The first GI Joe action figures were 30cm hunks of plastic held together by metal rivets, wire hooks and elastic ? with the right thumbnail in the wrong place.

It's only fitting then that the film based on 'America's moving fighting man' (or, more accurately, Barbie for boys) is a little rough around the edges. The frenetic action sequences seem to have been edited by someone with ADD ? on speed. The computer generated special effects look, well, computer generated. The pulpy storyline is a paint-by-numbers throwback to those campy early 007 films. And, unlike the original toys, the actors have just two poses: wooden and hammy.

Yet, like the original toys (which could survive being strapped to firework rockets in the back yard), 'Rise of Cobra' has a near indestructible charm. Certainly not as slick ? or soulless ? as 'Transformers', Stephen Sommers' film instead basks in the same awestruck sense of childish fun he brought to 'The Mummy'.

But, frankly, how else could you approach a story that involves bugs capable of eating metal (hello Eiffel Tower); a mad scientist with a disfigured face and the voice of a four-pack-a-day smoker; Arnold Vosloo affecting the heaviest South African accent this side of Bloemfontein; dialogue like "When all else fails, GI Joe doesn't"; a base submerged beneath the Arctic ice; Mr Echo from 'Lost' trying to take Don 'Ocean's 11' Cheadle's title for worst cockney ever; and a ninja who, in his white pyjamas and mask, looks like The Stig from 'Top Gear'.

By all counts, then, it should suck as badly as 'Wolverine'. The difference is that Sommers covers all the bases. The prerequisite high speed chases ? especially an unlikely footrace through Paris ? are as playfully inventive as they are thrilling. The freewheeling throwaway plot gets more attention than it rightfully deserves. And the characters, even though little more than sketched outlines, have enough personality to identify with. Marlon Wayans packs the punchlines, Channing Tatum brings the brawn, Dennis Quaid hits up the heroism, Sienna Miller vamps it up as the villainess, and arms dealing rogue Christopher Ecclestone majors in megalomania.

None of them take it particularly seriously ? you almost expect Wayans to drop in a fart joke ? but that only adds to the appeal of this mindless distraction. Genuinely engaging, unlike 'Transformers', 'Rise of Cobra' doesn't simply pummel its audience into submission.

Like the classic action figure, it just provides good, old fashioned entertainment.

Seen the movie? Want to play the game? Find out what our reviewer thought of G.I. Joe on PS3!