Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins

I'm a big fan of Yakuza films, so when I saw the trailer for "Snake Eyes," I was ecstatic - a gritty, grounded origin of one of G. I. Joe's most beloved characters, in the form of a Japanese mobster movie, seemed too good to be true. And lo and behold, it was! "Snake Eyes" seems to suffer from an identity crisis; there is not enough gangster politics to be a successful gangster movie - there is not enough character development to be a satisfying drama - and perhaps the worst offense: there is not enough well-filmed action for this to be a great action film.

Let's jump right into why "Snake Eyes" isn't a good film - the action. When you hire master choreographers to create beautiful action sequences, why would you then destroy them by choosing to film your action with close-up, handheld, shaky cam? This stylistic decision is infuriating and unforgivable. There was only one sequence in this movie that was well shot; other than that, literally every other single action scene was made incomprehensible due to the filmmaking.

There were so many set pieces that could've been memorable and exciting if only the cameraman would've put the camera on a tripod, prepared a wide shot, and stepped away. You have scenes of small armies engaged in katana-on-katana action, and you won't be able to see any of it because the cameraman is standing two feet away and shaking the camera like it owes him money. This filmmaking decision literally ruined the action in this film, and as a consequence, ruined the film itself - because when the action in your action movie sucks, your movie sucks.

That said, perhaps the storyline and the engaging characters can add some sort of entertainment value? You'd be half right. The story itself is pretty interesting, if not very engaging. There's enough to keep you slightly invested in what's happening and why, but again, everything is framed around terribly filmed action sequences that damper the fun. The acting was serviceable, but nothing too breathtaking. Henry Golding as Snake Eyes had a certain tenacity about him that was fun to watch, but the script seemed to try a little too hard to make him "cool." Samara Weaving was gorgeous, as always, and pretty good here - however, she barely has any screen time, and isn't introduced until about half way through the film. That said, she is a show stealer when she's on screen.

"Snake Eyes" did have some cool cinematography to bask at - if you enjoy Asian cinema, you'll certainly enjoy the look of the film. That said, if you enjoy good action, you're going to despise this movie. I'd recommend only checking this out if you're a big G. I. Joe fan - if you're not? There's a million other Yakuza action films at your disposal; don't waste your time with this.

I saw this mainly cos of Iko Uwais n got terribly disappointed cos his footage is less n he doesnt get to kick ass.

Then i thot lets just enjoy the action but then again none of the fight scenes are noteworthy.

Recently i saw Lee's Fist of Fury n i loved the Japanese garden. This movie too has some some beautiful gardens, lakes, hill tops houses, etc.

The editing ruined everything.

Cos of the shaky cam n fast cut editing, one cannot make out what is going on during the fight scenes.

The character of Snake Eyes is more spiteful n the character of Shadow Storm more sympathetic.

How conveniently the clan n the Major Scarlett work together with Baroness, a Cobra member.

Also how easily Snake Eyes forgives his dad's murderer n after that fight alongside Baroness inspite of knowing that Cobra gang gave the orders to eliminate his dad.

I miss those old ninja movies man.

Great visuals ruined by terrible writing. Hollywood is a big place, where are all the good writers at? And why do people keep agreeing to go along with a film after reading a terrible screenplay? People need to start speaking up before the film is complete about the writing.

Andrew. Koji steals the attention with his emotional expression, too bad his lines were not so good. I think he should be snake eyes.

Having grown up with the "G. I. Joe" cartoons on TV and always liked them, I must say that my expectations for this 2021 movie "Snake Eyes: G. I. Joe Origins" weren't exactly sky high, given the previous live action movies based on the cartoons.

But still, of course I sat down to watch this movie and see what writers Evan Spiliotopoulos, Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse would come up with.

And while "Snake Eyes: G. I. Joe Origins" certainly was a watchable movie, this was essentially a no-brainer. You just disconnect your brain, lean back and munch the popcorn while watching the action on the screen. In terms of proper contents for a deeper storyline or a fulfilling storyline, then "Snake Eyes: G. I. Joe Origins" is not the movie you should watch. Nay, this was just mindless action with a "G. I. Joe" template dragged down over it to sell it to a wider audience.

I must admit that I sit here with a feeling of this being a rather unnecessary and unfulfilling movie, now that the movie came to an end. Sure, the movie was a cheesy action flick and watchable enough for what it turned out to be. But this was by no means an outstanding movie from director Robert Schwentke.

The action sequences in the movie are good, and they are what keeps the movie afloat. That, and also some nice visuals and special effects. But other than that, then this movie was a shallow shell.

The cast ensemble was interesting, though, I will say that much. I am not familiar with Henry Golding, but he did a good job at bringing Snake Eyes to life on the screen. And actor Andrew Koji was definitely a good choice for Stormshadow. Now, it was really great to see the likes of Iko Uwais and Haruka Abe in the movie as well.

I doubt that I will ever return to watch "Snake Eyes: G. I. Joe Origins" a second time, because the storyline just barely had enough contents to support the first viewing.

My rating of "Snake Eyes: G. I. Joe Origins" lands on a very mediocre five out of ten stars.