G.I. Joe Renegades: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

G.I. Joe Renegades: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Yo Joe! for the 21st century.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 22, 2012

Cobra industries is a front for arms dealing, immoral science, and extortion.

This isn't the G.I. Joe children of the 1980s grew up watching, playing, and loving. This new but not necessarily improved version is a classic case of "in name only," really. There's Cobra and "average Joes" and Duke and Scarlett and Baroness and Mindbender and Flint and Snake Eyes and pretty much the entire core crew, re-imagined and recreated from the ground up, with new looks and new animated styles that might not bother newcomers and young Hub viewers but that might infuriate, or at least turn off, older audiences who favor nostalgia over new. And that's fine. It's not a show for everybody, and reactions will vary, but as it is the series is fairly well constructed but certainly distant from its classic roots. The animation's drastically more modern and in many ways more unrefined for one, and two, Cobra is no longer just "a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world" but rather a mega-coropration with a dark secret to hide. Who would trust a defense/pharmaceutical/communication/food conglomerate called "Cobra" anyway? "Cobra" makes good communications gear in the real world, but chances are most people wouldn't want drugs or food with a poisonous connotation attached to them. Such is the price of progress, though, in an age where the in-thing is definitely making villains out of the corporate types and not painting with such a broad Cold War-era brush. If nothing else, it's a natural progression for the franchise as it lives and breathes in the modern world. Yet the biggest hurdle G.I. Joe Renegades must overcome comes down to basic acceptance from retro-happy audiences who would rather the creators leave well enough alone or at least do more than merely carry over character names and integrate a few tip-of-the-hat inclusions from the old series into the new.

Heroes.

Cobra Industries is a massive umbrella corporation. Under its auspices are communications, defense, and medicinal industries. And it even operate a chain of bakeries. It go out of its way to positively spin all the good it does for the world, but underneath the fluffy public service messages is a diabolical industry bent on producing the next terrible weapon: bio-vipers. A newly-formed team of Duke (voiced by Jason Marsden), Scarlett (voiced by Natalia Cigliuti), Roadblock (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson), Tunnel Rat (voiced by Matthew Yang King), and Ripcord (voiced Khary Payton) are sent to investigate Cobra Pharmaceuticals, situated in Springfield, Illinois. The op is merely a show for the press, however. They are going in unarmed in response to a "terrorist threat" that turns out to be a horde of armed Cobra guards not taking too kindly to the team's arrival. The Joes fight their way into a secret laboratory where Dr. Mindbender (voiced by Charlie Schlatter) is working on the bio-vipers. He unleashes them on the team that, in response, has no choice but to destroy the facility. Unfortunately, they are now wanted for murder. The Joes are the subject of a nationwide manhunt, led by Flint (voiced by Johnny Messner). Now, the team of highly-skilled renegade heroes must travel the world to clear its name and expose Cobra for what it really is.

The G.I. Joe: Renegades dynamic seems rather stale. The story of rogue heroes portrayed as villains and forced to clear their good names seems tired at best, and it's a product of a total franchise overhaul that portrays Cobra as, superficially, something of a family friendly, community oriented, mass media, household name sort of conglomerate that's out to do good for the world, effectively painting them as good guys rather than bad guys and the heroes as the terrorists rather than the folks trying to save the day. Of course, that's all a front and a frame for the story, but the entire Goody Two-Shoes thing, the whole "Cobra as an organization with little Johnny and Suzy's best interests at heart" is a little hard to swallow, even if it is just an exercise in mass deception. The series admirably aims to paint its story with shades of gray rather than the definitive black and white good versus evil that defined the classic 1980s series and toy line, but then again that was always the core of G.I. Joe, that and the distinct character design that made them all unique and worth knowing and collecting. Indeed, Renegades loses some of the distinct charm of the original, crafting all of its characters to look more similar than diverse, retaining trademark elements to be sure -- Scarlet's red hair, Snake Eyes' black outfit -- but giving most of the characters indistinct wardrobes and all sharp, angular animations that give them all the same basic appearance, even if they do vary in size, from the tiny Tunnel Rat to the hulking Roadblock. Chances are fans of the classic characters wouldn't even recognize many of these faces without the name or at least context clues to help. Again, the massive redesign is not necessarily a bad thing, and the series definitely seems to be catering to new audiences rather than established, hardcore 80s fans. At the end of the day, however, there's a good chance that Renegades will alienate classic viewers with all the differences rather than welcome them into the fold as might have been the case had the series chosen to toe the line between classic and modern rather than fall pretty squarely onto the side of the latter.

Not only do the characters look a bit funky with all the angular lines and general absence of unique clothing, but their personalities leave a bit to be desired as well. The series aims for hip and cool rather than in-depth character exploration. That's not to say the latter doesn't exist, but the series opens with the team coming across as bunch of immature dunces rather than a hardened fighting force. Renegades certainly fills in backstories and makes use of character flaws and traits and the team's sense of togetherness and individualism all in shaping the show, but there's a comedic underlay that's more groan-inducing than it is story-shaping. What the series does do very well is slowly introduce characters into the mix rather than piling them all on at once. The core appears early, but as time goes on everybody from the Dreadnoks to Tomax and Xamot, from Wild Bill to Shipwreck, from Battle Android Troopers to Serpentor all make their debuts in various episodes, giving the series a freshness and anticipation with each new outing to see who will enter into the fray next (even if they all don't, again, really resemble their "original" counterparts). This helps offset a somewhat stale overreaching plot line and energize the series when the core story alone cannot carry it. The action is steady and exciting, generally, though occasionally repetitive. Renegades offers a nice mixture of locations and situations in which the action takes place, but ultimately there's a staleness to much of it that, too, and to be fair, that's a problem that plagued the original series, too. One can only watch characters firing lasers at one another for so long.

G.I. Joe Renegades: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

G.I. Joe Renegades: The Complete First Season sparkles on Blu-ray. Shout! Factory's 1080p, 1.78:1-framed high definition transfer impresses in nearly every frame. Lines are crisp and true, with only trace amounts of jaggies evident on a few scattered surfaces. Detail is exemplary, at least insofar as the animation allows. This Blu-ray transfer picks up every little texture on various surfaces with ease. While character details are rather flat and straightforward with precious little nuance by design, the overall crispness and stability with which they are displayed -- and of the entire image -- is truly commendable. Colors are brilliant, appearing even and accurate in all scenes and under any lighting conditions. Blacks are solid throughout. There's some scattered banding evident in places, but that's really the only major mar on what is altogether a rock-solid image from Shout! Factory.

G.I. Joe Renegades: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

G.I. Joe Renegades: The Complete First Season makes its Blu-ray debut with a dazzling DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Shout! Factory's audio presentation proves its worth from the opening seconds and never relents. The track produces a wide, natural soundstage. Music is energized and well spaced, complete with full but honest surround support and superb clarity. Action effects, likewise, effortlessly place the listening audience in the midst of the explosions and gun blasts. Shots erupt from all over the stage in several pitch battle scenes, and no matter how aggressive or loud, clarity never gives way to undefined force. Bass is always tight and deep, a positive supporting element that adds some much-needed heft and excitement to the track. Dialogue is smooth and center-focused, never lost under the active supporting elements. Of note is a "DTS Bomb" occurred at the 1:27:21 mark of disc one. An English LPCM 2.0 track is also included. No subtitles are available.

G.I. Joe Renegades: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

G.I. Joe Renegades: The Complete First Season contains several audio commentaries scattered throughout the season and two featurettes on disc three.

Disc One:

• Audio Commentaries: "The Descent, Part 1:" Executive Producer/Developer Jeff Kline, Writer/Story Editor Henry Gilroy, VP of Development for Hasbro Studios Mike Vogel, and Consulting Producer Therese Trujillo. "The Descent, Part 2:" Executive Producer/Developer Jeff Kline, Story Editor Marty Isenberg, VP of Programing and Development for The Hub Ted Biaselli, and Supervising Director Randy Myers. "Return of the Arashikage, Part 1:" Writer Greg Johnson, Supervising Director Randy Myers, Composer Starr Parodi, and Composer Jeff Fair. "Return of the Arashikage, Part 2:" Director Kevin Altieri, Storyboard Artist Patrick Archibald, Location Designer Kenny McGill, and Production Coordinator Tim Wolkiewicz. "Busted:" Director Scooter Tidwell, Storyboard Artist Armen Mirzaian, Production Coordinator Jerry Regan, and Prop Designer April Erkisson.

Disc Two:

• Audio Commentaries: "Castle Destro:" Director Nathan Chew, Character Design Supervisor Steve Jones, Animatic Editor David Fain, and Story Editor Henry Gilroy. "Union of the Snake:" Director Scott Bern, Storyboard Artist Will Ruzicka, Background Designer Edgar Carlos, and Character Design Supervisor Steve Jones.

Disc Three:

• Audio Commentary: "Revelations, Part 2:" Story Editor Marty Isenberg, Voice Director Ginny McSwain, and Voice Actors Charlie Schlatter and Actor Natalia Cigliuti.
• Original Featurette (1080p, 11:02): An extended preview for the series, looking back at the history of the franchise and moving on to examine the new series in some depth, including its roots as an origins story, the overreaching plot, character traits, the weapons and technologies seen in the series, Renegades' artistic style, and more.
• A Tribute to Clément Sauvé (1080p, 4:01): The late G.I. Joe: Renegades animator discusses his characters and cast and crew discuss his contributions, life, and style.

G.I. Joe Renegades: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Renegades will probably dazzle its target audience but divide core G.I. Joe fans between those welcoming of a new look and feel and those hanging onto nostalgia. It's alright to love it or hate it, to decry the new animation style or praise the revamped characters, to revile the new shape of Cobra or applaud the slowly-expanding character roster. Renegades offers satisfactory animated entertainment, but try as it might, it cannot capture that charm and appeal of the original, but maybe that's just nostalgia talking. If nothing else, longtime brand fans should at least check out what Hasbro and The Hub have done in updating this series and decide from there. Chances are one look at the artwork or one viewing of a trailer or one sit-in on an episode will tell the entire story for most seasoned G.I. Joe fanatics. Shout! Factory's Blu-ray release of G.I. Joe Renegades: The Complete First Season offers stellar video and audio as well as a nice collection of extras, chiefly in the form of audio commentaries. Fans should definitely buy, but newcomers -- particularly children of the 1980s -- should rent first.