After cringing and wincing at that trailer I feel like an idiot only mentioning the annoying casting of yet another non-Japanese actor playing a ninja. I know, looking at the trailer that's the least of this film's offenses, but I figure the casting of non-Japanese actors for Japanese roles is always what people miss or ignore. I've got nothing against non-Japanese actors being cast, but when the character is supposed to be Japanese it's just odd that they cast non-Japanese actresses in "Memoirs of a Geisha", a non-Japanese guy as Sulu in the Star Trek redux, another Korean dude as Storm Shadow, and the CLINCHER, casting Tom Cruise in the Last Samurai! Dude doesn't even LOOK Japanese, COME ON, HOLLYWOOD.
But seriously, Keanu Reeves in "47 Ronin" makes me want to vomit in enough stomach acid to dissolve the Hollywood sign.
OK, shutting up now. Sorry to bother you all...
It's true--there is so much wrong with "GI Joe 2" that the casting is the least of my worries as a fan of well-written action movies. But all of those complaints are going to be what everyone else talks about, so I won't bother except to say: Bruce Willis as the guy who is supposed to be the original "GI Joe"??? What the hell, Hollywood!?! WtHH!
To be fair, Roddenberry always said Sulu was meant to represent "all of Asia" and not specifically Japan, and apparently George Takei was totally cool with the casting.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering when they were going to (or IF they were going to) make a sequel to the first G.I. Joe movie. I'll say this: I strongly disliked the trailer for that one, but wound up liking the movie a lot. I might give this one the benefit of the doubt here. Maybe.
I don't like the fact that The Rock and Bruce Willis are in it (I'm not a fan of either), and going just by the trailer, I'm wondering, aside from the "President", is ANYBODY in this movie that was in the original? That bugs me muchly. Ah well. C'est la Hollywood.
Sorry I'm just getting to reply to your comment now... regarding Sulu representing all Asia, that's fine, but it doesn't change the fact that his character is Japanese. To me it seems passively racist to not hire a Japanese actor simply because Korean is "close enough." It would be one thing if there were many Japanese actors working in Hollywood today--but there aren't, despite the fact that there are Japanese roles to be played. I can count on two fingers the number of Japanese actors I know of who are regularly cast as Japanese characters.
ReplyDeleteI didn't care for the first GI Joe movie. It seemed very over the top and unbelievable to me. I like escapist stuff, but when it's so escapist that I don't believe it could happen, I shrug and stop caring. Even fantasy stuff like "Game of Thrones" feels like it could actually happen.
Yeah, it's odd that there's almost no one from the first movie in the second one, but the first one didn't do so well and I think they're trying to cash in on the star power of the Rock and Bruce Willis. To me this is a sign of another weak script. But what ever. No one's forcing me to watch. I just wish Hollywood wanted to make movies like "Die Hard" and "Predator" again.