G.I. JOE - GOT THAT BOOM BOOM POW

I am fortunate to have to pass the Reading Cinema on my way home from work everyday, so I can scope out the parking lot at 4:30 p.m. when new movies come out. If it is relatively empty I go; packed I don't. Today at 4:30, the parking lot was acceptable for me to scoot in and see G.I. Joe (Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity).

It was okay.

But what I did notice was that it was really the romance that drove this plot. I'm sure that a lot of people might disagree, but they are not romance writers. Trust me, without the romance, Duke and Ripcord would not have been able to save the world or set up the sequel.

Plus, as with my writing at least at times, the secondary characters are much more fun. I found myself wondering if Ripcord and Scarlet would get together in the end or, at the very least, if Scarlet would admit she was attracted to him. After all, I knew things would work out for Duke and Ann one way or another; it had to. Their romance was integral to the plot.

Don't get me wrong, the special effects were incredible and the movie did live up to its hype in a lot of ways. And personally, I found twisted satisfaction in the fact that Cobra attacked Paris and G.I. Joe had to save all those ungrateful French people (again). OK, G.I. Joe is supposed to be a mix of elite soldiers from around the world, but Duke, Ripcord and Ann definitely spoke with American accents.

Channing Tatum was okay, Marlon Jennings does a good job as the sidekick providing the necessary comic relief, and the girls, Sienne Miller and Rachel Nichols are both hot in their roles. I found it interesting that the good martial arts guy wore black while the bad martial arts guy wore white.

All in all it was all testosterone and a lot of blowing up things like Transformers, but not quite as good. I went because I also had to play G.I. Joe with my son when he was small. Only I never got to be a sexy villaness like Ann.

The critics will probably pan it, but most people will like it. It ends with the Black Eyed Peas "Boom Boom P0w" and that about sums it ip.

And all the Romance writers who see it will notice that the plot can't survive without a typical Harelequin-type concept to save the day