G.I. Joe: The Movie (DVD, 2000)

The final battle between G.I. Joe and COBRA comes to a head when the Joes find themselves up against an even more formidable force from a kingdom called 'Cobra-La.' In a desperate attempt to save the Earth from certain doom, the Joes must find and re-claim the BET (broadcast Energy Transmitter) after it is captured by COBRA. IT all comes down to wits, guts and all-out muscle to win this battle for the sake of humanity.

I loved this movie. This movie very much stayed true to the old 80's G.I. Joe animated series. I definitely liked the fact that Sgt. Slaughter of the WCW played a defining part in the movie as himself. And the best surprise yet, was Golobulous who is played by actor and co-star, Burgess Meredith.

I liked Burgess Meredith because of the fact that he played Ammon in the old 80's movie, Clash of the Titans. I thought he was perfect for the role of Golobulous.

Overall, the plot was very good, the music was even better. The fact that several Hollywood stars put their voice-overs in this movie was an even sweeter treat. Don Johnson plays the arrogant and somewhat mis-guided, Lt. Falcon.

It must be said that "GI Joe: The Movie" was nothing less a serious disappointment for GI Joe fans in the 80's. I can only recommend this movie if you are a Joe fan and are determined to see the entire GI Joe saga.

A bit of history: "GI Joe: A Real American Hero" was the 80's cartoon series commissioned by Hasbro to sell the GI Joe toy line. The first season was perhaps 50-some episodes detailing how GI Joe thwarted the schemes of Cobra, "an evil terrorist organization determined to rule the world." Cobra was led by the villainous Cobra Commander, sort of a cross between Dr. Evil and Yosemite Sam. The second season was only 25-some episodes, and began when the Cobra leaders deposed Cobra Commander with Serpentor, a genetically-bred leader who proved to be even more inept than his predecessor. Good or bad, every episode was packed with action, vivid characters, and a lot of cool hardware. Generally the episodes were really quite good! We kids of the 80's loved it.

Rather than produce a third season, Hasbro elected to make "GI Joe: The Movie." Clearly there was also a decision to take the GI Joe story in a very different direction. The movie opens with the discovery of Cobra-La, an ancient civilization hidden away in the Himalayas. Cobra-La's technology is all organically-based, meaning they use giant insects instead of airplanes and weird plants instead of buildings. Very bizarre.

We discover that Cobra Commander was actually born as a member of this civilization and was sent out into the world to raise an army (Cobra) and seek revenge on all of humanity on behalf of Cobra-La. Why the ruler of Cobra-La is so irate at the rest of the world is never really explained, but never mind.

With this one plot development, GI Joe went from being an action-adventure show with science-fiction elements to becoming, well, just wacky and completely indigestible. GI Joe fans were asked to swallow a string of ridiculous plot points including (a) Cobra-La's scheme to mutate all of humanity into animals, (b) the GI Joe team launching into battle against giant bugs and worms, (c) the entire veteran GI Joe team tied up by intelligent vines, (d) Sgt. Slaughter and five others singlehandedly blowing up Cobra's headquarters without the benefit of weapons, (e) and a lot worse.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment in the film was the elimination of one of the series' most popular characters. I won't say who if you are still interested in seeing the flick for yourself. But be warned: if you're a fan of series' characters, watch this movie at your own risk.

So you might be asking yourself: if I saw this movie back in the 80s and hated it then, why did I buy a copy on eBay? The movie does have one redeeming feature - the opening sequence depicts a Cobra attack on the Statue of Liberty. GI Joe shows up in the nick of time and an AMAZING battle sequence follows while an expanded version of the GI Joe theme song plays on the soundtrack. The animation, action, and music of the movie's first five minutes are all top-notch, great, great stuff.

I recently purchased this film, a classic from the 1980s. Suffice to say, if you are interested in this movie, you likely have already seen it and I won’t waste space reviewing the actual film. This single-disc package has excellent 5.1 sound and DVD video quality that is far better than the old VHS versions. However, the bonus features leave much to be desired. While the DVD included twenty-five of the original public service announcements, not all of the announcements they made are on the disc (for example, Lifeline's eat healthy one is not here). The DVD also included two film trailers and, oddly, two of the toy commercials from the 1960s (not the 3 ¾” line of the 80s that inspired the film). On the other hand, the film is out of print and this is, to my knowledge, the only way to purchase a true, authorized DVD copy. In sum, the film and sound quality are excellent, however other DVDs of a similar genre (the 20th anniversary Transformers: The Movie for example) boast far more extras. Still, despite the fact that it is out of print, it is a bargain on eBay.

G.I. Joe is a cartoon originally made to help market Hasbro's action figure toyline. However, this movie presents a few odd facts: the Movie is actually the END OF THE SERIES, the bad guys vehicles were never made into toys and the only interesting new characters featured (Big Lob and Pythona) were never made either! It takes the origin of the bad guy organization (Cobra) and gives it an unnecessary sci-fi background. Even die-hard fans didn't like it, but it does have some saving graces. The intro set to the G.I. Joe theme is the best I've ever seen (it's a complete mini-story with fantastic animation). You could literally watch this alone and skip the the rest of the disk! The 2000 version of the DVD has some great special features including 25 Public Service Announcements where the "Knowing is Half the Battle" phrase comes from.
Pros: Great theme and extras.
Cons: not movie-quality
Overall: I think this should be watched by viewers already familiar with '80's G.I. Joe. Its still worth it if you can find it cheap.

G.I. Joe The Movie was a great movie for the G.I. Joe collector of the 80's and beyond.

This story introduced the new charaters/figures from 1987. New to the team are Sgt. Slaughters Renegades, Falcon, Jinx, Law & Order and the rest of the new recruits, in addition the introduction of Cobra La and the explanation of their link to Cobra.

Some big names did voice work in this movie like Don Johnson and Burgess Meredith.

This movie never made it to the big screen because of the poor reception for the Transformers movie in 1986. The G.I. Joe movie was cut into 5 parts and broadcast on television.

This movie is just fun to watch.

A must have for G.I. Joe fans or 80's animation fans.