Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins Review: An Action Packed, Messy Origin Story

Release date: July 23, 2021
Running time: 121 minutes
Directed By: Robert Schwentke
Written By: Evan Spiliotopoulos (screenplay by), Joe Shrapnel (screenplay by), A0nna Waterhouse(screenplay by)
Starring: Henry Golding, Andrew Koji, Úrsula Corberó, Samara Weaving, Haruka Abe, Tahehiro Hira, and Iko Uwais

Based on the iconic G.I. Joe character, Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins stars Henry Golding as Snake Eyes, a tenacious loner who is welcomed into an ancient Japanese clan called the Arashikage after saving the life of their heir apparent. Upon arrival in Japan, the Arashikage teach Snake Eyes the ways of the ninja warrior while also providing something he’s been longing for: a home. But, when secrets from his past are revealed, Snake Eyes’ honor and allegiance will be tested – even if that means losing the trust of those closest to him. 

Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins has the unenviable task of trying to make the 80s kids cartoon translate onto the big screen.  And this effort is a noble one, with lots of hits and misses as a result.  The first thing I'll get to is yes, Henry Golding can play an action hero.  The fighting isn't as fluid as I would have hoped but he moves over into the action realm well with a strong portrayal of Snake Eyes.  And the rest of the cast is enjoyable as well, filling out the G.I. Joe universe with some fun and sometimes overly dramatic characters.  I liked Koji as Storm Shadow, with his intense demeaner at times.  And Weaving as Scarlett was a nice surprise to see.  She had a supreme confidence that comes from being a Joe and it translated perfectly on the screen.  And special shout out to Iko Uwais (from the Raid series) as Hard Master.  

And the setting of the film is a lot of fun as well.  The movie is set in Tokyo, with the energy, lights, and excitement that comes with it.  But after the initial vision of the world, you get a more tranquil Japanese castle setting that is a peaceful respite from the city.  The Japanese influence in this film is apparent, with plenty of Japanese text and a high energy, neon credits sequence that incorporates both Japanese names and the English equivalents.  And the film also takes you into some of the enjoyable aspects of Japan, like neon-soaked alleys and a bath house.  But the setting is also good for some of the noir aspects of the film, with secret meetings in rain soaked alleys and a game of cat and mouse as we discover that there is more to this story than meets the eyes.

But some of the absurdity of the G.I. Joe universe just leaks in here.  For one, the characters are all called by their callsigns, which makes sense, but some of them are silly.  Snake Eyes gets called "Snake Eyes" or "Snake" even before he has become the iconic hero.  There is a training person named Hard Master and Blind Master, which sound silly when you think that they are Japanese warriors and supreme fighters.  And the film has to tie this into the Joes vs. Cobra mythos, which leads to some odd suspension of disbelief scenes.  This film feels like it was trying to go for a Batman Begins origin story, and succeeds in that respect in a few instances, but has too much overall G.I. Joe baggage to pull it off.  The benefit that Batman Begins had was that that time in Bruce Wayne's life was more free form, all you had to do was have him emerge as Batman.  Here they have to establish the Joes, Cobra, and several main characters, which makes for a messier integration.

But probably most egregious is that the action in this film is hit or miss.  When it hits, it is exciting to see.  Seeing Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow going blade to blade with waves of bad guys is a treat, and there is a car chase that is very well done as well.  But early on, the hand to hand combat has a decidedly shaky cam and blurred look to it.  The action has some sort of motion blur on so that it is tough to focus on what people are doing, and this is not helped by some dark footage and a shaky camera that makes it extra hard to focus.  It was actually a little discomforting to watch since it was hard to focus and frenzied.  And on top of that, there is some CG at the end that is bad and feels wholly unnecessary.  

Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins shows Golding as a decidedly more crazy, less rich Asian fighter, with some intense summer action and a neon-drenched Tokyo that ties into the greater G.I. Joe story.

Rent it.

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Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins is in theaters on July 23, 2021.  For showtimes, click here.

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