7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A 40,000-year-old race of snake people resurface, and with help of Serpentor, Destro, Baroness and Dr. Mindbender, they plan to eliminate all of mankind and rebuild COBRA-LA. Once rulers of Earth, the Snake people were driven underground by ice-age temperatures. While in exile, they developed a plant whose spores turn ordinary men into mindless, weak animals. The key to their plan is the G.I. JOE team�s secret project � the Broadcast Energy Transmitter. Only this device generates enough heat so that the spores can mature. Humankind's very existence depends on the G.I. JOE team, but are they strong and smart enough to fight a warrior race with 40,000 years of experience?
Starring: Michael Bell (I), Don Johnson, Burgess Meredith, Jennifer Darling, Dick GautierAction | 100% |
Animation | 91% |
Sci-Fi | 83% |
Adventure | 28% |
Family | 8% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (192 kbps)
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Fighting for freedom wherever there's trouble over land and sea and air.
Maybe it's being a product of the 1980s and someone who's admittedly biased towards the toys of
the decade, but walking down the toy aisles at Target or Wal*Mart in 2010 just doesn't get the
juices flowing. Gone are the cool days of real Transformers and G.I. Joe figures, replaced by a
bunch of movie tie-ins and random odds and ends that just don't get the blood pumping or shout
"buy me!" Remember back when Children's Palace was the place to drool over that humongous
G.I. Joe
aircraft carrier or space shuttle? Remember when it was a rush to find a new wave of figures and
vehicles, or to stumble on that elusive Snake Eyes figure? How about building a mix-n-match
figure, taking the screw out of two figure's backs and assembling a couple of franken-joes from the
pieces? OK, enough nostalgia, but for those people who were nine-year-old kids in 1987 but
are
now out in the
workforce and lamenting the loss of their entire Joe collection at a garage sale, Hasbro has recently
re-released a bunch of the classic 3.75" figures, targeted, it would seem, to people that played with
the
same toys 20
years ago. Not to miss out on the nostalgia, Shout! Factory has released the classic 1987 cartoon
feature film G.I. Joe to a hungry 30-something populace. Boasting a 1080p transfer and
some classic supplements, anyone and everyone with an affinity for the G.I. Joe of the 1980s, and
especially those with an aversion towards the re-imaged live action movie, need plop
down the bucks for this trip down memory lane.
Snakes on a Duke.
Yo Joe! G.I. Joe makes its Blu-ray debut with a good-looking 1080p transfer presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. There are some rough elements here to be sure; pops, speckles, and random vertical lines often appear over the image, alongside some obviously wobbling elements and stuttering animation. Nevertheless, none prove a major distraction, and fans will appreciate the quality of Shout! Factory's transfer, particularly when viewed on larger displays. The transfer sports stable detailing; lines are mostly sharp and smooth, and the increased resolution brings out the smallest nuances of the animation, noticeable on vehicles, uniforms, weapons, and some of the slimier and more grotesque Cobra-La creatures and locales seen throughout the movie. Colors, too, impress; G.I. Joe never wants for a more diverse palette, and everything from Serpentor's yellow-and-mustard costume to Cobra Commander's blue uniform appears stable and true to the proper hue. Compared to the included DVD, the Blu-ray proves a very healthy upgrade; colors are far more stable and vibrant, ringing is greatly reduced, and details and lines sharper. G.I. Joe might not be a showcase for pristinely-realized animation on Blu-ray, but fans of vintage 1980s cartoons and, certainly, fans of the film will appreciate Shout! Factory's Blu-ray presentation.
Shout! Factory brings G.I. Joe to Blu-ray with a midlevel PCM 2.0 soundtrack. Despite the absence of a 5.1 presentation, this one's suitably rich and somewhat full sounding. The track's best moment comes at the beginning of the film as the classic G.I. Joe theme blares through the front speakers, sounding better than ever and enjoying fine clarity and a good sense of spacing across the front half of the soundstage, all elements -- music, dialogue, and sound effects -- included. However, many of these same elements later in the film don't fare quite as well. The track falls flat in places; music in particular lacks dynamism, while sound effects such as laser blasts and explosions fall somewhere between satisfactorily punchy to downright dull, with the latter, not the former, the norm. Nevertheless, they do manage to traverse over to the front right and left speakers with regularity. One downside to the track is a fairly constant hissing and an occasionally distracting crackle and pop. Fortunately, dialogue is consistently discernible and never lacking in volume or disappearing behind effects or music. The absence of a 5.1 presentation and more aggressive sound effects is a disappointment, but otherwise, this track gets the job done without any mood- or movie-killing elements.
This Blu-ray release of G.I. Joe delivers several worthwhile extras, beginning with an audio commentary track with Story Consultant Buzz Dixon. Dixon calls it like he sees it; he's obviously not pleased with parts of the movie, but he delivers an engaging and insightful track, speaking on the quality of the voice actors, ideas for the film, clichés that found their way into the script, the integration of vehicles and characters from the product line, Hasbro's cooperation with the filmmakers, how the world of G.I. Joe weapons and vehicles don't mesh with how real military equipment would operate, differing tactics between real life and the fictional world of G.I. Joe, the introduction of new characters in the film and their toy counterparts, and plenty more. Longtime G.I. Joe fans will love this track. The Blu-ray disc also includes a collection of eight retro "Knowing is Half the Battle" Public Service Announcements (480p, 0:30 each) and an art gallery (1080p, 1:02). Finally, trailers for other Shout! Factory titles -- G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, The Transformers, Oban Star-Racers, and The Middleman are included. Disc two features a DVD copy of the film (16x9 & P&S versions, DD 2.0) alongside all of the extras from the Blu-ray (sans the Shout! Factory trailers) plus a copy of the script, accessible through DVD-ROM computer drives.
G.I. Joe represents pure nostalgia. The movie isn't a classic by any means, and it's little more than a historically insignificant marketing campaign-turned 93 minute movie. Still, it does its thing very well, intermixing plenty of characters, locations, and story arcs into the plot and finding a way for it all to make sense and tie together by film's end. It's nicely animated for a 1980s cartoon and delivers plenty of military-style action that's sure to appeal to 30-somethings longing to relive their childhood memories. Thanks to Shout! Factory, those inkling for a blast from the past can relive their childhoods thanks to this competent Blu-ray release. Although not perfect in any area -- the transfer has some blemishes, the soundtrack could use some added juice, and the supplements are a bit on the thin side -- G.I. Joe is a disc that fans and children of the 1980s will definitely want to add to their collections. Recommended.
30th Anniversary Edition
1986
Limited Edition | Includes 96-page prequel graphic novel
2011
Warner Archive Collection
2011-2012
2013
2015
2009
2012
2007
2017-2018
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #3
2008
2010
1994-1995
2009
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #11
2011
2008
2012
2012
2012
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #8
2010