G.I. Joe: Spy Troops (2003)

Hey, remember when you were a kid and you liked something, but as you got older you realized its not as great as you remember? Well this is the situation with me. Wow, this really bad. That's all I gotta say. I mean except for Storm Shadow, all the villains were just silly especially Cobra Commander. Yes, even more ridiculous than the 80s cartoon version. The Joes were okay, except for Beachhead. I mean my God he was horrible. In the original cartoon, Beachhead was a tough as nails soldier who was angered very easily, this version sounds like some surfer dude. Overall what can I say that no one else said. Its just bad a bad incarnation of GI JOE.

While not the best G.I. Joe I've ever seen (As someone who grew up on the original 1980's cartoon to eventually meet some of its original stars.) I was pleasantly surprised by how well it does work. I expected it to focus entirely on Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow as too much of Joe has focused on martial arts and ninjas over recent years. Thankfully, that's shelved as a small part of this movie. They wisely brought back onboard one of the men integral to 1980's G.I. Joe history as the writer. Larry Hama, writer of about 90% of the original Marvel G.I. Joe series, as well as having input on both the toy file cards and into the original cartoon series, brings a lot of the old series back with him. And, while I'd have preferred a more direct old Joe continuation, this new vision of it could have been worse. Hama wisely sticks with one basic element: Cobra's latest world control plot. This time, it's a combination of virtually remote controlled war vehicles and an army of new robot soldiers, updated Battle Android Troopers (B.A.T.s) CGI could have been better, but, I've seen worse. While the voice cast is sans anyone from the original series, it does provide some past links with G.I. Joe cartoon history. A handful of the actors from the 2nd animated series, released by DIC, and some from the G.I. Joe: Extreme abortion are back. Scott McNeil as Destro, though, is the only one who is back as a character he had previously. Other nice touches are peppered throughout for old Joe fans. B.A.T.s were, either positively or negatively, a constant element in the 2nd season of the old show, and in a few scenes, bars of the original G.I. Joe cartoon theme appear. I think you'll find "he'll fight for freedom, wherever there is trouble" in key points. All in all, I've spent a worse of my life before, and, was quite surprised by how well it does turn out. "YOUR CRACKERS, COBRA COMMANDER!"

GI Joe is the codename for America's daring, Highly trained special mission force. It purpose...to defend human freedom against "COBRA", a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world. He never gives up, he'll stay till the fight's won. GI Joe will dare. GI JOE, a Real American Hero.If you're like me and grew up with the original GI Joe cartoons and are completely nastalgic about it...Those words probably just gave you chills up and down your spine. Visions of awesome vehicles and weaponry and Big Explosions just filled your head and battle cries of "YO JOE!" and "COBRA!" rang in your ears. This revamped and upgraded GI Joe team won't let you down.Most of the old favorites are here and some new ones too. Led by Duke, the team made up of Snake Eyes, Scarlet, Wild Bill, Heavy Duty, Beach Head, Shipwreck and Polly, and Dusty test the new MIRC control device helmet created by new Joe, High Tech. Little do they know an enemy has infiltrated their squad with intentions to steal the technology. An enemy in disguise...ZARTAN!Meanwhile, Cobra Commander has ordered Destro and Baroness to meet up with Zartan to ambush the Joes in order to steal the MIRC helmet so Dr. Mindbender can rig it up to the Battle Android Troopers (BATS) which will be commanded by Cobra ninja StormShadow in hopes they will be more effective warriors in battle. (wheeze, wheeze, deep breath) But to Cobra's surprise they have a spy in their midst as well. GI Joe has recruited their own master of disguise...Agent Faces. Then all the Joes want to play spy games. Shipwreck and Snake Eyes infiltrate Cobra Mountain dressed in Cobra Attire. Shipwreck and Polly get decked out in Cobra Commander's outfit and try to get the code to the shield to let the battalion on in. Snake Eyes fights his ninja brother Storm Shadow in an awesome display of Equality as each shoots the others bullets right out of the air.Old and new Joe Fans will love this video/DVD. Older fans might have to get use to some of the characters voices changing since the old series and bad attitude Beach Head is now a Surfer Dude. Other than that, it looks great (CGI animated instead of the old cell animation), The action rarely slows and we still have our favorite goodys and baddies. What can I say, action, adventure, explosions, ninjas, and robots...all in a days work for .....GI JOE, A REAL AMERICAN HERO.

Yeah I don't think it was great but I've still watched it more than twice. They came close to capturing the voices (all except Beach-Head) correctly and that was a plus. The story is good for something with kids as it's target, but there really should have been more for old school fans. I've read that the writer, Larry Hama, has never seen an episode of the classic cartoon and if that's true it really explains a lot.All in all I'd say it was good but not the best G.I. Joe story I've ever seen.On a side note...why does Snake Eyes have a listing in the voice cast? He's mute and doesn't make a peep through the whole thing.