G.I. Joe: The Movie

Rating:
Summary: A Blast From the Past
Review: Remember when cartoons where actually fun to watch? When they were followed by good old fashion lessons on life? If you do, then this is the DVD for you. GI Joe was a classic cartoon from the '80's. Kids like myself(back then), used to rush home to watch it, and then play with the toys that helped perpetuate the series. This DVD will satisfy all who loved cartoons from the 80's like Cops, Mask, Inhumanoids, Transformers, Silver Hawks, etc.

Unlike most of the GI Joe episodes that were stand-alone episodes, this one provides a complete epic story that explains Cobra Commander's origin, Cobra's plot for world domination, and the role and introduction of some new Joes and Cobras. And best of all, instead of the way it was showed on television ( 1/2 hour episodes, over several days, with commercials), it can be viewed without interruption, in one day. YO JOE!!

Rating:
Summary: The Patriotic DVD
Review: "G.I. Joe - The Movie" is a great film that along with "The Transformers - The Movie" really rekindles the memories of the days of my youth. I played with all the toys and watched the cartoon everyday after school. This was the ultimate pro-U.S.A. cartoon of the 80's (and pretty much of all-time) and it finally makes its triumphant debut on DVD.

Though the movie introduces fun, new characters like Lt. Falcon and the Roughnecks, I would have preferred it if more time was spent on the "old guard". Duke, Scarlet, Flint, Lady Jaye, and especially Snake Eyes are sorely underutilized. On the Cobra side, Destro, the Baroness, and others get a little more screen time but pretty much have to bow to the presence of the new villains. Still, this a terrific movie with much better sound quality. The graphics are re-mastered but are basically the same as the television show.

The premise is that the G.I. Joe team is sent out to protect a new device that could provide the world with an unlimited source of energy. Of course, Cobra Commander and the rest of his evil regime have better plans for this...namely world domination. After the Joe's beat down Cobra for the umpteenth time, Emperor Serpentor is about to finally give CC the boot. He is stopped when a race of snake-like creatures appears and informs all that they are the real rulers of Cobra...and the Earth. Then the battles begin, with Cobra getting the upper hand throughout much of the film.

The new Cobra wants to gain control of the energy device to heat space spores in Earth's orbit, which upon gestation, will turn every human on Earth into a drooling slave. I know it sounds weird but I suppose they had to do something "different" to separate themselves from the series. Finally, Lt. Falcon (Duke's half brother as it turns out) leads a group of rag-tag Joe's to save the day, thus closing the book on one of the best cartoons of my childhood.

So overall, a fine film with a fun, if a little weird plot. This DVD comes complete with two trailers, vintage toy commercials, and the best part of the whole thing...classic G.J. Joe PSAs! There are about 25 of the "Knowing is half the battle" vignettes that I know are trying to be serious, but still make me crack up. (Remember not to pet strange dogs!)

Do yourself a favor and get this DVD. If not for you, than for your kids who should get a kick out of the outdated graphics and stories that their parents used to think were cool.

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Summary: yo' joe
Review: What can I say,the second most popular movie I have ever seen when I was a little boy. G.I.JOE the movie is a classic I am so glad they brought it back so my kid can see what a real cartoon is all about. I don't dislike every cartoon I see my kid watch ,I just prefer my kid to watch the classic cartoons because like they always said,"Knowing is half the Battle."

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Summary: yuck!
Review: Hey, I'm a fan ... but I just could not get over that stupid Cobra-la-la-la-la crap. The story is moronic, the only saving grace is that you get to see some of the neat toys in action. 'Nuf said.

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Summary: Dated? Of course!
Review: It's hardly a coincidence that the popularity of "G.I. Joe" peaked during the Reagan/Bush years and then died off when Clinton came into office. It's also little surprise that the later series of toys included the "D.E.F.-Drug Enforcement Force" line. Nationalistic? Naturally. Violent? Somewhat. Unrealistic? Highly. A lot of the plots were just plain ludicrous ("Eau de Cobra" and "Cold Slither" come to mind). But culturally, "G.I. Joe" has had a lasting impact on the youth of today's late twenty-somethings: if you're skeptical, ask any twenty-five year-old male who was living in the US in the eighties if he knows who Flint's girlfriend was. There are probably a lot of females who know, too. It's certainly arguable that the show was just thinly-disguised marketing for little pieces of plastic; in fact, I would argue that it had a greater impact on merchandising than on promoting violence. Violent overtones aside, kids probably wouldn't want the action figures of characters who were killed in action anyway. It's a product of American culture and politics of the 1980's, when "conservative friendly" television was the norm. (Consider your "renegade do-gooder" shows like "The A-Team," "Knight Rider," and "The Dukes of Hazzard.") Whether or not you agree with the politics or mentality inherent in the content, we can learn almost as much about 80's life from "G.I. Joe" cartoons as you can learn about ancient societies from pottery fragments. "G.I. Joe" is a cultural artifact, the same way Japanese animation is a direct product of Japanese culture. A formula like this probably wouldn't fly today, but it still holds a lot of nostalgic value for those of us who were there. And, hey, you get to hear Mercer (the only Joe team member from West Virginia) make fun of Falcon (Don Johnson), and that's pretty cool in my book. Personally, I'm more offended by Oliver Stone's "Born on the Fourth of July" (and its overtly political distortion of actual historical events) than the efforts of animated characters to thwart a snake-man dictator and his metal-faced henchman, but that's just me.

Rating:
Summary: Court Martial This Movie
Review: I bought this DVD due to some nostalgic memories of my teen years, and while I ended up recalling many fond events from that period of my life after watching "G.I. JOE: THE MOVIE" I was also reminded of the gaping flaws with this catroon concept, primarily the nationalism, stereotyping, poor plot writing, and unrealistic attitude towards war and death. Am I reading too much into a cartoon? Maybe - but take a look at Japanese animation or even the WB's Superman and Batman and you find both a maturity and entertainment in their animation. This is more of a rental than a movie to own.

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Summary: Exuberantly patriotic and gloriously, wonderfully stupid
Review: This is the kind of cheerfully mindless drivel that your well-meaning parents discouraged you from watching. The plot jumps from place to place with blinding speed, the characters have absolutely NO regard to order and good discipline, and the situations depicted are just unbelieveable. BUT IT WORKS!!! Suspend disbelief and add this one to your collection. Take it out and watch it whenever the America bashers get you down.

Rating:
Summary: Great animation, outstanding intro, sad plot. Very sad.
Review: The last of the "good quality" GI Joe animation productions. When I first saw the intro scene with that new Cobra/GI Joe song I was like, "Wow, this is gonna rock"! Then the assault on the Terrordrome was also sweet. Then a cool fight scene in the artic. Then it all began to go downhill the moment Cobra Commander said, "I know where we can find shelter."

Then the plot just turns.. VERY lame. You find out Cobra Commander is really from a snake-like living being race (think Zerg if you play Starcraft) and that they are planning on turning the entire race to mindless mutants except for those under Cobra-la's ice dome. Cobra Commander turns into a snake. Falcon is a ..brat (and the main character!). All sort of plot holes just pop into your brain (like, "if the whole world is mutants, how do we get anybody to serve us?", and "if they need the BET that badly, why don't we just destroy it instead of trying to protect it? It only costs $1 billion anyway.")

As a DVD though, it's pretty good. Enough extras (love those service clips) and such.

I didn't like the introduction of the new characters because you really didn't have much time to develop them (except Jinx)...

Rating:
Summary: This DVD is a true collector's item
Review: This DVD will hold forever the good old memories of the TV Show of the 80's. This movie has an excellent and crisp picture. The sound is also very good considering the year of this movie.

Rating:
Summary: I'm sorry I really didn't like this film.
Review: I'm very sorry but I really didn't like this animated movie of G I Joe. Don't get me wrong, It has some interesting material but over all I would give this an F. The good sides, It has really good animation. It was animated by Marvel/Sunbow Productions and Toei Animation in Japan. (Animated by the same people who animated Transformers the movie!) Its looks great visually! The famous voices include Don Johnson (Falcon), The late Burgess Merideth (Galabulos), and St. Slaughter as himself. The origin of Cobra commander was a real treat but is very disappointing. The Bad sides, It has some of the regulars like Micheal Bell (Duke), Scarlett(B.J. Ward), The late Chris Latta (Cobra Commander) in minor roles because the purpose of the movie was to sell the series 3 toys ( Like TF:the movie) The story is incredibly vulgar and is nothing like the The previous G I Joe animated series on Televison. The T.V. show was more military. This is film is more Sci-Fi with grotesgue monsters and creatures. I wasn't too happy with this film because it was not like Season 1 and 2 of the show. There are too many Cobra-La creature occupying the film, All the new characters get introduced and push a side the regular characters.( the downfall of Cobra Commander and the near death of Duke) If You get a G I Joe movie, get the out of Print G I JOE: The Mass Device! (the Mass Device is the five-part Pilot episode)Do Not get G I Joe the movie!