I've never had much of a liking for American Football or G.I. Joe toys. Give me Aussie rules footy and Masters of the Universe anyday. But, on Monday my interest in both were sparked by the Superbowl.

Former Cat (of the Geelong variety) Ben Graham was of course the first Australian to play in the massive event as the kicker for the Arizona Cardinals.

And the first preview of the new live-action G.I. Joe movie, Rise of Cobra, was shown during the televsion broadcast.

I never got a G.I. Joe action figure when I was young, or even saw a full episode of the 1980s cartoon for that matter.

Though I'm fairly interested to see how this new film, directed by Stephen Sommers (The Mummy), pans out on the big screen.



If it's anything like Transformers in terms of delivery, it should be a bit of fun, a bit of good old fashioned dumb fun. Lots of fights and explosions, a bit of light banter, chicks in tight leather and not much of a story etc etc.

And going by the short trailer, it looks to be pretty full-on with elaborate action sequences, complimented by plenty of stylish slow-mos ala The Matrix.

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There's also shades of Independance Day (what with the destruction of a world-renowned landmark) and certainly the X-Men series.

G.I. Joe is an elite military unit comprised of special operatives that takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer.

The film features rising action star Channing Tatum (who will also be seen this year in Public Enemies with Christian Bale and Johnny Depp) and ageing action star Dennis Quaid (Inner Space), along with the entertaining Marlon Wayans (except when he's a White Chick or a Little Man), and the talented Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brick, Stop-Loss).



Interestingly, Sam Worthington was considered for the role of Duke (played by Tatum), but turned it down due scheduling conflicts with Avatar (2009).

I'm not going to get too excited about G.I. Joe - Avatar, yes - but I'll still probably have a gander at it in the cinema.

Now, when's the new Masters of the Universe movie getting made ... ?