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Liberal Critics Slam 'G.I. Joe' Movie as 'Anti-Obama Conservative's Fantasy'

by Liz Klimas

(Image: Wikimedia)

Some have called the latest G.I. Joe flick "pretty bad" but "not completely horrible" – yet still "terrible" — for its plotline and script. But a liberal blog has an idea of people who might like it — conservatives or, more specifically as they put it, the "paranoid wingnut."

As Asawin Suebsaeng wrote on the liberal-leaning website Mother Jones, "G.I. Joe Retaliation" is "the anti-Obama Conservative's fantasy."

What does Suebsaeng see in the sequel to "G.I. Joe: the Rise of the Cobra" that puts it in the category of "political trolling"?

The U.S. president in the movie, a Democrat, is a person foreign-born, who lies about it, and who also uses drones against American citizens, among other features. Without saying it, Suebsaeng seems to be alluding that this person is representative of real-life President Barack Obama whose place of birth has been questioned by some and who has come under recent criticism for his position on drone use over U.S. soil against citizens.

The U.K.'s Metro news in its review too notes there are times when it "seems like a bizarre riff on Obama voters disappointed with their president's drone strike policy."

Here are more examples Suebsaeng calls out as "trolling" in the film:

In one scene, a female G.I. Joe soldier crashes a White House gala, wearing a tight red dress and impersonating a Fox News reporter; the imposter president then quips that her media affiliation explains why her body looks so "fair and balanced." In one scene, a villain gleefully discusses torturing people, and says, "You know…they call it waterboarding—but I never get bored," which I can only assume is an homage to "I got soul, but I'm not a soldier," "I got ham, but I'm not a hamster," and "They call 'em fingers, but I never see them fing." Democratic political strategist James Carville has a speaking role in this film, which has to qualify as trolling of some kind. And the movie casually explodes London, taking with it centuries of culture, architecture, and over eight million souls; the death and destruction isn't mentioned even once after it happens, and nobody sheds a tear for London.

The hero in the story, an Army vet played by Bruce Willis, Suebsaeng points out is also a weapons hoarder.

The Washington Times reviewer for the film, Danny de Gracia, on the other hand, called the new G.I. Joe "explosive fun." Gracia wrote that G.I. Joe has "always been a caricatured, tongue-in-cheek hyperbole of U.S. nationalism, its pop culture PSA-rife patriotism of 'A Real American Hero' fighting the terrorist organization Cobra…"

Unlike the initial film, Gracia wrote "Retaliation" is "an enjoyable romp that fully redeems the G.I. Joe franchise."

Here's a look at the film's trailer:

In other news for the flick that came out Friday in theaters, it was banned in Pakistan for negativly portraying the country, Pakistan's Express Tribune reported censor officials saying. "G.I. Joe Retaliation" has terrorists from the country in possession of stolen nuclear warheads, among other scenes painting the country in a negative light.

"There is a scene which shows the assassination of the Pakistani president and the imposition of martial law, which is not a fair representation of the country," the Express Tribune reported Iftikhar Durrani, the adviser on national regulation and services, saying.