Review: Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins

Henry Golding plays the character known only as Snake Eyes, an underground cage fighter who is recruited in America by a Yakuza boss named Kenta (Takehiro Hira) who offers him a deal: Work for him in his gun-running enterprise and Kenta will deliver to Snake Eyes the man who killed his father years ago. However, when Snake Eyes is ordered to kill Kenta’s supposedly disloyal cousin Tommy (Andrew Koji), Snake Eyes helps Tommy escape, making an enemy of Kenta in the process. Tommy shows gratitude to Snake Eyes by taking him home to Japan and eventually invites him to join his ninja clan. That’s if he can survive the training process, which involves challenges set by Hard Master (Iko Uwais) and Blind Master (Peter Mensah), respectively. Meanwhile, Kenta hooks up with the criminal organisation known as Cobra. Samara Weaving plays G.I. Joe agent Scarlett, whilst Úrsula Corberó plays her Cobra opposite Baroness. Haruka Abe is Tommy’s deadly serious head of security, who isn’t a big fan of Snake Eyes.

 

Nearly everyone of a certain generation’s favourite action figure gets a standalone film with this 2021 film from eclectic director Robert Schwentke (“Flightplan”, “The Time Traveller’s Wife”, “RED”, “R.I.P.D.”) and it’s adequate. I guess. Like the two “G.I. Joe” films of recent years it’s a bit disappointing but hardly terrible, and Henry Golding is quite fine in the lead role. Still, this should’ve and could’ve been so much better than it is. My first gripe is with the cinematography by Bojan Bazelli (“Pumpkinhead”, “A Cure For Wellness”) and the sometimes shaky camerawork during action scenes. This is especially so early on in the film. I was hoping to enjoy Henry Golding cage-fighting with former WWE Superstar Mojo Rawley, but the shining lights and shaky-cam makes it impossible. Lighting is particularly all over the shop in this film. It seems that Bazelli and Schwentke don’t want us to enjoy the action, and rather prefer to focus on a fast pace and chaotic tone instead. It’s a “Snake Eyes” movie, what could be more important here than the action? The main character is a ninja and is based on a toy/cartoon character with essentially no face. There’s a pretty good highway chase and sword battle late in the film, if a tad under-lit and an otherwise wasted Iko Uwais’ one big-ish scene is fun, too. So some of the action is fine, but a lot of it isn’t and it’s a pretty big deal.

 

The best things here are the title character and lead performance by Henry Golding. The talented Peter Mensah isn’t around enough to register, and the rest of the cast is uneven with Baroness actress Úrsula Corberó particularly miscast. Andrew Koji is far less interesting here as the eventual Storm Shadow than Byung-hung Lee in the previous films.

 

Like the previous two “G.I. Joe” films this is tolerable, but with some fairly poorly shot action it’s just not able to grab you. Snake Eyes (and fans) deserved better. The plot is sometimes interesting and some of it is enjoyable, but not ultimately enough to recommend. The screenplay is by Evan Spiliotopoulos (who directed the underrated horror film “The Unholy”), and the team of Anna Waterhouse and the fabulously named Joe Shrapnel (who combined previously for the Jesse Owens biopic “Race”).

 

Rating: C+

 

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