Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins

By: Jamie Steinberg

We meet a young boy who seems to be on a vacation with his dad at a cabin in the woods. We quickly learn that all is not as easy going as it appears. The boy and his father are actually in a “safe house.” In the middle of the night the two are attacked by a man who says that if the father rolls a winning number on the dice that he can live, but if he loses then it means death. The father rolls the number one on each die – a/k/a “Snake Eyes.” So begins an exploration of the man who lies behind the black helmet he dons. Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins keeps you on the edge of your seat as Snake Eyes is taken on a mission that will train him into being the warrior that we all know and respect.

Adult Snake Eyes (Henry Golding) is a vagabond that goes round after round in fights with people betting on him until they lose interest. After one particular fight he is approached by a gentleman who promises that he will find out the man who murdered Snake Eyes’ father. Thus, we next find Snake Eyes working for the Yakuza by cutting open fish and shoving guns in them – later to be sewn up and sold at fish markets. Here we kick off his partnership with his boss’ lackey Tommy (Andrew Koji). After saving Tommy’s life, Snake Eyes is taken to Japan and Tommy welcomes him into his clan – the Arashikage. This is where his training begins as a ninja in order to help take down a terrorist group known as “COBRA.”

This is where the two-hour film starts to drag. Sure, there are action-packed moments as Snake Eyes must pass three specific tests in order to be deemed worthy of truly entering the Arashikage clan. However, those three tests feel overly drawn out. It would have been nice to see him complete the task in a montage and then get back on course towards finding his father’s killer.

Director Robert Schwentke does a great job at bringing the action and the blood with Snake Eyes. It has everything you would expect from a G.I. Joe-centric film (butt kicking and rooting for the good guys); however, it’s the length of the movie that makes it feel like we have been following Snake Eyes’ journey far longer than the events take place. Regardless, if you are looking for a movie to give you all of the power and punches that you expect from G.I. Joe movie, you will certainly want to take a seat for Snake Eyes.