The G.I. Joe films, based on the Hasbro toy line, haven’t got the best reputation when it comes to quality. The films, which have starred both Channing Tatum and Dwayne Johnson, were both met with critical disdain but took a ton of money at the box office. However, the anticipated third film never came to life. Instead, the franchise has gone back to the drawing board and opted to follow the X-Men route and create a character origin story. With the G.I. Joe team being front and centre for the previous cinematic outings, most of them take a backseat to focus on Snake Eyes.
Stepping into the shoes of the titular character is Crazy Rich Asians star, Henry Golding. With the role, Golding really gives his all. Snake Eyes is his first truly action focused role and he demonstrates a talent and flair for the genre. With the recently completed Assassin’s Club also under his belt, it’s definitely an area the actor is looking to move into. Opening in Japan, Snake Eyes begins as every good origin story does – with the death of a family member. In this instance, the family member is the father of a young boy who will grow up to be Snake Eyes. After escaping the men who murdered his father, the story jumps forward and joins Snake as he’s enlisted to join the ancient organisation Arashikage. This iteration of Snake Eyes is different to what we have seen before. He’s not the silent, loyal warrior from prior outings; the Snake Eyes presented here is a dark and more conflicted character, one whose allegiance is forever in question as he works the double agent gig. Snake Eyes further distances itself from what has come before by pushing the clan of Joe’s firmly into the background; Samara Weaving’s Scarlett being the only trace of the Hasbro heritage.
The recent transition in Western cinema to finally embrace films featuring Asian characters as lead roles is a very welcome one. Films such as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Mortal Kombat, and even Golding’s smash-hit Crazy Rich Asians, have proved that there is an appetite for stories with different voices at their heart. Snake Eyes therefore, has released at the perfect time to hit a receptive audience. Unfortunately, although everyone in the Snake Eyes is giving their best, the script and the story never quite catch up to the talent. The story is horribly muddled, and when held up against anything else G.I. Joe related, instantly falls apart. Writers Evan Spiliotopoulos, Joe Shrapnel, and Anna Waterhouse, have obviously attempted to distance themselves from the other movies, yet in doing so they have fallen into very generic action movie storytelling. In fact, much of the first thirty minutes or so plays similarly to Mortal Kombat that it’s easy to get confused about what film you’re watching. The incessant switching of sides from our main character grows tiresome quickly, and Snake Eyes suffers from a predictable outcome. Much of this comes from it being an origin story, but there’s an over reliance of repetition that bloats the already rather weighty run time.
Whether the set-up sequel comes to fruition all depends on how well the film performs in the home arena, the cinema release getting heavily hit from both the pandemic and an oversaturated market. Now that the awkward origin story is out of the way, it might be interesting to see where the character ventures next, but only time will tell if this will become a reality.
Where the home entertainment release excels on the cinema feature is with the special features included on the disc. The deleted scenes included help to plug some of the narrative gaps, but can’t quite save the film. The behind the scenes featurettes: Enter Snake Eyes, A Deadly Ensemble and Arashikage, offer a nice, albeit brief, peek behind the curtain. The shining jewel though is the all-new Snake Eyes centric short film, which uncovers the secrets of the character’s legendary sword.
Snake Eyes is a repetitive and generic action film that could benefit from some excess weight chopping from it and a tighter narrative. It does however, make the most of its mainly Asian cast and offers some mindless action if that’s your thing.
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins
Summary
Snake Eyes follows closely to its predecessors in terms of quality; not perfect, but not entirely terrible either, and is entirely saved by its hardworking cast.
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins is available on 4K Ultra HD+Blu-ray™ , Blu-ray™, DVD and to Download & Keep now.
