GI Joe: The Movie

A Warning: THIS IS NOT A REVIEW FOR THE RISE OF COBRA.
Ah, GI Joe. I grew up as a child in the eighties, so GI Joe was a big part of my life. I watched the cartoon, read the comics and collected the action figures. I loved the good guys and the bad guys alike. So when I heard this movie existed, I was shocked, since I had never heard of it. So I found a used copy on eBay and snatched it up, and was amazed at what I saw.
The movie is basically the same as the Transformers movie that came out in the eighties, basically an excuse to show off new characters to make action figures out of. The drama centers around Lt. Falcon (played by Don Johnson, yes THAT Don Johnson), step-brother of Duke, who is a rookie in the Joe ranks along with five other members. Cobra, and it’s leader Serpentor, have aligned themselves with Golobulus and the evil supernatural forces of Cobra-La, in one mayor global attempt at taking over the world by turning every human being (except themselves) into man-beasts. First I have to say, this movie has the most epic opening sequence I have ever seen in a cartoon film. It starts with the statue of liberty and the city of NY being attacked by Cobra, until the whole place is swarming with Joe’s, in what looks like World War 3. It’s an incredible sequence! Sadly the rest of the movie is nowhere near as good as this moment, but I have to say this movie is very well done, script-wise and animation-wise. It’s not as good as the Transformers animated movie, but then few things are.
I was very impressed with the talent they got involved for the voices. Not only is Mr. Miami Vice playing a lead, but there’s also Oscar-winner Burgess Meredith, Mickey from the Rocky movies, voicing the lead bad guy, giving it some unexpected real menace to the role. But I have to say, this movie was liked more for nostalgia than for anything else. I liked seeing Cobra Commander whining and screaming as usual, but most of my favorite characters, such as Scarlett, Snake Eyes, and The Baroness do nothing more but have glorified cameos. In the end, it’s a fun film and very entertaining, but more because of nostalgia than for anything else.