G.I. Joe

If you’re a movie critic, you’re going to have to wait til G.I. Joe comes out in theaters just like the rest of us! Paramount has decided not to screen the blockbuster in advance for the critics. Only a few select blogs and movie-based websites have gotten the honor of seeing it screened before it hits theaters.

Instead, the studio is screening the film for different focus groups. For example, on Friday, Pramount screen the film for 1000 military service members and their families at Andrews Air Force Base; it’s also focusing marketing efforts in places like Kansas City, Charlotte, N.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

This plan was inspired by the critics’ reaction to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which was in large part, a negative one.

Rob Moore, vice chairman of Paramount Pictures said in a statement, “G.I. Joe is a big, fun, summer event movie — one that we’ve seen audiences enjoy everywhere from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to Phoenix, Arizona. After the chasm we experienced with Transformers 2 between the response of audiences and critics, we chose to forgo opening-day print and broadcast reviews as a strategy to promote G.I. Joe. We want audiences to define this film.”

When the trailer for G.I. Joe premiere during the Super Bowl, the reviews were mixed. And now, being the last action film of the summer, Paramount doesn’t want audiences to be deterred by the opinions of critics.

Will you be going to see G.I. Joe? It opens in theaters this weekend, August 7th.