Movie Review - Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins

Yes, the inspiration here is the Hasbro line of toys that were all about hyping up the American military, as well as the run of comic books that did the same. The line of toys and comics were rebranded in 1982 where several characters were introduced including the titular one that had connections and references to Asian culture, specifically Japanese culture. Given the criticism against Hollywood over its lack of Asian representation, this film is a chance to put Asian culture and Asian characters in major, leading roles. It's just unfortunate that director Robert Schwentke (The Divergent Series: Insurgent and Red) and writers Evan Spiliotopoulos, Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse aren't Asian in their heritage or background. It's funny that this film was released on July 23, which was the first day of the Tokyo Olympics. It's funny because this film is mostly set in that same, Japanese city.

By focusing on Japanese culture, the film feels less like American Jingoism. It also makes the film feel less like propaganda for the military-industrial complex. It also feels less like the problematic nature that was spoofed in something like Team America: World Police (2004). Of course, by the end, the film veers away from that Japanese culture, if only in the final few minutes, to remind us that ultimately everything is rah rah USA. Thankfully, it's at the very end and thus isn't as problematic. It doesn't help that even though the main actor here is not American, he's playing an American character with a strained American accent.

Henry Golding (Monsoon and Crazy Rich Asians) stars as Snake Eyes, a young man who has trained as an underground fighter. He seems to have lived in the world of unregulated street fighting for decades. All the while, he's been searching for the man who murdered his father. Eventually, he's recruited to work for the Yakuza, an international criminal organization with mobsters who are in the business of smuggling illegal guns. He joins with the Yakuza because they promise to help him track down his father's killer, so that Snake Eyes can avenge his father's death. Getting vengeance is Snake Eyes' only driving force.

The introduction of Snake Eyes as this fighter feels very reminiscent of the main character in this year's Mortal Kombat (2021), which came out only three months ago. It too featured a predominantly Asian cast, also pulling somewhat from Japanese culture, mainly operating as a martial arts flick. Because of such, comparisons between the two can't be helped. I suppose that comparisons will be made to the two previous films in the same franchise, that of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) and G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013). Arguably, this film is on par with those previous entries. I would say it's a step up because this film doesn't revel in as much gun violence or explosions. Again, it draws from Japanese culture, so it's more about martial arts and swordplay.

Andrew Koji (Warrior and Peaky Blinders) co-stars as Tommy Arashikage, a well-trained ninja who is part of an elite clan, nestled in a castle just outside Tokyo. His grandmother is the leader of their clan, but she is getting older and is considering her successor. Tommy wants to be that successor. He wants to be the leader of the clan. However, his cousin also wants to be the leader. Tommy's cousin even tried to kill Tommy in order to get that leadership role. Yet, his cousin failed and was banished from the clan. Tommy and his clan now use their skills and even their technology to fight against criminal organizations like the Yakuza, particularly because Tommy's cousin became a Yakuza leader.

The film basically becomes a family drama centered on the conflict between Tommy and his cousin and how Snake Eyes gets in the middle of it. Tommy and his cousin were raised like brothers. When Tommy and Snake Eyes meet, it also becomes like they become surrogate brothers. Tommy is clearly trying to replace that brother-like figure that he lost. Comparing it to Mortal Kombat, this film does a better job of building that brotherly bond or the relationships within Tommy's clan than we saw in Mortal Kombat. In general, this film has a better and simpler, dramatic story with a stronger emotional arc that's buttressed by Golding's dramatic performance. If it had focused on that and the family stuff, it would have worked more, but the film gets dragged down a bit with the inclusion of extraneous characters that feel placed there only to set up a sequel or further franchise.

An issue from the comics that gets repeated here is the fact that the focus isn't on military technology but instead myth and magic. It again draws comparisons to Mortal Kombat, which utilized magical abilities. It pushes the film more toward the realm of super-heroes. At one point, this film made me think of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), given that the main villain was basically chasing after a glowing red rock that looked like one of the infinity stones from that 2018 MCU film.

This brings me to my final point, which is about the action in this film. I can't say that I was impressed with it. Golding is good at being a charming, handsome guy who can handle dramatic moments. I'm not yet convinced that he's a martial arts or action star. Golding doesn't really have a background in martial arts, unlike Lewis Tan who was the lead in Mortal Kombat. There are actors surrounding Golding who are trained martial artists like Koji. There's even a supporting role for Iko Uwais (Headshot and The Raid) who is an incredible martial artist, one of the best working in films today. Yet, this film doesn't really feature them as well as it could have. We don't even get the gratuitous, shirtless, beefcake shots.

They don't have a spotlight shined on them with a really fantastic action or fight scene, unlike Tan, Joe Taslim and Hiroyuki Sanada in Mortal Kombat. Actually, there's one scene with Uwais where the point of the scene is to point out that sometimes fighting isn't the answer to a problem. I appreciated the message of that, but the film doesn't provide anything more dramatically for Uwais. Ultimately, the film ends with the idea that Snake Eyes isn't going to win by being the better fighter but the one with more inner peace and not embracing the vengeance he sought for decades. I appreciated that intellectually better than the kick-ass ending of Mortal Kombat, but that kick-ass ending was way more fun.

Rated PG-13 for strong violence and brief language.
Running Time: 2 hrs. and 1 min.

In theaters.