Snake Eyes (2021)

Starring: Henry Golding, Andrew Koji, Haruka Abe, Takehiro Hira, Ido Uwais, Peter Mensah, Usula Corbero, Samara Weaving, Samuel Finzi
Directed by: Robert Schwentke
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
2021

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Follows the origins of G.I. Joe's Snake Eyes (Henry Golding).

Review:

Tim: I don't know if anyone was clamoring for a Snake Eyes origin movie, but here we are. I was actually cautiously optimistic about this film. The first two G.I. Joe movies were decent, albeit heavily flawed films. I had hoped that perhaps by focusing on one character, it might result in a better movie. It doesn't. For a time watching this film, I thought that it might actually be an improvement. Unfortunately, as the film progresses, it eventually crumbles under its own weight. I found the film to actually be a step back from the first two, which is beyond disappointing.

I have to tell you, I really do appreciate whenever Hollywood takes steps towards better representation in their movies. I was really excited to see Henry Golding leading a mostly Asian cast for this film. Similar to the excitement about Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings last year. Sadly, while that filmed offered a fun, entertaining ride, this one is too flawed to be very good. The cast deserved better. Still, getting to see a film with most characters of Asian ethnicity is a big win.

There's a lot of issues with the story here. I know some G.I. Joe diehards (whomever they may be) were frustrated that they took the historically silent character and gave him a ton of dialogue. I get that sentiment that the movie is messing with the character, but I also understood that this was an origin story. That didn't bother me too much. It helps that Henry Golding is a strong actor and I wanted to hear him speak.

The story itself is okay- it has flashes of brilliance that never fully materialize. The story did offer up some actual, real surprises. That was a pleasant surprise. Most of these movies are so predictable, you're just going through the motions to get to the conclusion. I didn't expect all of the twists and turns here and early on, that felt really fun to me. That's when I thought this movie could actually capitalize on its promise. Unfortunately, the back half of the film settles down into expected territory. It feels like it takes fewer chances and starts to follow the obvious, predictable path. The movie does throw in some broader connections to the larger G.I. Joe Universe and these don't help the narrative. It felt like including the Joes and Cobra served as more of a distraction. I was vibing with the war between these two Japanese clans and the movie would have been better served to focus just on that. Cobra acts like the "big bad" but it detracts from the other villains. Then, those villains become the primary ones and Cobra feels like an afterthought. It's weird and it limits the movie's effectiveness. The movie stumbles whenever it tries to broaden the scope too much.

The story is a bit twisting early on, but even this begins to grow old. One of the best aspects of the early film involves the shifting allegiances of Snake Eyes. Is he going to be a good guy? A bad guy? Will he exist in the gray in between? I had fun watching that, but eventually, his lack of direction feels tiresome. Once the movie slips into predictability, it feels like a long slog for Snake Eyes to get where he'll eventually get. I totally lost patience with the last third of the movie. The movie might not actually be overly long at just over 2 hours, but it felt too long. Either the film needed to do a better job of holding our attention, or 15 minutes easily could have been cut. By the end of the film, I didn't care much about the characters on screen anymore.

Henry Golding does give a strong performance as the titular hero. Golding is a really talented actor and I enjoyed seeing him in this heroic role. I hope he gets more opportunities like this. He can absolutely do drama, romance, but he has the chops to be an action star, too. I was saddened that the script didn't give him better material to work with. I don't think Golding is at fault for this movie not being better. He puts in a lot of effort, but he had only so much to work with. I really enjoyed the performance of Andrew Koji, too. His character eventually becomes tiresome, too, but his performance was strong. Seeing Golding and Koji portray these two characters, seeing them come together, their friendship build, then fall apart- that was one of the great strengths of the film. It's a big reason why I'd at least consider this an okay film.

I have to say, I wasn't a big fan of Haruka Abe. That hurts the movie. Her performance felt flat and she didn't convey the emotion needed. Koji made himself memorable in his role, Abe doesn't do that at all. I was mostly bored with whatever she was trying to do on screen, which is disappointing. The movie needed a stronger actress in this role. It was great seeing Iko Uwais. I was a big fan of his work in The Raid: Redemption and have only seen him in small supporting roles since. This is a supporting role, but he got a few solid moments. Peter Mensah was decent, too. I wasn't a big fan of Samara Weaving, but this is now the 4th film of hers where I felt disappointed by her bland brand of acting. Ursula Corbero felt cartoony as Baroness, but she had some solid moments, too. As a whole, the cast was mostly good, but ultimately not fully leveraged.

Now, I mostly like director Robert Schwentke, although I admit he's a very up-and-down director. I loved The Time Traveler's Wife and Red but really disliked R.I.P.D.. Schwentke has proven he can do great action, so I'm not sure what happened here. This is the second worst movie from him I've seen. What really frustrates me is that there was a lot to like here. Even now, I'm kind of second-guessing myself. Was this movie really not decent? The dynamic between Golding and Koji was so good! There was some solid action sequences. There were a few fun twists and surprises. Decent, right? Unfortunately, the film unravels in the third act and I have to stay firm on what I believe. This movie had all the elements to at least be decent, but it doesn't reach that level. G.I. Joe was already a second tier, lackluster franchise. Snake Eyes makes it even worse.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, G.I. Joe: Retaliation