I wouldn’t call myself the biggest G.I. Joe fan. I was more into Transformers and Masters of the Universe as a kid, and as an adult, I don’t know that I would necessarily go out of way to see any of those things if I wasn’t the type who just goes to the movies on any given week anyway. That said, making the first solo G.I. Joe movie about the character of Snake Eyes both does and doesn’t make a lot of sense. He’s one of the most popular figures in the line, particularly impressive given I think the original action figure was created due to a desire for the toy company to make a cheap, single-color action figure. But the character also famously cannot talk and has a face so disfigured it couldn’t really be shown on a kids cartoon. So, it makes sense to use a popular one, but at the same time, they used one that was mostly just the cool, silent guy who never showed his face, arguably making him the Joe with the least amount of personality. And that’s saying something considering this was all based on a series of cartoons and comic books created to sell toys and nothing more.
So, why cast an up-and-coming actor like Henry Golding as the mysterious Snake Eyes? Well, if you’re going to launch a new franchise, he’s a pretty good face to put to one of the best known characters in said franchise, so why not?
The man known only as “Snake Eyes” (Golding) was a young boy when he watched his father die at the hands of some sort of criminal types. He never really knew what that was about, only that the head of this group said he gave all his victims a sporting chance by getting them to throw a pair of dice. The boy’s father threw a pair of ones, you know “snake eyes,” and died, the boy barely escaping. Living on the run and thirsting for revenge, he takes the name Snake Eyes, “Snake” for short, and works his way around the country in the underground fight circuit. A Yakuza boss (Takehiro Hira) recruits him with the promise to someday find his father’s killer, but Snake soon finds himself making friends with and saving the life of the boss’s cousin Thomas Arashikage (Andrew Koji). Thomas is the heir to a ninja clan that clandestinely fights for good, and he wants Snake to join the order. Stuck in between a power struggle between the two cousins, Snake needs to navigate a way to get what he wants out of his situation while somehow maintaining his own honor code..
Oh, and part of this struggle has to do with the mysterious organization Cobra, represented by the Baroness (Ursula Corbero), a group comprised of criminals, paramilitary groups, and other out for general evil, while on the other side are the Joes, represented by Scarlet (Samara Weaving), whose purpose is to oppose Cobra in all ways.
Now, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how my general knowledge of G.I. Joe is largely limited to the animated series and some things I learned along the way. That said, in terms of setting up the new status quo of a rebooted franchise, the movie does OK but by and large isn’t all that spectacular. There are maybe three or four clever bits of fight choreography along the way, and the world of G.I. Joe is somewhat established as maybe not the most realistic of settings. What things I did remember, like how Scarlet’s weapon of choice was the crossbow and the Baroness being good at disguises, all seems to be present, so the movie is to the best of my knowledge faithful, but there’s another issue here: everyone is taking everything so somberly. Even lines that may be intended to be funny are delivered in a serious manner, and so many of the character speak in hushed tones no matter what’s going on. Something like this should perhaps be taken a little less seriously. I mean, this is a movie based on a toy line. How serious should it be?
As for Golding’s Snake Eyes, the actor himself is fine, but there doesn’t seem to be much to Snake Eyes outside of a generic hero’s journey as he is basically a good man driven, sometimes, by rage. He flirts with the female head of security at the Arashikage stronghold, reacts to things being said when he’s given no explanations of anything, and is generally a likable enough guy despite playing a character that seems to be about as deep as a puddle. What makes Snake Eyes different from any other vengeance-seeking hero who may need to let go of his rage? I don’t rightfully know. Ultimately, he proves himself adequate to play the protagonist in an adequate movie.
Grade: C+
Oh, side note: Iko Uwais, the charismatic star of Raid movies is on hand here as “Hard Master,” one of the trainers for the Arashikages. Would it be too much to ask that Hollywood give this guy a lead role sometime? Every time I see him in an American movie, he’s second fiddle at best to somebody, and quite frankly, he probably would have made a great Snake Eyes himself. Somebody cast him as a lead in something already!
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