tattler magazine

Channing Tatum steps up from dance school into the world of ball-busting action

Channing Tatum as an All-American G.I Joe, that’s what.

So a girlfriend calls me up on Sunday saying she’s organizing a movie outing and it’s all boys except for her. “Go leh, I don’t wanna be the only girl,” she begs. And there I am thinking that she’s the kind of girl who normally enjoys chick flicks and the occasional comedy, why would she be keen on G.I Joe??

Well, now I know. Girls, as much as G.I Joe is a testosterone-filled, macho show, there’s something in it for you as well. His name is Channing ‘I can dance and fight’ Tatum. Or if you’re into funny, but still smoking, ‘chocolate men’ (cue tinkly piano intro from Vanessa Carlton’s ‘A Thousand Miles’), there’s Marlon Wayans of White Chicks fame.

I didn’t expect to like the show, especially after the other testosterone-filled summer blockbuster that was Transformers 2. There was just waaay too much metal smashing into one another in that one.

Sure, the plot has more holes and is more cheesy than swiss cheese, but what did you expect, A Beautiful Mind? It’s a movie based on plastic figurines, for crying out loud. The action sequences are fantasmic, as they should be. Awesome futuristic technology, machines and weapons make things blow up everywhere, and because all things Asian are so cool now, insert invincible Ninja warriors complete with flying shurikens with the accuracy of snipers.

And oh, all the beautiful people in the show! Even Dennis Quaid at 55 still looks pretty darn good as General Hawk, leader of the Joes. There’s the blonde Sienna Miller who plays Duke’s (Channing Tatum) love interest/ex-fiancée now turned brunette bad guy. And then there’s the redhead bombshell aptly named Scarlett (Rachel Nichols) whose sole responsibility is to look really hot in a brown leather jacket and make me wish I had flaming red hair.

Some people complain that all the back stories and flashbacks slow down the pace of the movie, but I actually enjoyed them very much. It set G.I Joe apart from the likes of the Transformers franchise and made me feel a little more emotionally involved in the action sequences.

The ending of the movie just begs for a sequel and yea, I’m looking forward to it. Director Steven Sommers, I forgive you for making my beloved Hugh Jackman act in that lame-o show Van Helsing.