Mr. Eko in # 1 movie in nation (GI Joe)

[august]

Although it's opened to almost universally mediocre-to-bad reviews, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is the number one movie in the nation, grossing c. $56 million domestically, and c. $100 million worldwide. Mr. Eko actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje plays "Heavy Duty," described as an ordnance expert. Mummy/Van Helsing director Stephen Sommers (also responsible for 90's remakes of The Jungle Book and Huck Finn! ) assembled a diverse cast including Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, Rachel Nichols (the Orion cadet in Star Trek) Marlon Wayans and Ray Park, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sienna Miller and Arlond Vosloo as the main villains.

From Reuters:

Paramount opted not to screen the movie in advance for critics, a gambit often reserved for box office clunkers. In the end, reviews were predictably bad but not as bad as those for such recent releases as "G-Force" and "The Ugly Truth."
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Surveys indicated the film played best in the American heartland -- anywhere "east of Beverly Hills and west of Manhattan island," Harris said. It also was especially popular with Hispanic and black moviegoers, he said.

Overall, male moviegoers accounted for 60 percent of the audience, with an even split either side of 25 years.

Excerpts from a review in The Hollywood Reporter:

The latest action franchise seemingly designed to further spread the incidence of ADD among youth the world over, "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" plays like a sequel to a film that was never made.

Opening Friday without being screened in advance for critics -- probably a wise move because most of them have a mental age of over 10 -- the Paramount release film should achieve its main goal of provoking sales of the venerable Hasbro toys upon which it's based.
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..... the G.I. Joes include a representative cross sample of wisecracking heroic types, including weapons specialist Heavy Duty (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, far less intimidating here than in "Oz"); the sexy Scarlett (Rachel Nichols), who disdains emotion but doesn't mind displaying plenty of cleavage; the requisite ninja warrior, Snake Eyes (Ray Park); and technology expert Breaker (Said Taghmaoui).

On the villainous side are Duke's former flame, Ana (Sienna Miller), whose move to the dark side is signified by the dying of her formerly golden blond tresses to black, and her brother, Rex (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, sacrificing years of hard-won indie credibility with a single paycheck), whose similar waywardness is conveyed by his disfigured face and raspy voice.
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After 118 minutes of nonstop mayhem, the film ends on a surprisingly muted note, though pains have been taken to make sure that the hoped-for sequel has been carefully set up.