Tatum: 'gi joe shouldn't have been rushed'

Channing Tatum brushed off negative reviews of his 2009 blockbuster Gi Joe: The Rise Of Cobra - insisting the script was "rushed" because of the writers' strike.

The movie, based on the GI Joe toy franchise, grossed more than £201 million worldwide after its release last year (09), but was panned by critics for its lacklustre script and weak plot.

But Tatum puts the failings down to the time when the movie was written - because film bosses lost ground during the 2007-2008 strike by the Writers Guild of America, which crippled the movie and TV industry for several months.

And he hopes the upcoming sequel will be better received, because the writers will have more time to focus on getting the storyline right.

He tells Australia's Herald Sun newspaper, "They just found writers, I just found out. I hope they take their time with it and really get it right because they really had to rush it last time because of the writers' strike. They really want to make it great. And I'm here for them whenever they're ready."