Blu-ray Review: G.I. Joe:The Movie |

G.I.Joe was a very large part of my childhood. I collected the action figures, read the comics(G.I.Joe #57 from Marvel was my first ever comic book purchase), and at 4pm Monday through Friday I was glued to the couch watching the cartoon. I loved it, couldn’t get enough of it. So when I received a copy of G.I. Joe The Movie on Blue-ray from Shout! Factory I was pretty excited about it. My DVD copy had been lost some time ago, purchasing another copy was on my things to do list, but like most of the items on my to do list, there was no sense of urgency. Now I can strike that one item off of my list! I love accomplishment!

Cobra Commander wants total control of Cobra, meaning Serpentor must go. Allowing G.I. Joe to capture Serpentor, Cobra Commander leads his forces to the Himalayan Mountains looking for sanctuary from his old home Cobra-La. Unfortunately for the good commander, the leaders of Cobra-La find him in contempt, viewing Serpentor as the true leader of Cobra. The forces of Cobra-La rescue Serpentor from the Joe forces. A trial is held for Cobra Commander in which he is deemed guilty for numerous failures while leading Cobra. His punishment, to be subjected to the spores that Cobra-La plans on unleashing on humanity. Eventually, these spores reduce Cobra Commander to nothing more than a snake.

Lt. Falcon, a new Joe, is looking to become a member of G.I.Joe. Unfortunately for him, he is considered reckless and displays bouts of insubordination. Did I mention that he is also the half brother of Duke, who he happens to clash with on a regular basis. After majorly screwing up and allowing Serpentor to escape, Lt. Falcon is given one more chance to shape up or ship out. Enter the Slaughterhouse, a place where Lt. Falcon is sent to train with, you guessed it, Sgt. Slaughter. Eventually a battle ensues in which Duke is critically injured trying to save Lt. Falcon. This opens the eyes of Lt. Falcon who goes on to redeem himself in the final confrontation with the force of Cobra-La and becomes a hero.

Of course, there is a lot more going on in the film that what I mentioned but the two paragraphs above represent the two major plots that are playing out in the film.

The film was sort of a landmark in the GI Joe storyline. The origins of Cobra were finally revealed. There were plenty of old school Joes showing up in the film as well as a host of new characters making their debut, such as Lt. Falcon, the Renegades, Jinx, Nemesis Enforcer, and many more. The film was a lot of fun. Mixing over the top action with melodrama and plenty of heroics. The film plays on the strengths of the G.I.Joe mythos and doesn’t stop there with it’s over the top antics. With that said, my only complaint about the entire film is how Cobra Commander was handled. That was something I was really disappointed with. The character was an iconic figure within the series, yes he was displayed as an egotistical maniac but he had a purpose, misguided as it may have been, but to destroy the character by turning him into a snake was less than ideal. There were many other avenues the writers could have taken to end this character in a more noble sense.

So what does this film look like in hi-def? Despite a few bits of graininess in a few scenes, and I do mean very few, the over all look and quality is wonderful. An excellent job was done in preserving the vividness and color of this movie.

Twenty four years after it’s initial release, G.I. Joe: The Movie is still a very entertaining film and now that it’s in hi-def it’s even better!

Here’s what your going to get with the 2-disc Blu-ray set.

Disc 1 Blu-ray

-Feature Film

- Audio Commentary With G.I. Joe Writer/Story Consultant Buzz Dixon

- Public Service Announcements

* Art Gallery

Disc 2 DVD

- Feature Film

- Blu-ray Bonus Features

* DVD Exclusive: Printable Screenplay

G.I.Joe: The Movie on Blu-ray will be available for purchase on July 27, 2010.

Here is a clip from the films opening credits.(Non HD)