‘G.I. Joe’ Won’t Be Screened For Critics

Knowing may be “half the battle,” but audiences won’t know anything about “G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra” until they walk into theaters.

Paramount has held off screening the new action movie for critics, and will only hold select advance sneak previews for fans. The move is normally held for films that a studio is confident will get slammed in early reviews, but Paramount is singing a different tune with “Joe.”

“‘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, Ariz.,” said Rob Moore, vice chairman of Paramount Pictures. “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.”

Only a select few writers from blogs and movie Web sites have seen it for review – such as Harry Knowles, the self-professed “Head Geek” from Ain’t It Cool News – and their opinions have been mostly positive.

Who’s up for a midnight screening?