Snake Eyes is a popular character in the G.I. Joe Universe, but this treatment is curiously misguided as a humorless and complicated action/adventure. It seems like no one in this movie is inhabiting it; it’s more like a desperate escape.
Henry Golding from Crazy Rich Asians stars as the titular character who, as a boy, witnessed his father’s murder. He becomes a drifter and an expert in martial arts in the hopes that one day, he’ll be able to track down the person responsible.
He’s given the chance to join an organization in Japan that will help him seek revenge but turns them down. Instead, he rescues the organization’s rival (Andrew Koji), who introduces him to another society that will help train him in their ways.
Like Batman Begins, Snake Eyes witnesses the murder of a loved one and journeys far off to begin training to get justice. But that’s where the similarities end. This movie cranks up the action to where it becomes dull and repetitive. Snake Eyes isn’t as intriguing or mysterious as Bruce Wayne, or his alter ego.
Snake Eyes has to undergo three trials before he joins their clan, and all the while, he’s constantly torn between revenge and trying to do what’s right. The trials test him in many different ways but seem derived from other plot devices we’ve seen far too many times.
Snake Eyes is obviously intended to be the first in a franchise. It’s too bad it’s off to a rough start, as I would’ve appreciated the opportunity to use a fast forward button. Instead, to get to the end, I sat through pointless action scenes, a convoluted story, and performances that were silly and overwrought. The actors in this film are all as serious as if they were performing Shakespeare.
Golding does bring a degree of energy and spirit to his role, but he’s let down thanks to a by-the-numbers script and a one-dimensional character that we don’t really care what happens to by the end.
Snake Eyes is just silly, self-important, and it’s just not fun.
Grade: C-
(Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence and brief strong language.)
