ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

artzau-531-978839 Robin Williams's first starring role kinda fell flat in 1980 for a number of reasons. Fist, the Thimble theater cartoon by Segar went through several changes but had been pushed out of the mainstream viewing by such more cerebral cartoons like Peanuts, Doonesbury, Bloom County and then 5 years later, Calvin and Hobbes. As late as the 60s, these Popeye cartoons were seen only on kiddie shows and as such, were long out of the public view. Hence, the appeal of the strip was restricted to old duffers like me who grew up with Popeye in the 40s and 50s.Too bad, because this film reflects the talents of Altman and Feiffer, maintains a level of tristesse and timelessness that hearkens back to the old Segar cartoon strip. My only criticism of the acting was Robin Williams's difficulty in getting Popeye's squint done which Ray Walston did so beautifully.

Dalbert Pringle This 1980, live-action, feature film called "Popeye" is absolute T-R-A-S-H! Absolutely!! Absolutely!! ABSOLUTELY!!! I guarantee you that there's not a single, solitary funny, or even slightly amusing, moment in this movie's entirety. There isn't. Popeye has got to be one of the ultimate fiasco movies of all time. It wouldn't (and it couldn't) even amuse a 5-year-old child.For all the extensive time, effort, and cost that was obviously put into the design and building of the elaborate and goofy "Looney-Tune" sets for Popeye, and, not to mention, Robin Williams' special Popeye make-up effects, I'd have thought there'd be, at least, some worthwhile and humorous entertainment value to this flick. But, nope, there wasn't. Popeye was pure G-A-R-B-A-G-E!!.... There's no if's....and's...or, but's, about it.The Popeye cartoon character is, without a doubt, one of my all-time favourite, animated heroes. He's such a dynamic and complex sailor-dude. Popeye ranks right up there with Superman in my books.And, yet, in this flick Robin Williams almost single-handedly succeeded in destroying Popeye's wonderful charm and winning character with his cringe-worthy portrayal. Williams was absolutely pathetic as Popeye. He, literally, rendered Popeye contemptible. I loathed the way he tried to emulate Popeye's gestures and imitate Popeye's unique speech pattern and distinctive chuckle.....Blah! All anybody, in their right mind, has to do is simply watch any one of Popeye's amazing animated shorts from the 1930's or 40's. It doesn't take a genius to immediately realize that there's no comparison here between one of these classic cartoon episodes and this crummy, little excuse of a movie. A simple, short, 7-minute Popeye cartoon from 1938 surpasses this inferior flick by literal miles when it comes to likable characters, genuine humour, and real, honest-to-goodness imagination.

ray53208 Perhaps this movie was ahead of its time. A precursor to today's more interpretive and humanizing comic book movie. The characters cannot be interpreted using the paradigm of the source material. Instead see that if the audience is to participate in the hero's journey and suspend disbelief in order to come away with something, the characters must be more than caricature. Idioms and quirks intact of course, but also a heart and soul that is authentic. Otherwise it descends into mere parody.Williams' performance is if anything authentic and soulful. Incredibly faithful to the character of Popeye and yet three-dimensional. Setting the tone for Williams' commitment to character that was to become a benchmark in comedic acting. The film is Altmanesque in its bold exposure of the beauty in human frailty. In being ridiculous in order to achieve an honest reflection of the human condition.

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.