Search - G.I. Joe: The Movie on DVD

Not perfect, but not worthy of the criticism it gets, either

Garrett Aja | North Las Vegas, NV | 06/26/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Bashing G.I. Joe: The Movie has become something of a cottage industry for fans of the toys-so much so that Devil's Due (publishers of the current comic book series) is contemplating it's own "tribute" to the notorious finale of the Sunbow run of G.I. Joe. The question before buying the DVD is whether or not you think it's terrible or a classic.Simply put, the film is neither. The plot, which in keeping with the fantastic nature of the series (wherein the Joes have met the ancient Egyptian gods and allied themselves with ghosts, to name just two episodes) reveals that Cobra Commander is a member of an ancient race of snake-people known as Cobra-La. Problem is, Golobulus (ruler of Cobra-La) has become fed up with Cobra's repeated losses to the Joes, and has now decided to take a more active role in Cobra's quest to rule the world.Cobra Commander's real identity is the main problem people have with the movie, even if it fits in with what little we know about the Commander (except for his interview with Hector Ramirez in the episode "Twenty Questions", but should we really expect the Commander to tell the truth?). His de-evolution into a snake upsets people even further, even if Sunbow's intention all the time was to bring him back in the series third season (which was never produced).But that isn't the real flaw of this movie. The flaw is that, at Hasbro's behest, most of the existing characters (even those that had been introduced during the second season) are ignored in favor of the Rawhides, Renegades, and Cobra-La. Of the original cast, only Duke (who was originally intended to die) and Cobra Commander get significant screen time, and the other existing characters with major screen time (Hawk, Beachhead, Sgt. Slaughter, Roadblock, and Serpentor) were mostly newer characters. Like Transformers: The Movie, Hasbro decided to overexert their influence over Sunbow, at the expense of the story.This DVD edition includes all of the "....And Knowing is Half the Battle" PSAs produced for the 1985-86 season (the first season); two ads for the original "A Real American Hero" miniseries (known popularly as The MASS Device), which are quite odd without the station IDs that each station syndicating the miniseries added at the end; and an ancient ad for the 12" G.I. Joe dolls; the last feature meaning absolutely nothing to about 95% of the people who watched the cartoon in the 1980s.If you want realism in G.I. Joe, don't buy this movie. In fact, don't even bother with the cartoon-just go and buy Larry Hama's comic (which has a completely different storyline than the cartoon). For everyone else, be prepared to enjoy a decent movie, but remember that the story wasn't finished with G.I. Joe: The Movie-it just never got produced by Sunbow Productions."

A CLIMACTIC END OF AN ERA FOR GI JOE...

Knyte | New York, NY | 07/02/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"G.I. Joe and the Transformers were of course, rival shows in a way. They were both by Hasbro, and they both appealed to the same audience. "Joe" was a bit more conventional in my opinion. G.I. Joe was the ultimate 'Cold War' cartoon, with the U.S. being the "Joes" and Cobra representing whatever stood in opposition to the U.S. - and in the 80s, that was the U.S.S.R. Although my heart lay (and still lies) with the Transformers, I consider this movie to be a priceless gem. This was the last segment of G.I. Joe worthy of watching. In the early 90s, the franchise was thoroughly ruined when they introduced "G.I. Joe Extreme". Perhaps the same thing is happening with the Transformers (Beast Wars) - not really a fan at all. In "G.I. Joe: The Movie" things get serious, and the action/plot is more intense than it ever was in the regular series. The animation is noticeably better (because they brought in Japanese animators to do the 'anime' thing) and the plot is way more mysterious thanks to the introduction of Cobra's creators, the Cobra-La. The Cobra-La (an underground race) are led a floating nemesis named Golobulus (played by Burgess Meredith). They come back, banish Cobra Commander for losing so many battles to G.I. Joe (poor guy - his position had already been severely compromised by Emperor Serpentor's presence). There is some GREAT drama here. (You'll love this...it teaches a good lesson to the kids - it just doesn't pay to be a bad guy...)On the "Joe" side, Duke takes a backseat to his crazy younger brother, Falcon (played by Don Johnson). With the exception of a few memorable original characters, we focus more on the new "Joes" in this movie - just like we focused on Hot Rod and the new Transformers in the 1986 theatrical release. That's okay though, because Falcon is very likeable. The BEST SCENE is near the end when Duke and Serpentor square off. The results are a bit shocking, and once again, you're reminded - this ain't the regular cartoon...THIS IS THE MOVIE, which means things get more serious. (Weren't you shocked when Prime died in Transformers the Movie? )Well, things do get more serious - some folks even tell me that certain characters weren't supposed to make it to the end of the movie. (Why don't we see a certain favorite "Joe" onscreen when the characters insist that he's recovering...c'mom it was censored for American audiences - that certain character DID NOT make it.)The opening sequence (Statue Of Liberty Battle) is incredible. Suggestion: See some of the original "Joe" videos (they're selling them here - or rent them at your local video store) before watching this movie. Then you'll understand just how important characters like Duke, Roadblock and Cobra Commander are. You'll need to understand just how 'old school' they are by the time this movie came out - then you realize the significance of the plot twists.Thanks for reading this - I loved this movie. Transformers the Movie it is not, however, if G.I. Joe had ended with this movie (which I consider it did), it went out with a bang. Yo Joe! Knyte."