes as a kid is the kid off of leo little big show, and storm shadow is tran off of tropic thunder. this movie is 100% awesome. see it!!!!!!!!!!!
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I rate this title iffy for age 6 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Negative role models
The movie that shocked Thanksgiving
Well, we whatched it on.....Thanksgiving. So, It was VERRY viliolent and apropriate for ages over 12 or 13. I was a little shocked that they used a Disney Star! That wasn't a good choice for them. But,if you DO like all the violence stabbing etc. then I think you would apeel to 'G.I. JOE rise of cobra'.
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I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Excessive consumerism
- Negative role models
On my...what a waste of my time. As stated before by another member I feel more dumber having watched it. (Proof is in the last sentence). But I always preview movies before allowing my kids to watch. This is one they oh so wanted to see. Not a chance. Only the very young or mindless adults would say anything positive about this sad movie. Don't waste your money and more importantly your time.
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I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Excessive consumerism
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
omg this is the best movie you will ever see in your life. when i was little i was a big fan of the cartoons, and when this one came out my brother saw the premier and said it was great. he wanted me to see it, but i said no, i didnt want to, then i saw it with my family, and i watched it again as soon as it was over. there is an excellent plot which explains alot of the cartoons if you saw them, and there are lots of interesting flashbacks. this is overall a very well done movie. i bought it as soon as possible and watch it almost daily without getting bored. there is violence, but it gives the movie an extra kick. they cuss some, but it doesnt take away from the movie. there is product placement, including cisco, hummer and dubble bubble, but who cares? i like dubble bubble anyway. i CANNOT believe common sense only gave this 1 star, that isnt common sense at all! more like no sense! this movie is so amazing i reccomend it to anyone who does not want to be boring. after you see this, even if you didnt want to see it in the first place, you will love it. trust me. ps the casting is great, especially channing tatum(hes so hot). they all exactly match their cartoon version.
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I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Excessive consumerism
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
omg this is the best movie you will ever see in your life. when i was little i was a big fan of the cartoons, and when this one came out my brother saw the premier and said it was great. he wanted me to see it, but i said no, i didnt want to, then i saw it with my family, and i watched it again as soon as it was over. there is an excellent plot which explains alot of the cartoons if you saw them, and there are lots of interesting flashbacks. this is overall a very well done movie. i bought it as soon as possible and watch it almost daily without getting bored. there is violence, but it gives the movie an extra kick. they cuss some, but it doesnt take away from the movie. there is product placement, including cisco, hummer and dubble bubble, but who cares? i like dubble bubble anyway. i CANNOT believe common sense only gave this 1 star, that isnt common sense at all! more like no sense! this movie is so amazing i reccomend it to anyone who does not want to be boring. after you see this, even if you didnt want to see it in the first place, you will love it. trust me. ps the casting is great, especially channing tatum(hes so hot). they all exactly match their cartoon version.
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I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
My 12 year old girl liked it
Might be a little too violent...plenty of people "die". You don't see it too much. Some that you do see are graphic, just off screen. A person gets his head cut off in one scene, but most are implied.
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I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
A masterpiece!!!
This was a great movie, I saw it with some friends and loved it. The only bad scene, is where a body gets eaten from the inside out. See it today!!!!
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I rate this title off for age 12 and give it
The worst movie of the century
This movie was so mindless i felt dumber for watching it... For all you adults out there don't waste your time or money.
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I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give it
great movie for any action lover!!
this is an amazing movie!! one of the greatest of 2009! great action and acting. some of the special effects are brilliant i was never a gi joe fan but this movie is brilliant i have no idea why common sense gave it one star! ur kids will love and i think some parents will also enjoy it watch this movie!!!!
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I rate this title on for age 14 and give it
- My highlights are:
loved the movie-good versuses evil!!
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Ratings at a Glance
| 68% | of parents say it's too violent |
| 32% | of parents say there are good role models |
| 26% | of parents say they notice product placement |
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