Review - Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins (2021)

          Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, I just went to see the new movie Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, and I would like to give my thoughts on the movie.  The latest film of the live-action G.I. Joe series is directed by Robert Schwentke, who most will recognize for having directed the second and third films of the Divergent series: Insurgent and Allegiant. But, how does he handle something like the G.I. Joe series? Let's find out.

         The movie opens with Snake Eyes as a child, witnessing men with guns show up and attack his father. Snake tries to stop them, but is overpowered and escapes, and the men kill Snake's father and burn the house down. Years later, and Snake is recruited by a man named Kenta, who offers him a chance to avenge his father's death, and get the man responsible. However, when Kenta orders Snake to kill a man named Tommy Arashikage, Snake turns on Kenta, and helps Tommy escape. As a sign of gratitude, Tommy takes Snake to Japan to be trained in the ways of the Arashikage. 

         During his training, Snake learns that Kenta is working for the Baroness, a high ranking member of the terrorist organization known as Cobra, and they are seeking an ancient relic that the Arashikage are protecting: the Sun Jewel. For additional help, Tommy, along with Arashikage member Akiko, calls in Scarlett from the paramilitary unit known as G.I. Joe. Martial arts and sword fights ensue, Snake redeems himself, Kenta is defeated, and Tommy eventually takes the name of Storm Shadow and joins Cobra. 

          So, while this movie is an origin story for the character of Snake Eyes, it in some ways feels like both a one-off movie in the G.I. Joe series, and a potential springboard from which Paramount Pictures and Hasbro can potentially reboot the series, as tonally the film doesn't fit in with the previous two G.I. Joe movies. The cast of this movie I enjoyed quite a bit. Henry Golding was really good as Snake Eyes, as were Samara Weaving as Scarlett and Ursula Corbero as the Baroness. However, the two major stand-outs here are Haruka Abe as Akiko and Andrew Koji as Storm Shadow. 

        I will admit that, personally, I felt that the main villain was a bit weak, with the sole motivation being revenge against the Arashikage clan. Honestly, while I'm glad the villain wasn't an established member of Cobra like Firefly, Zartan, or even Destro, I do think that the motivation could have been a bit less generic. But, one thing to remember is that this is still a martial arts movie, and thus the story and the acting both come second. I mean, look at Mortal Kombat, which came out just a few months ago. The story was par for the course, but the martial arts fights were a lot of fun. This movie had decent martial arts fights and swordfights using katanas, but the fights, sadly, were marred by an overuse of shaky cam. I think that the filmmakers forgot that martial arts fights and swordfights in a movie like this really stand out when the audience can make out what's going on. 

        Even with my few gripes, I still enjoyed this movie, and as a fan of G.I. Joe, I do recommend giving it a watch if you're a fan. I'm giving Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins a rating of 3.95/5. This is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time. 


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