REVIEW: Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins Rolls An Unlucky Hand
G.I. Joe has been an American childhood staple since the 1960s. For many, they still remember playing with the action figures, reading the comics, or even watching the short lived animated adaptation. What has been lacking though, is a film presence for the franchise. In the last few years, Hollywood has tried to capitalize on this with the release of G.I. Joe: The Invasion of Cobra Island and it’s sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation. And so far all tests have turned out to be mediocre creations. Paramount is hoping the third time is the charm with Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins.
The film opens as any origin film does, with a stroll down memory lane for the lead character. In this case, viewers watch as Snake Eyes (Henry Golding) sees his father killed by a mysterious man. This is the moment Snake Eyes begins his road to revenge. Flash forward a few years and Snake Eyes is now a cage fighter, drifting from place to place in hopes of finding information about his father’s killer. It is in one of these places that he meets Kenta (Takehiro Hira), who offers him a deal in exchange for information on his father’s killer. From there, he stumbles across the Arashikage Clan, the group’s next in line to lead Tommy (Andrew Koji), head of security Akiko (Haruka Abe), terrorist cell Cobra, and the Joes, including Scarlett (Samara Weaving). As his path progresses, the story becomes an internal battle for Snake Eyes between seeking revenge for his father’s death and remaining loyal to his new friends.
In many origin films, most writing and directing teams opt to stay close to the source material. Whether the inspiration is book or comic, the film adaptation usually plays the story as close to the original inspiration as possible. This is not the case with Snake Eyes. This version is a very loose adaptation of the popular assassin which is not necessarily a bad thing. Creating a film with bits and pieces of the comic’s origins strewn about really allowed director, Robert Schwentke, to play a bit more outside of the lines and create the possibility for this universe to further evolve. Yes, there are Easter eggs for the avid fans, but for those with no knowledge of the characters, they shouldn’t be too lost.
That’s where the positivity ends. The action scenes throughout the film feel uncoordinated and downright messy. With heavy influence from the martial arts films of the past, these scenes should have been a thing of beauty. And yet, I felt as though I was watching a poorly done anime where the characters fight for a few seconds, pose, scream until their throats are raw, and then begin fighting again. These directorial decisions really hindered the flow of the film and were a constant reminder that you were watching a movie.
As charming as Henry Golding was in Crazy Rich Asians, the same cannot be said about his performance in this film. It was hard to find him believable as an action star and that was a consistent theme throughout the film’s other performances. Either the actor gave a too over the top performance or essentially threw in the towel from the moment they stepped on screen. It was not only a waste of good talent, but also a true disservice to the film.
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins makes a good attempt at telling the origin of the beloved GI Joe character, but at the end of the day falls flat with lackluster action sequences and mediocre performances. Best to wait until this one hits streaming.
Source: C-