G.I. Joe: The Movie 35th Anniversary Fathom Events Screening thoughts

 https://www.fathomevents.com/events/GI-Joe-The-Movie

Click on the link above to see the promotional event.

Hello folks. I have come back from a screening of the 35th anniversary release. The auditorium was about a quarter full which was fairly impressive. It didn't have the ambience or audience that was of the Transformers the movie showing back in 2018. However, this showing was displayed in a big screen. So lets get the negatives out of the way first.

Negatives

- Was shown in a full-screen format. While this was the original aspect ratio, this screening was severely lacking on a wide-screen projector. What made it worse was that you can see the 2 matte lines each on both sides of the screen. 

- The video quality looked more like it was from the 2010 dvd release.

- The audio was probably the worst aspect of this release. It is very monotone and clearly you only hear it in the front portion of the theater. Had this been in surround sound, the intro would had been a spectacular broadcast. Overall, the movie would had sounded better in surround sound. Missed opportunity here.

- First half of the film felt very slow or un-interesting to me. Once again, it was to introduce the new characters but it just felt very flat to me. 

- Not entirely this movie's fault but thanks to the lackluster receipts of Transformers the movie, this movie was lacking an ost. Something the TF the movie ended up getting and it turned out phenomenal. 

- Maybe he wasn't popular yet, but I felt Snake-Eyes got the shaft in this film. I'm pretty sure for people who are seeing this film for the first time, and are familiar with the live-action films, will recognize him when they see him but he didn't appear or did much in this film. Don't expect him to talk still, heh.

- Storm Shadow I do believe shows up in the very beginning of the film I just noticed, never shows up again for the remainder of the film. I mean, what's up with that? 

Positives

- It's on the big screen finally.

- The last half still re-ignites child hood memories for me. Especially the beatdown Sgt. Slaughter gives Nemesis enforcer towards the end. It's still an enjoyable moment.

- It doesn't do the original joes or cobra members a disservice as TF the movie did by killing off the old line. However, the film does feel a bit oversaturated with characters. This can cause a lot of confusion for new timers. It really has this feel where you should know all the characters by now. They do their best to call everyone out by names but not everyone. You do not hear Lady Jaye's name or Scarlett's called out once. Not even Snake-Eyes etc. Might as well throw in Storm Shadow since I'm sounding smart at the moment. But maybe this is the reason why Snake Eyes is barely in this film because of too many characters being focused on. Well, also because he is being phased out at this point. 

- At least they tried to add a bunch of old-timers where TF the movie, you never saw Gears, Skyfire, and some others etc... ever again. 

Somewhere in the middle *some spoilers*

- The new Cobra La enemy is kinda scary for it's time, especially they use some giant creatures at their disposal. They are ugly looking as Roadblock called out it's air force. Though I do like the Nemesis Enforcer look. 

- Cobra Commanders Transformation is still freakish as of today. Not to mention, the vision sequence where every man, woman and child would revert to mindless animals had the Cobra-La mutating spores did its job. This was made for kids? There was a serious dark tone to this film and if they killed off the original line as they did in TF, would you still say this was made for kids? 

- Duke (supposedly) dies. No doubt but thanks to Optimus Prime's death and backlash to the TF movie, the creators of this show scrambled to keep the scene but also add to the dialogue to cheapened his death err.... injury. As a result, it feels clustered at times. I mean, look at him, he passes out and everybody gets very emotional. Then Falcon at the end simply thanks his big brother whom is Duke at the end in a moving manner but the scene clearly indicates that Duke is already gone. They do add lines in the film to indicate he went to a coma and his come around, but it doesn't have this feel as you watch the subsequent sequences I just explained. However, I heard that the Japanese release does keep the death scene intact. 

Final words:

The movie is not bad itself but the presentation was disappointing. The video could had used more polish and a wide-screen showing. The audio was the biggest perpetrator here. Could had definitely used surround sound and more bass. That oomph factor was lacking. But at least we can all agree that it was time G.I. Joe got its big screen release due. Let's not forget it has nostalgic value. Well, till next time. 

Transformers Toys Studio Series Core Class The The Movie Exo-Suit Spike Witwicky review

 

Bill Gates is your expert?

Aloha folks, I am back with another 86 review. This time it is the first of it's line, core class Exo-suit Spike Witwicky. Without further delay, let's get started!

Boxing

The figure comes in a small package. No clear plastic once again though it comes with a properly sized backdrop depicting somewhere inside of Unicron. I would had probably preferred that they supplemented a moonbase 2 type of backdrop. 

Spiked!

Here's Spike in the flesh. The one first thing that I noticed was that he has no eyes. This can be kind of jarring to look at making his feel and looking like a blind character. He comes with booster effect accessories that is actually placed on the anterior band of his elbows. But in case if you are wondering, the effects can be used on other TF weapons that support the placement. In order to swivel his head, you must use the white tab located on his back. Not sure why this swivel was done in this fashion but that is how you do it for those who love this feature. I have a feeling it had something to do with the white parts on both sides of his head. You twist that area vertically in alt mode. Probably if the head shifted a little too much, it would look bizarre but I dunno. Spike is lacking a waist swivel but no qualms here. His arms is pretty much the highlight of this feature; his elbows to be exact. You can rotate his forearms the way you desire. 

Alt mode

Pretty easy to get here though I had to look at the box to see what I was dealing with. Nothing too special though I wish it did look a little more spry. 

With Daniel and Bumblebee

Spike and his son, Daniel with his old buddy Bumblebee. Not going to comment much here but I did feel like these were the three that belonged in this picture. I wouldn't be surprised if Hastak decided to release Daniel re-using this mold in the near future. 86 Daniel is sorely lacking in comparison to his dad.

Conclusion

How do I end this? He was $8.50 on sale on Amazon.com. There isn't that much bells and whistles on this guy. Spike is pretty much being sold for $14 average all over the internet which is a little too much for a little guy. Spike is a very simple figure. Not going to complain too much because he is a core class after all so once again not much going on here. It's nice that we get to finally play with the blaster portion of his elbows that we once saw in the movie. His arms once again is the highlight reel of this segment. Otherwise, enjoy and I hope you folks have a nice day. Laters.

Transformers Toys Studio Series 86-14 Voyager Class The The Movie 1986 Junkheap review

 

We talk tv but do not believe everything you see or hear on it

"Yeah, Destroy Unicron! Kill the grand poohbah! Eliminate even the toughest stain." ~Wreck Gar commanding the Junkions. Welcome and today we visit the latest 86 series release, Junkheap. Without delay, let's get started!

Boxing

Like the Legacy line, there is no clear plastic in front of the box. Additionally, like 86 Perceptor, Junkheap comes with two of the same backdrops; one just omits the 86 advertisement and the standing platform. The back of the box states that he helped repair/rebuild Ultra Magnus.

Junkheap

Junkheap in the flesh. JH uses off the same mold as 86 Wreck-Gar. Despite paint differences, the notable differences in JH is 

- Head sculpt (ears can swivel backwards)

- Panels on the forearms ( a rifle attached on the left side. Both panels can swivel as well)

- New info on the deltoid area such as yellow stripes and spikes etc...

- Forearms are more flat shaped with rectangular indents and horseshoe ends. Wreck-gar had oval shaped forearms but with square ends. 

- New designs on the chest notably the pipes which replace the nipple cannons that was introduced on Wreck-Gar.

JH plays the same like Wreck-Gar though he is a bit more fun because he has a blaster on his left panel. Because of this panel though, it's difficult to peg in the wheels in that area. The panels can function as shield as well. You can plug it in loosely but it won't stick overall especially if you move him around. Joints are tight and he has a waist swivel. He looks good overall. I do like the paint and overall scheme. It's nice to have another Junkion that isn't WG for once. I know he was done on the Generations line but maybe I'll explore that one someday. 

Alt mode

I actually forgot how to transform this guy. It took me a while but as you can see he is almost similar to that of Wreck-Gar; same transformation. The weapon placements and locking mechanism are identical as well. The cool thing is now you can flip the gun panel forward and use it as a gun. Oh, I forgot to mention earlier that the wheels I got here are perfect. In my WG review, some of the wheels were chipped and suffered paint loss. It's fine over here. If you like WG's alt mode, you will like JH's mode here as well. 

With Wreck-Gar

Here he is with 86 Wreck-Gar. As I mentioned earlier that the wheels don't stick well on JH's forearms. That is an advantage for WG because he can utilize JH's wheels and stick it on all the spike ends with ease. 

They both play almost alike with the only difference, for the most part, is the gun panel on JH. I do like WG's flame decals on the alt mode whereas JH's is just play grey. 

TF movie: for fun

*Used for informational purposes only. No profit is intended. Transformers the movie is the property of Hasbro.*

Conclusion:

Well, if you finally want to troop build without buying too much WG's, then JH will do. At least he looks different. He plays identical to WG with the exception of the panels on both arms which supplements some extra fun. This guy will add nicely to your 86 line and help complete your motorcycle gang. Laters and take care folks. Thank you for stopping by.