Rating: 
Summary: Another Piece of 80's History. YO JOE!!!!!
Review: Another mainstay of 80's children's cartoons I bought this DVD is my attempts to "recapture my childhood" and I AIN'T disappointed!!! The movie itself was okay but the DVD extras are what make this a "must-keep" for me. For the uninitiated, here's a rundown:Plot synopses: GI Joe (America's top military force) battles against Cobra (evil terrorist organization trying to take over the world). It this particular movie, the Joes try to stop Cobra from devolving the world through these organic spores. In this movie the true ancient origins of Cobra(la) are FINALLY revealed. The movie marked a landmark in GI Joe storylines. (Personally, I thought it was sorta the beginning of the end...) Most the old-time favorite Joes and Cobras appeared. Many new characters also made their debut (Lt. Falcon, the Renegades, Nemesis Enforcer, etc). However, the movie itself, in my opinion is NOT the best feature of this DVD. The exclusive DVD features are!!! Exclusive DVD features: TWENTY-FIVE (25) ORIGINAL G.I. JOE PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS (you know, those "knowing is half the battle" things they aired at the end of each episode for the kids!!!) Two (2) movie trailers. Two (2) vintage action figure commercials (too waaay back even for me. Can't believe how cheesy those back in the day commercials were). A shameless plug for VHS tapes of G.I. Joe and Transformer cartoons. The DVD extras truly make this a "Collector's edition." DEFINITELY a piece of 80's nostalgia. Those PSA's RULED!!! Here's my rundown: GREAT: The DVD features especially those PSA's. "Knowing is half the battle!!!" Good: The action, soundtrack and animation. They sure don't make kids cartoons like this anymore!!!! So-so: The movie trailers. Bad: Those cheesy vintage action figure commercials. The shameless plug. DEFINITELY a collector's item for any G.I. Joe or 80's cartoon fan. Recommended viewing for anyone who never grew up watching these but who are indeed fans of good animation. Highly recommended.
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.
Rating: 
Summary: Is my 80s-ness showing?
Review: Although I enjoyed the TransFormers toys much more than their fellow 80s Hasbro phenomenon G.I. Joe®-- 'cuz cars that can change into robots and back are way cooler than a buncha dumb ol' action figures any day of the week-- I found the Joe cartoon show just as entertaining, and not quite as hokey as the adventures of Optimus & Co. In fact, just the other day I had acquired one of those TransFormers Alternators thingies (read all about my misadventures with this new acquisition in the reviews section at www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000XO8DW/qid=1079586717/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-0457490-8406223?v=glance&s=toys), and I watched G.I. Joe The Movie whilst I attempted to convert my new plaything into robot mode... without referrin' to the instruction sheet (which is something we TransFans of the macho persuasion do, 'natch). I hadn't seen it in quite some time, although I still remembered a few moments back when I had first caught it on the local indie channel. Such moments as Tunnel Rat bustin' out of the side of some worm-creature that had just swallowed him moments earlier, and the new head heavy (Golobulus, voiced by a guy who starred in the REAL story of G.I. Joe several decades prior) gettin' stabbed in his big ol' eyeball (the actual act was depicted from a distance, so it wasn't too gory). Yeah, yeah, I know-- "why do you only remember the movie's more disgusting scenes?" you're askin' yourself. What, did'ja think I was gonna fondly recall the cohesive plot, the plausible story line, and the Oscar-worthy performances? Gimme a freakin' break! Anyhoo, I found myself geekin big-time to the opening credits sequence (sans credits) featuring the Joes defending the Statue of Liberty against a Cobra assault. If you've never seen the series this mo-pic was based on, this moment alone is a wonderful showcase of the show's most notable idiosyncrasies, including lotsa explosions & destruction, near-misses, brief fist fights, and some spectacular property damage... with nary a fatality in sight. Kinda like 'The A-Team', only with slightly more believable storylines and characters. Throw in appearances by just about all the notable Joe & Cobra characters (three-fourths of whom either won't show up again for the rest of the movie or have brief non-speaking appearances), the usual dumb plot by Cobra Commander to 'send a message' to his foes (an attempt to blow up the Statue of Liberty) whilst going way overboard on the use of equipment and personnel to convey this message, and a good @$$-kickin' on the enemy by our heroes. Top it all off with a corny yet oddly catchy extended rendition of the G.I. Joe theme song that plays throughout this skirmish, and you've got the basic format of just about every 'Joe 'toon ever made. Weird thing is, I could watch just this scene alone several times in a row without tirin' of it... and I usually do. Sometimes without even bothering to watch the rest of the show... While I found G.I. Joe: The Movie's animation quite good (though not quite up to the level of the TransFormers flick), and the plot pretty decent for all its silly cartoon cheesiness (gaping plot holes, unbelievable escapes, blatant disregard for the laws of physics, etc), there were a few characters that hit the red zone of my annoy-o-meter. Take Sgt. Slaughter, for example: here he proved that, as loud and obnoxious as he was when he was doin' his pre-match interviews for the WWF, he's even LOUDER and MORE OBNOXIOUS whilst voicing his animated persona, known as... er, Sgt. Slaughter. Okay, so his role here wasn't much of a stretch-- big whoop. Fortunately, he gets a few finishing moves in on one of the Cobra-La bad@$$es near the end, which looked more realistic than the ones he had in his live-action repertoire. Another pesty denizen of this notable 'toon-flick is the b-ball-jerseyed Big Lob, whose play-by-play banter made me long for the gushings of the original March Madman Dick Vitale. Also included amongst this action epic is the unmasking of Cobra Commander after he gets hit with some mutated spores that gradually turn him into a (surprise!) snake. Sadly, I found this moment a bit of a letdown; in my opinion, they should'a kept the devious former Cobra leader's facial appearance a secret. I mean, ya never saw what Snake Eyes, Orko, or Dr. Claw looked like underneath their disguises, didja? Oh wait, they put out an action figure of Dr. Claw some time back that revealed his countenance (www.midnightsociety.com/web/Finds/Shopping/Drclaw/DrClaw.html), didn't they? Eh, strike that last one, then... But for all the silliness that goes on in the movie, the most amusing part of this DVD is the selection of those immortal public service announcements that popped up just before closing credits roll in each episode to help assuage parents' concerns about the show bein' not much more than a half-hour-long toy commercial (yeah, RIGHT...). Speakin' of commercials, this DVD also features a couple classic G.I. Joe toy ads from the 60s, both of which I found kinda neat despite their relatively primitive look. But, back to the PSAs: each one features one of the Joes layin' down such wisdom to the kiddies as keepin' away from downed power lines, not approaching stray dogs, and bein' sure to plan ahead, all in quick & easy to digest clips. The ending line that graces each one of these PSAs is the reason why your mid-twenty-something-to-early-thirty-something co-worker always replies, "And knowing is half the battle!" every time you say "I know", or some variation thereof. 'Course, bein' the inquisitive type I was, every time I heard this phrase I'd immediately start wonderin' what the OTHER half of the battle was. I'd also be wonderin' why the G.I. Joe tag line is "A real American hero" when the toys were made in China and the movie's animation was done in Japan. I guess I'm just a stickler for irony... 'Late
Rating: 
Summary: Hmmmm....
Review: GI Joe the Movie is kinda like Transformers the Movie was....you end up with mixed feelings about it. Luckily, unlike Transformers, GI Joe the Movie doesn't kill off main characters. Duke was originally killed, but they redubbed it to just have him badly hurt after the backlash from killing off Optimus Prime in the Transformers movie. I dislike the plot, as this was the period of time that saw GI Joe start to abandon the military style plotlines and pick up on some really weird stuff. Cobra-La is a total waste, and simply doesn't fit into the GI Joe series well at all. I also totally hate how Cobra Commander turns out to be some sort of mutant under that mask, as I always liked the idea that he was just another faceless terrorist that could have been anyone. I think GI Joe really screwed up here. A lot of new characters are introduced, though, and many classic ones are shown frequently. Just about every one created by this point appears somewhere in the film. Interesting note: GI Joe the Movie was originally slated for theatrical release, but never made it out. It was released straight to video in 1987 and shown on TV as a mini series. The quality of the picture and sound is excellent. As for the special features, for once, Rhino gets it right. 25 of the original Public Service Announcements that aired at the end of the daily cartoon series are included. Everyone remembers the "Now I know....and knowing is half the battle" line. These are super cheesy, and hilarious to watch in rapid fire succession like this. Worth the purchase just to see these, honestly. The special features also include movie trailers, though they are not for this movie, but rather for the mini-series that aired in 1984 and 1984 before the cartoon went into a regular daily series. Still neat to see, though. There are also toy commercials, but they are for the original toy from decades ago, and seem very, very out of place here. They needed to include commercials for the generation of GI Joe toys that appear in the rest of the DVD. Overall, the price is right for this one, and it's worth owning if you are a GI Joe fan. Yeah, you have to put up with Cobra-La and Serpentor, but that's a small price to pay.
Rating:
Summary: This is the GREATEST MOVIE EVER MADE
Review: This movie is without a doubt the best movie ever made. A perfect ending to the perfect cartoon series. It also introduced the awesome villains of Cobra-La, especially Golobulus ( played by Burgess Meredith). Also, this movie shows you the origin of Cobra Commander and what he really looks like behind that mask. Anyone who enjoys GOOD stories or G.I. Joe or even just 80's cartoons will love this
Rating:
Summary: Lights! Camera! Cobra!
Review: An enjoyable movie, with an interesting orgin of Cobra. Finally, we sort of get a glimpse of what Cobra Commander looked like under his hood. I felt sorry for the Commander when he was turned into a snake. I wished there were more extras, such as a short look behind the scenes. Got to love those PSAs! "And knowing is half the battle!" I find it highly amusing that Burgess Meredith (who voiced Golobulus), also starred in the 1945 live action movie called "The Story of G.I. Joe"! Is that an odd coincedence? I eagerly wait the release of the rest of the G.I. Joe series. The scene from "Arise, Serpenter, Arise", where Cobra Commander cheers on Sargent Slaughter during Slaughter's fight with Serpenter is downright hilliarious! "Come on, Slaughter, kick his fangs in!" The movie had some great animation, and the voice work was fantastic! Cobra! Yo Joe!
Rating:
Summary: Is my 80s-ness showing?
Review: Although I enjoyed the TransFormers toys much more than their fellow 80s Hasbro phenomenon G.I. Joe®-- 'cuz cars that can change into robots and back are way cooler than a buncha dumb ol' action figures any day of the week-- I found the Joe cartoon show just as entertaining, and not quite as hokey as the adventures of Optimus & Co. In fact, just the other day I had acquired one of those TransFormers Alternators thingies (read all about my misadventures with this new acquisition in the reviews section at www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000XO8DW/qid=1079586717/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-0457490-8406223?v=glance&s=toys), and I watched G.I. Joe The Movie whilst I attempted to convert my new plaything into robot mode... without referrin' to the instruction sheet (which is something we TransFans of the macho persuasion do, 'natch). I hadn't seen it in quite some time, although I still remembered a few moments back when I had first caught it on the local indie channel. Such moments as Tunnel Rat bustin' out of the side of some worm-creature that had just swallowed him moments earlier, and the new head heavy (Golobulus, voiced by a guy who starred in the REAL story of G.I. Joe several decades prior) gettin' stabbed in his big ol' eyeball (the actual act was depicted from a distance, so it wasn't too gory). Yeah, yeah, I know-- "why do you only remember the movie's more disgusting scenes?" you're askin' yourself. What, did'ja think I was gonna fondly recall the cohesive plot, the plausible story line, and the Oscar-worthy performances? Gimme a freakin' break! Anyhoo, I found myself geekin big-time to the opening credits sequence (sans credits) featuring the Joes defending the Statue of Liberty against a Cobra assault. If you've never seen the series this mo-pic was based on, this moment alone is a wonderful showcase of the show's most notable idiosyncrasies, including lotsa explosions & destruction, near-misses, brief fist fights, and some spectacular property damage... with nary a fatality in sight. Kinda like 'The A-Team', only with slightly more believable storylines and characters. Throw in appearances by just about all the notable Joe & Cobra characters (three-fourths of whom either won't show up again for the rest of the movie or have brief non-speaking appearances), the usual dumb plot by Cobra Commander to 'send a message' to his foes (an attempt to blow up the Statue of Liberty) whilst going way overboard on the use of equipment and personnel to convey this message, and a good @$$-kickin' on the enemy by our heroes. Top it all off with a corny yet oddly catchy extended rendition of the G.I. Joe theme song that plays throughout this skirmish, and you've got the basic format of just about every 'Joe 'toon ever made. Weird thing is, I could watch just this scene alone several times in a row without tirin' of it... and I usually do. Sometimes without even bothering to watch the rest of the show... While I found G.I. Joe: The Movie's animation quite good (though not quite up to the level of the TransFormers flick), and the plot pretty decent for all its silly cartoon cheesiness (gaping plot holes, unbelievable escapes, blatant disregard for the laws of physics, etc), there were a few characters that hit the red zone of my annoy-o-meter. Take Sgt. Slaughter, for example: here he proved that, as loud and obnoxious as he was when he was doin' his pre-match interviews for the WWF, he's even LOUDER and MORE OBNOXIOUS whilst voicing his animated persona, known as... er, Sgt. Slaughter. Okay, so his role here wasn't much of a stretch-- big whoop. Fortunately, he gets a few finishing moves in on one of the Cobra-La bad@$$es near the end, which looked more realistic than the ones he had in his live-action repertoire. Another pesty denizen of this notable 'toon-flick is the b-ball-jerseyed Big Lob, whose play-by-play banter made me long for the gushings of the original March Madman Dick Vitale. Also included amongst this action epic is the unmasking of Cobra Commander after he gets hit with some mutated spores that gradually turn him into a (surprise!) snake. Sadly, I found this moment a bit of a letdown; in my opinion, they should'a kept the devious former Cobra leader's facial appearance a secret. I mean, ya never saw what Snake Eyes, Orko, or Dr. Claw looked like underneath their disguises, didja? Oh wait, they put out an action figure of Dr. Claw some time back that revealed his countenance (www.midnightsociety.com/web/Finds/Shopping/Drclaw/DrClaw.html), didn't they? Eh, strike that last one, then... But for all the silliness that goes on in the movie, the most amusing part of this DVD is the selection of those immortal public service announcements that popped up just before closing credits roll in each episode to help assuage parents' concerns about the show bein' not much more than a half-hour-long toy commercial (yeah, RIGHT...). Speakin' of commercials, this DVD also features a couple classic G.I. Joe toy ads from the 60s, both of which I found kinda neat despite their relatively primitive look. But, back to the PSAs: each one features one of the Joes layin' down such wisdom to the kiddies as keepin' away from downed power lines, not approaching stray dogs, and bein' sure to plan ahead, all in quick & easy to digest clips. The ending line that graces each one of these PSAs is the reason why your mid-twenty-something-to-early-thirty-something co-worker always replies, "And knowing is half the battle!" every time you say "I know", or some variation thereof. 'Course, bein' the inquisitive type I was, every time I heard this phrase I'd immediately start wonderin' what the OTHER half of the battle was. I'd also be wonderin' why the G.I. Joe tag line is "A real American hero" when the toys were made in China and the movie's animation was done in Japan. I guess I'm just a stickler for irony... 'Late
Rating:
Summary: The most memorable animated movie ever
Review: How can anyone have ANYTHING bad to say about this movie? From the time it was first aired to this very day I have yet to find an equal to Cobrala. (What I would give to have back my action figures from the movie... RE-Release them...PLEASE!!)
I'm a writer, and this movie still weaves its way into my imagination almost every time I sit down to write. No Joe fan has ANY excuse to miss it!
Rating:
Summary: classic cartoon history
Review: one of the best cartoon movies of the 80's. this one ranks only behind Transformers The Movie for TV show tie ins. What makes me sad is that this is the last of the original Sunbow animation.
Rating:
Summary: Surrealistic Militaristic
Review: This movie unleased the true origin of Cobra Commander and the race of underground reptile people (whom some conspiratorial circles believe exist). Awesome power struggles between the Frankensteinian Serpentor and and our favourite Chrome-Dome. I remembering not liking this as much as the earlier cartoons because of its unabashed escapism, now I like it even more for that very same reason. Jerry Bruckheimer, you KNOW you want to make a live action sequel to this movie starring Mila Jovavich as the Baroness, Tiny "Zeus" Lister as Destro, Ben Affleck as Duke, Cobra Commander as a no-name voiced by the guy who voiced Gollum/Smeagol, John Malkovich as Dr. Mindbender, and Benicio Del Toro as Serpentor. Oh yes, I see this in my crystal ball, so it shall be...
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