G.I. Joe Blu-ray Review

Go back a couple of decades and you will instantly realize that G.I Joe was the thing to have. Anything G.I Joe for that matter. It did matter whether it was a comic book, an action figure, etc. it was simply a boys’ thing. Everyone used to sit in front of the TV to watch how the Joes would save the day, just thinking about it brings back memories. When G.I. Joe was announced and initial screenshots of each character appeared online there was a sign of something good was about to happen, but was that really the outcome with the finished product? Let’s check down below!

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Oh man, oh man! What’s the name of this movie again? Super Future Action Fighters? It’s hard to believe growing up in the 80’s that this film is based off of my second favorite action figures (and cartons) of all time next to the TMNT, the all American heroes G.I. Joe. G.I. Joe first started as a comic book and made its way as the first action figure around 1964. Their toys changed boyhoods for many and eventually got a cartoon that was a hit! None the less, it’s a non-stop action flick with futuristic weaponry that will amaze you based on the film-making alone. Throw in the nostalgic G.I. Joe characters (Even if their stories are fabricated and sometimes cheesy) and you got yourself a romping good time.

When military partners Duke (Channing Tatum) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) get involved in the super covert ultra team G.I. Joe thanks to botching up supervising the delivery of nano-mite war-heads on behalf of the US Army, they join the team to try and track the war-heads down before they’re unleashed on the world. To make things even more difficult for Duke, his ex-girlfriend, Anastasia “Ana” DeCobray (Sienna Miller), also the “Baroness,” is part of the team responsible for stealing the nano-mite war-heads, and he is torn between trying to figure out what happened to her and also doing the right thing not just for his country, but for the whole world.

Yet Duke and Ana aren’t the only ones with a past. Opposing ninja warriors Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee) go back to when they were children and trained under the same sensei. It wasn’t until a tragic event in their youth drove the two apart, only to meet now, years later, and settle their conflict once and for all.

With only the safety of the world resting in the hands of the best of the best of the best, team G.I. Joe has their work cut out for them as they try to save the world from the rising C.O.B.R.A.

This movie is lightning. Seriously, right from the first minute straight through to the last this sucker moves at breakneck speed with non-stop action, fireballs, lasers, bullets, super-powered armor, kung-fu, car chases, car crashes, aerial battles and a whole lot more.

The overall plot was decent. The problem was the pace. It was just way too fast. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the flashback sequences throughout the movie and even the fact the movie starts off in 1641 instead of the present day. More specifically, I was impressed the flashback sequences didn’t happen to just one character, but to several, each segment adding to that character’s history and giving us something more than a man or woman with an agenda. We actually get to understand their motivations because we get to be there with them and see how they came to be what they came to be. What I am really disappointed is the fact that the writing team didn’t seem to understand the characters or even truly know each character. What I saw in the movie were characters with the same names as the beloved Joes, but nothing really there for me to say Woah! Very disappointing.

In the end, this film delivered a lot and truly embodied the idea of “rise of the cobra.” There was origins galore, the ones not mentioned above being Destro and the Doctor. There will no doubt be a sequel because there’s obviously way more story to tell. Go into this one with an absolute clear mind and you will enjoy all the action and perhaps quench a few times at some of the corny moments.

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G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p MPEG4-AVC encode framed at 2.39:1. For a good part of the film you will notice plenty of dark scenes and I must say the colors, level of details, and black colors are displayed quite beautifully. Going in a bit deeper into the black levels, they hold up exceptionally providing deep shadows that never interfere with the background details. The bright scenes are pure eye candy, the details are breathtaking, the colors are eye popping, certain character’s costumes are so detailed is unbelievable. There is some film grain, but nothing to really take away from this fine transfer. However, some of the CGI used in the film is really noticeable and several scenes offer some soft spots, but as the director mentioned it was sort of intended there’s nothing to really complain. Kudos Paramount!

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G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra arrives on Blu-ray with an excellent booming 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless track. You can’t have a good picture quality without an equally impressive audio to round up the package. The dialogue is crisp and clean for about 99% percent of the film and it suffers from time to time during action scene, but it’s really not downer it’s exceptionally clean. The special effects are scattered throughout the film and nicely reproduced for the viewer to be placed right in the middle of the action. Here comes the good stuff, the gunfire is perhaps one of the best sonic experiences I’ve heard, and it’s nicely reproduced throughout. Every time a shot is fired right at that moment the bullet shoots out and lands the damaging blow the base provides an excellent output. The explosions, shootouts and destruction take the subwoofer to the max! I can’t say it enough this is one of the best sounding Blu-ray so far. Lastly the musical presentation is just perfect, delivering every note till the end without a problem, very clean and crisp. Again, kudos to Paramount for such a fine job on the audio.

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For a blockbuster like this I would have thought a bit more time and dedication to add more supplements would be spent. Boy was I wrong. I mean the supplement found on this release aren’t bad on the contrary they are rather entertaining and should cover what casual onlookers look for. However, the amount is far from what hardcore fan would consider enough. There’s plenty of material that could have been taken to make more supplements. With that being said let’s dig into the supplements included.

Audio Commentary – Featuring Director Stephen Sommers and Producer and Editor Bob Ducsay, they both tackle different aspects of the film. This documentary goes into detail about the production, the writing, the cast, visual effects, filming locations, the influences for making the film, and much more. It may not be the best commentary out there, but it provides enough details and depth for the viewers.

The Big Bang Theory: The Making of G.I. Joe – This is a very interesting supplement, it deals with the influences for making G.I. Joe, the difficulties of pleasing the fans, set designs, special effects, and much more.

Next-Gen Action: The Amazing Visual FX and Design of G.I. Joe – This goes in depth into the special effects.

Digital Copy

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G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is set to do one thing, entertain the viewers. It’s a fantastic pop-corn film without a doubt. A summer blockbuster with a goal to rekindle an old franchise, certainly it will bring some old memories for those that grew up watching the cartoons and playing with the action figures. However, the hardcore fans will instantly see that the characters they grew up loving are nothing like those in the film, but this shouldn’t prevent anyone from enjoying the film. The presentation is very impressive with solid video and audio quality. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra should please more than just the average movie watcher and without further ado this film comes highly recommended. Gooooooo JOE!