Being that I grew up with GI Joe in every aspect of my life (action figures, TV show, Halloween costumes, birthday party themes), I wanted to give the movie the benefit of the doubt. Thank you for correcting me.
I firmly stand behind the thought that this is a strategy by Paramount. They want more butts in the seats, and having it released before it makes it to the theaters would be suicide for the box office numbers.
Being outed? For what? A Paramount shill? Given that the MPAA is suing people for hundreds of thousands of dollars for sharing movies through Torrent networks, I think they’re a bunch of thieves and thugs a la Rahm Emanuel. I would prefer Paramount burn, but they are an organization in business to make money. Good for them for protecting their interests!
Oh, YOU KNOW.
I am reporting you to the White House.
You are sooooo xrewed.
Critics typically aren't given screener copies of a new movie. What usually happens is that a week or so before the release the critics are invited to special screenings in a screening room somewhere, with security and studio marketing people in attendance. In a big city, they might do two screenings to get as many critics in as possible. Then they have a few days to write their reviews before they're published on the same Friday that the movie's released.
For the studio, showing this kind of movie to critics has no upside. You can bet that they're going to hate it just for being a big, dumb, loud action movie, and there's a good chance that the movie isn't going to do very well. What they can hope for is a big opening weekened, especially on Friday before any word of mouth can get around. Reviews will only dilute the Friday numbers.