Hasbro GI Joe Origin misses the mark

In the beginning Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins, the hero of the film, Snake Eyes (Henri golding) is forced to fight 15-20 opponents at a time and, against all odds, he triumphs. Having so many people fighting one man is how the movie tells us that this guy is a force to be reckoned with. But a few scenes later, he’s fighting another huge group of people. Then another. And another. Once it is character building and thrilling, by the fourth or fifth battle it almost loses all of its power—sure Snake Eyes will get away with another unbalanced fight. This mix of partially cool and partially repetitive is a great example of what you can expect from the popular Hasbro’s latest reboot. GI Joe franchise.

Directed by Robert Schwentke (Red) From a screenplay by Evan Spiliotopoulos, Anna Waterhouse and Joe Shrapnel, the film aims to provide a unique backdoor introduction in a much larger world, a world where the “real American heroes”, GI Joe, fight their enemies in Cobra. On the way though, Snake-eyes feels aggressively disinterested in sustained excitement or narrative innovation. Instead, he relies too much on familiar, meaningless action that undermines his character development and world-building.

After a brief, crucial flashback to start the film, Snake-eyes picks up in today’s Los Angeles where the main character is recruited from the Yakuza. Soon he will be asked to murder one of its members without sufficient reason. But he can’t, he’s too moral and honorable, so he and the man he was supposed to kill make a daring escape and quickly establish a friendship. This other person is Tommy Arashikage (Andrew Koji), who happens to be the heir of one of the The most powerful and sacred clans in Japan. Snake Eyes doesn’t have a family, so Tommy invites him to go to Japan and be part of his group. And so begins Snake Eyes’ journey from wandering warrior to a possible GI Joe ninja assassin.

This relationship between Snake Eyes and Tommy is the best thing about the movie. The two headstrong and capable characters have a lot in common, which manifests itself in a tension between them. Each wants and tries to trust the other, but we don’t know if they have the capacity to do so. It’s a complex dynamic that is further fueled by Arashikage security chief Akiko (Haruka Abe), who doesn’t trust Snake as much as he does Tommy. In these relationships, and the revelations that follow, Snake-eyes shows huge promise. When the film tells stories of characters, develops relationships, creates conflict, or arouses emotions, it works. Ultimately, however, the characters make choices (too spoiler to mention) that complicate the plot, but also emotionally erode much of the character building that has already happened. It’s a jarring change that creates an unsettling imbalance in the film’s themes of family and trust. On the one hand, it looks like the movie is telling us to believe in these characters. But actions on screen don’t always confirm this.

The main track Snake-eyes attempts to develop themes is done with action pieces, which is expected (this is a GI Joe movie after all). While many of the action scenes are beautifully choreographed and staged, very few moments seem specifically suited to this world or franchise. With a few exceptions, the scenes mostly consist of people with swords chasing each other and jumping. It can be fun, but it can also be exhausting, which is in large part due to Schwentke’s almost uninspired direction.

There are very, very few Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins that we have never seen before in one way or another; From the muted colors of the Arashikage base to the neon lights of downtown Tokyo, to the action scenes filled with anonymous villains wearing motorcycle helmets, it all feels very safe and familiar. Even a few of the big moments meant to stand out from the crowd don’t really do (tthree words : Well of souls). Finally, by the time a few GI Joe characters start to appear, they have no impact on the unstable dynamic brewing between Tommy and Snake. The new characters explain some plot points, blow up some things, and tease future films rather than influencing anything specific or significant in this one. As nice as it is to see the world of GI Joe To infiltrate this supposedly character-driven story, the two pieces don’t match up and make it seem like each would be better without the other.

Golding and Koji both go out of their way to raise the bar in the storyline and action scenes by putting as much nuance and intensity as possible into their performances. Abe also lends a welcome touch of humanity to the film with his mysterious backstory and healthy skepticism. But in the end, they’re just stuck in a deep sinkhole that they can’t get out of. Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins isn’t a bad movie, but it’s not a good movie either. It’s sort of sitting in the middle as a fitting way to spend a few hours of your time, but something you’ll instantly forget the second the credits roll. While it would be cool to see these characters again, if that happened, one would hope it would come with more passion and energy.

Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins only opens in theaters on July 23. TO Paramount + version has not yet been announced.

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