ThiefHott Too much of everything

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Sherparsa Did that not because the movie is not well made, which it is indeed (although i expected it to be better!) but because i never liked the original Popeye cartoons as a kid ...i loved Felix The Cat, or Betty Boope and the mandatory Mickey Mouse and even the creepy old Koco The Clown, which did keep me watching despite being so boring as well as nightmarish ... and in spite of the fact that they were all at least two generations 'behind' me when i was a small child in the mid 1960s ... (my most fave was Heckle and Jeckle though, which decades later i found out it was mostly a banned cartoon in some US states ... and the Flintstones ... and well ... some others as well ...)but i never got to terms with Popeye, not even later when i grew up and developed a taste for some items i didn't quite like earlier ...

ultramatt2000-1 Back by popular demand it is time for "Matthew Rambles". What you missed rants, so do I but there will be some soon. Right now I got to ramble about this movie. When I first heard about this movie, I found out something about it. I was four when I saw a pirated video of it on Betamax and it had Arabic and French subtitles! When I was young I was familiar with Popeye with the cartoons. Whether it is the Fleischer Bros. (1933 to 1941), Isadore Sparber (as in the Famous Studios era from 1942 to 1957), the turgid Al Brodax cartoons (1960 to 1962) or the Hanna-Barbera reboot (1978 to 1983) I knew who was who. When I got the movie, I thought to myself, "Oh it is Popeye, I don't care!" When I got it I had fun, for a few moments. When I got older, I read that it was turgid. After giving it another watch, I found out why this was bad. It was so bad that Mad Magazine spoofed it as FLOPEYE! Thanks to a new set of eyes, I found out why this movie is not good! First of all, who is Robert Altman, who had a ton of dramas in his filmography, trying to cater this movie to. Those who watch musicals, or dramas and comedies you can see on a dull January? When KING KONG was remade in 1976, it was catered for those who watch disaster movies because Dino Dellaurentiis wanted to give this movie a disaster movie fell to it. POPEYE - THE MOVIE was made to rival the success of Richard Donner's SUPERMAN - THE MOVIE (1978). How can you cater a movie like this to those who watch a film like SUPERMAN? Second, while the cast is fine, Bluto is a bit of a problem. Bluto needs to have a big body and small head. Lou Ferrigno would be a good choice. Third, which is following number two, some scenes might be too scary for small children. Bluto angrily approaching Popeye, which leads to him rolling like a wheel. A small child would say, "Does this happen to a real person?!" Also, prostitutes in that musical number called "I am what I am" and the octopus (scientific name, Octopus-Cartoonicus) are other reasons why this movie is rated PG. Fourth, the writing. Since when did Popeye not like spinach?! Whenever danger rears its ugly head, he takes his spinach. When he eats it, his arms get big, his legs get big, his chest get big. You don't get to see that in this movie. In fact it can only work with nice stop-motion animation with a model of Popeye and have someone like Jim Danforth or David Allen animate it. We would like to see the octopus get clobbered. In fact it did get clobbered, it flew sky high. It would be funny if it lands explosively and when the smoke clears, you see something like cooked calamari or sushi. Now that is a good gag. All in all, POPEYE THE MOVIE is a mess. It is a Frankenstein Monster made of a drama, a musical, a western, Homer's The Odyssey, various cartoons and comics for which the film is based on and cinematography from Frederico Fellini films as the bolts on the beast's neck. This movie caused a trend that Hollywood would be doing over the next 35 years. Some went well such as the original TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES trilogy and A FAIRLY ODD MOVIE: GROW UP TIMMY TURNER. Other are just plain terrible like well, MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, THE FLINTSTONES, INSPECTOR GADGET, THE ADVENTURES OF ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE, SCOOBY-DOO, UNDERDOG, SPEED RACER, DRAGON BALL EVOLUTION, YOGI BEAR, JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS, the TRANSFORMERS franchise and the atrocious ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS franchise. This film like any other movie has a cult status. Other people love it. My mother loved it and praised it like CITIZEN KANE. I wish I could praise, but I got a new set of eyes. Recently she found some moments where some scenes let her down. Bottom line, give it a watch at your own risk, because it is a guilty pleasure of mine. Rated PG for violence, mild language, some prostitutes and peril.

Amy Adler Popeye (Robin Williams) lands in Sweet Haven by the Sea, looking for his longlost papa. But, oh, this town is not friendly. There's a tax for almost everything, including setting foot in the village limits. Nevertheless, Popeye stays and gets a room in a boarding house run by Mrs. Oyl. The room is nothing to write home about yet there is an added attraction. Mrs. O has a daughter, Olive (Shelly Duvall) who is a skinny lass but pleasing to Popeye. Yet, horrors, she is to marry the town's bully, er, commissioner, Bluto. The only thing positive that Olive can sing about Bluto is he is large. Before long, Popeye wins her over, especially when they rescue a baby in a basket, Sweet Pea, and try to stay out of Bluto's way. At this point, Popeye REFUSES SPINACH so, despite his large arms, he can't best Bluto. After finding his wayfaring papa (Ray Walston) he learns some secrets that may help win Olive for himself. Even if there are octopuses circling in the waters! This unique movie may not be for all but its quirky delights and rapid-fire lines will entertain those who like it original. Watch Popeye mutter Au reservoir and you can double over with laughs. Yes, Williams is great and captures Popeye's essence well. Duvall is even better, she was made to play Olive and her voice resemblance to the cartoon character is uncanny. Walston, Paul Dooley and all the rest are fine support. Then, too, the scenery, which was captured on Malta, is wonderfully offbeat while costumes, songs from Niellson, a clever script by Jules Ffiefer and a one-of-a-kind direction by Robert Altman add up to something wacky and fun. If you want to walk to a different beat for a couple of hours, this one is for you.

Harriet Deltubbo Popeye is one of those films for which I could guess the plot exactly before I saw it. I don't know if it's because it's super predictable or because I've seen too many movies. You can predict the whole movie and ending very easily. These characters were walking cardboards. I could've cared less what happened to these characters because there was no depth to them and I didn't feel attached to them at all. We've seen these clichéd characters a million times. These are the only things to critique on. The directing, music, editing, etc are not focused on at all. Overall, the film was..."eh". I was bored through most of it and I left the theater with no intentions to ever see it again.