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Fri, June 10, 2011
GI JOE - YO JOE, The Snake Has Returned
by Dr. Craig Reid
With a whopping $170 million budget and toy marketing up the wazoo, G.I.
JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA is a big kid film ultimately driven by Hasbro toy
merchandizing. Spouting themes of U.S. patriotism, the film will certainly tug at
the "support the troops" heart strings, and as Christmas approaches, no
doubt any true-blooded American parent will be searching for the next
generation of G.I. JOE toys. Let's face the obvious: in this day and age
when our lads are in Afghanistan and Iraq defending the ways of democracy and
protecting our homeland, COBRA could easily be a metaphor for the various enemies
that our real G.I. Joes are fighting.
Paramount is clearly pushing this angle by holding special screenings at Armed
Force bases around the country and by creating the Hero of the War contest, where
kids from various cities nominate their father or mother as a war hero and the
winners get to have a special private screening of the film. Serving in the Navy
for nine years and being on six different tours of duty, Jose Velazquez was
nominated by his 7-year-old son Justin and was ultimately chosen to be the
hometown hero in San Diego. In July 2002, Velazquez was involved in a helicopter
crash that left him with 2nd degree burns covering the left side of his body.
G.I. stands for "government issue," and with "regular Joe"
and "average Joe" floating around to describe the generic American
citizen, Joe took a leap of military faith and G.I. Joe became the moniker for an
average ground force U.S. soldier. It also became a popular term used by foreign
countries where there was a strong U.S. military presence. When I proposed to my
Chinese wife of now 28 years while living in Taiwan in the 1970s, we jokingly
recall that she accepted my proposal by saying, "Okay, Joe."
Although the first film about a regular Joe in the military was STORY OF G.I.
JOE (1945), which starred Robert Mitchum as the head of an American army
unit fighting in North Africa during WW II, it was Hasbro that trademarked G.I.
JOE into a toy line in 1964, and coined the term "action figure" as a
means to get boys to buy dolls. After all, dolls were for girls (with Barbies
being hugely popular and profitable), and if a boy back then, or even today,
wanted a doll as a toy, he would be called a sissy. But an "action
figure" wasn't a doll, and to have a military action figure was cool. As
it turns out, Hasbro heads came up with the idea for a line of dolls for boys
after seeing an American TV show called THE LIEUTENANT (1963), which
starred Gary Lockwood (famous for his role as Lt. Gary Mitchell in the third
STAR TREK episode in 1966), but the toy designs were inspired by Mitchum's
film.
Just like the U.S. military, G.I. JOE has evolved into a high-tech entity.
This new film is loaded with good-guy weapons of mass destruction, which of
course from the good guy's point of view are used when the country, or world
for that matter, is in danger. Directed by Stephen Sommers, G.I. JOE centers on
the elite and international flavored G.I. JOE (Global Integrated Joint
Operating Entity) team as they use advanced weapons and spy technology to take
on the treacherous and faceless weapon's dealer codenamed Destro
(Christopher Eccleston) and the increasing threat of the evil COBRA
organization to undermine human kind and plunge the world into quivering peril,
shivering mayhem and chilling chaos.
 Although supposedly an international team, G.I. JOE clearly favors the
virile rugged American soldier stereotype, which takes the form of Duke
(Channing Tatum) and his African American counterpart and good buddy
Ripcord (Marlon Wayans). However, the mysterious and deadly ninja
character Snake Eyes provides the movie's martial arts consciousness and,
according to Sommers, is probably the most iconic G.I. JOE character.
Nearly as iconic to fans is the actor who portrays Snake Eyes - Ray
Park. Scottish-born but raised in England since age seven, he is best known
to genre fans as the demon-faced Darth Maul in STAR WARS EPISODE 1: THE
PHANTOM MENACE (1999). Park actually credits his father for his interest
in martial arts and for learning kung fu over karate.
"My father was a big fan of Bruce Lee and into martial arts film, so after
we moved to England, my dad wanted me to learn kung fu like Bruce Lee, so I
eventually found a school in London and that of course eventually got me my start
into film.
"I was really into Bruce Lee. I mean, I had his posters all over my walls
and even also had photocopies of Jet Li all over the walls. I would lie in bed
for hours listening to music, looking at their pictures and wondering about doing
that sort of stuff."
 As it turns out, Park's foundation
in martial arts is Northern Shaolin kung fu, specifically the Ching Wu style,
which of course went hand-in-hand with Bruce Lee's iconic cinema
character as the senior student of Ching Wu founder Huo Yuen-jia in CHINESE
CONNECTION (aka FIST OF FURY - 1972).
Then during his third year of training to become an engineer, Park went to
China to compete in the World Wu Shu Championships in Tian Jing, won a gold and
two silver medals. But due to the politics of the time, Park was unable to stay
in China and study, and so he ended up studying kung fu in Malaysia. He
eventually returned to England to pursue a film career that started off with Robin
Shou's MORTAL KOMBAT: ANNIHILATION (1992), leading to Darth Maul
where he was able to show off his weapon work.
So Park was particularly pleased when it came to Snake Eyes' weapons, his
favorite being the ninja tonfas. "It's a handle and a stick, and mine
has two snake heads on top," shares Park. "Storm Shadow, my
arch-nemesis, was always beating on Snake Eyes when they were kids, but the
tonfa became Snake Eyes' weapon of choice. And over the years, he developed
this weapon and made it his own, so at the press of a button, I have a spike at
the top and a blade at the back. It's lethal and very dangerous. I also love
the swords of course, and as you know, one of the reasons - besides
people like Bruce Lee, Jet Li and even Richard Norton - why I got into doing
martial arts was the sword work. I just love the magic of moving a sword around.
To me it's a dance."
Park notes that the sword fighting sequences in the film were carefully
choreographed. "They had to be really precise. We made sure we hit our
beats, and we would dance and tango around, as if doing the waltz together because
the last thing I wanted to do was have a sword and cut one of my fellow actors by
accident. It was a constant challenge."
Park even admits that he and his brother played with the British equivalent of
G.I. JOE, known as Action Man. "I had the 12-inch doll, the massive
tank, the big helicopter, and he had Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow and the COBRA
Commander. In a twist of irony I would always play Storm Shadow because I loved
the fact that there was a ninja dressed in white."
Over the years fans at Star Wars conventions often broached to Park that if a
G.I. JOE film were ever made, he would be a shoo-in for Snake Eyes, the ninja
in black. So when that all came to fruition and he was asked to audition for the
role, Park was so enthused that he began preparing to film his own audition reel
to send to the producers.
He recalls, "I was going to make my own audition tape and send it in and
say, ‘This is Snake Eyes.' I went to town and bought myself Snake Eyes
commando gear and a load of ninja stuff, but the following week the
producers basically headed me off at the pass and asked me to come in for an
audition." Beaming, he adds, "For that weekend, I just became Snake
Eyes. I didn't eat. I was just cleansing and doing a lot of research on what
Snake Eyes was about. So that Monday morning, as soon as I walked into that
training facility for my screen test, I was Snake Eyes. Apparently the producers
were blown away and that was good."
Unique to Snake Eyes is his vow of silence. Playing a character that never
speaks posed a welcome challenge to Park. "That was really the attraction to
me as an actor, to use my body in a way that I've never used it before, to try
and communicate, even if it's just with a little finger twirl. It tells the
audience there's someone there underneath the armor. I wanted it to be
iconic; I wanted it to be really cool. Ultimately, though, I really just wanted
to be true to the fans and to the character, so when the fans see it, they'll
go, 'There's Snake Eyes.'"
Part of the challenge was the look - a costume made specifically for
Park. The initial design was an amalgamation of ninja and comic book elements
intended to combine the sensibilities of Snake Eyes' ninja life with his role
as a commando with G.I. JOE. The sculpted suit, complete with a heavy-duty
visor, was an adjustment for Park. "I'd never worn a suit that covered
my body and my head before." In time, Park became used to the costume and
even picked up a few pointers from some of the stuntmen working on the film.
"They gave me a few tips on how to try to make the suit my own. I love the
costume. I love the way it looks. I would have worn it home given the
chance," he says with a laugh.
The film has a different look and feel to it. While most disaster flicks show
American landmarks being destroyed, in this one the Eiffel Tower takes a dive.
But in terms of action, one sees hints of THE TRANSFORMERS, a bit of STARSHIP
TROOPERS (from the fancy Accelerator Suits the G.I. JOE group uses,
reminiscent of the battle gear used to fight insects), and - of
all movies - the animation film TMNT (2007). The special effects
used to show the various G.I. JOE characters running, jumping and fighting in
their special soldier uniforms are similar to those used to show the turtles
moving in TMNT. Another similarity with TMNT is the presence of a bad ninja,
which in G.I. JOE would be Snake Eyes' arch nemesis Storm Shadow.
Korean martial arts star Lee Byung-hun plays Storm Shadow, who, like Snake
Eyes, is also a ninja supreme with amazing martial arts skills, yet he carries two
swords. Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow bear the same ninja insignia because they
were trained by the same teacher, but their childhood pseudo-sibling rivalry
caused them to take opposing directions in life.
Director Sommers points out, "So showing the root of the mythology between
these two characters immediately cements your understanding of what these guys are
all about and the paths they have taken as adults. But I think for fans the most
anticipated one-on-one battle in the film has to be between Snake Eyes and
Storm Shadow."
Stunt coordinator Ronnie Rondell, Jr., adds, "Of course Ray has a huge
martial arts background, and part of that is in wushu, which he really is amazing
at. What nails it for me though are his head postures and hand postures and poses
that are really what the audience wants to see, because that is Snake Eyes. Lee,
on the other hand, is a little bit more methodical and stylish in his own way.
But when you put them both together, it's quite a battle. They both really
excel at their martial arts, and I think their styles really complemented each
other."
Written by Dr. Craig Reid for KUNGFUMAGAZINE.COM
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