Wow. When I was a kid, I played with GI Joes. And I’m not talking the silly GI Joes they sell at Toys ‘R’ Us these days. I’m talking the real thing. As the original GI Joes were created in 1964, they came out a year after I was born. These guys were almost a full foot tall, and a lot tougher than the namby pamby ‘dolls’ that are available now. That’s right… the old ones weren’t dolls… they were ‘action figures’ and don’t you forget it. If only I had hung on to those guys. I didn’t play that rough with them (I wasn’t Sid) so they’d have been in pretty good shape today… sigh… Anyhow, I was rather surprised last year when I heard that there was actually going to be a movie based on the GI Joe line of toys. Of course, no one wanted to make it a straight out war flick based on the originals… no… Instead they opted to re-invent the line that was created in 2000 which pitted the puny 3.75” Joes against the international terrorist group… Cobra. The studios even brought in Stephen Somers to direct because the idea was to make a massive effects driven action movie. The bright side of all of this? They succeeded.

Seeing the previews, I have to admit that I didn’t run right out to catch “GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra” in theaters. Though several friends of mine did, and surprisingly they were all raving about it. No one claimed that there were any Academy Awards to be won, but that instead the movie was just a non-stop rollercoaster of explosions, chases, fights and general mayhem. In a word… it was fun.

This got my attention as I had to ask myself when I last saw a film that was simply… fun? Off the top of my head, I couldn’t think of one. Still I opted to wait for the eventual Bluray release so I could enjoy it in the comfort of my own home. And enjoy it I did. Everything the film offered beyond the action sequences really didn’t matter. The storyline about the evil scientist, ultimate weapons and bio-warriors was secondary. The acting… only as good as was necessary to get from action sequence to action sequence. The silliness of the overall plot was completely surpassed by all of the eye-candy. It is mindless, goofy… yet somehow wholly satisfying in an adrenaline inducing way.

The actors were for the most part recognizable from other projects. Sienna Miller and Denis Quaid amongst the most well known. Throw in Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marlon Wayans and you have a fairly eclectic cast. All turned in decent performances, but again no one needed to be able to do more than deliver lines in between kicking butt.

That said, if you are going ot add this movie to your collection I highly recommend going the Bluray route. The picture and sound are fantastic, and you need them to be in order to fully enjoy the type of experience “GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra” offers. The color and detail are crystal clear, the only bad note is that it doesn’t hide some of the lesser effects shots. Being that this movie is akin to a Saturday morning cartoon though, these lapses in effects are often forgivable (if not occasionally laughable). The soundtrack is one of the best I’ve heard lately and makes full use of your surround system. Even the few quiet moments are perfectly mixed, so when the louder moments (of which there are many) hit… they hit like a sledgehammer.

I will admit that I was surprised that there weren’t more special features on this release, as Blurays tend offer more. And being that this was an effects laden film, I expected a laundry list of featurettes. The first disc offers a commentary by Somers and producer Bob Ducsay. The pair delivers a serviceable commentary that delves into a lot of the detail and challenges of making a film like this. The second disc has two ‘Making of’ features that come in at 21 and 29 minutes. It feels as though they hit almost every note of the production, but I couldn’t help but feel there was more to offer for true movie geeks. Still, I found both featurettes to be adequate. There is also a digital download available, which I scanned through on my iPhone and found to look quite good.

“GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra” is what it should be. Fun summer fair for those who don’t want to think too hard about what they’re watching.

Directed by: Stephen Somers
Starring: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Karolina Kurkova, Sienna Miller, Denis Quaid
Extras: Commentary by Director Stephen Somers and Producer Bob Ducsay; The Big Bang Theory – The Making of GI Joe; Next Gen Action – The Amazing Visual FX of GI Joe
Specifications: MPEG-4 AVC 1080p (2.40:1), DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: 11/3/2009
MPAA Rating: PG-13
http://www.paramount.com/homeentertainment

We'll give GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra a B.