I did see GI Joe, and I enjoyed it.

Yes there was some bad CG.
Yes the plot had insane holes.
Yes there was several times where things simply did not make any sense.

So how could I, particularly after complaining so much about Transformers 2, enjoy GI Joe?

Expectations!

You have to understand I went into Transformers 2 thinking that they were going to make a movie that built upon the first. One that identified problems with the first, correct them and construct a fun summer explosion movie.  One that capitalized on the characters of the autobots and their enemies. What I got, while it did have explosions, was a messy failure of anything that resembled how I remembered the transformers or even how imagined them when I played with the toys.

My expectations were wrong. Very wrong, and when Transformers 3 arrives (as I am sure it will) I will do a much better job of setting my expectations.

With GI Joe, I went in expecting the movie to be Awful; another butchering of my childhood memories.

Instead what I got was almost like watching real people act out a story that my brother and I would have crafted out in the back yard with our toys.  While completely they were very over the top and in some cases purposely over dramatic, the characters were decent characterizations of the toys.  I would have loved for there to have been more screen time so we could get to know more of the Joes, but I completely accepted those we did meet as the toys.

As for the story, I thought it was a great way to start a franchise; yes I do hope they make more. They introduced us to the main “leaders” of both sides, including motives for ongoing “battles” between the two.

Of course I don’t think this is a great action movie in league with something like Die Hard, Batman Begins, or others. But I do think it was a fun brainless two hours of movie theater fun.