YNOT at the Movies

After the success of "Crazy Rich Asians" (USA 2018), Henry Golding rides to the top as one of the most celebrated Asian actors in films. Thus, the expectation is high for his leading role in the G.I. Joe franchise reboot, "Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins" (Canada/USA 2021 | 121 min.), directed by Robert Schwentke. Unfortunately, the film is a wasted opportunity for him because of an incoherent plot and a messy script. He often appears in the film as if he is posing for a glamor shot—looking handsome but without substance. His talent is obscured by the sword slashing and motorcycle racing farce in the film.

To elaborate on the origin of G.I. Joe, the film begins with a father-son outing in a cabin in Washington. In the middle of the night, the father (Steven Allerick) wakes up the son (Max Archibald) and tells him they need to leave right way. But it's too late because armed people are already standing at the front door. So the father tells the son to hide in the closet and don't move no matter what. Seconds later, the son jumps out to fight. Yet, the son is somehow able to escape from the group of heavily armed men, and the father is killed. So there, that's the preposterous origin of G. I. Joe, and the kid grows up to become the revengeful Snake Eyes (Henry Golding) twenty years later.

While fighting in an underground pit in Los Angeles, Snake Eyes is spotted by Kenta (Takehiro Hira), a Japanese gangster (Yakuza). Kenta recruits Snake Eyes to gain access to the Jewel of the Sun, a powerful gem stored in the heavily protected compound of the 600-year-old Arashikage clan. In return, Kenta will track down the killer of Snake Eyes' father.

During a brawl between gangsters, Snake Eyes saves the life of Tommy (Andrew Koji, aka Storm Shadow), who is the grandson of the head of the Arashikage clan Sen (Eri Ishida). Tommy took Snake Eyes back to the clan's compound, ignoring the objection from the clan's security officer Akiko (Haruka Abe).

Despite Snake Eyes' poor performance in the three tests to join the clan, he is admitted anyway and secretly plots his access to the Jewel. His brotherly bond with Tommy is put to the test.

The film's script is as messy as a junkyard. The plot is incoherent and perplexing. Can you imagine that Snake Eyes can just freely walk into the chamber where the sacred Jewel is kept, without any lock or guards' interception? How come the compound is as neat and beautiful as usual after fires broke out everywhere the previous night? Why doesn't the security chief Akiko pursue her suspicions about Snake Eyes? Why do two fighting characters become allies in split seconds for no reason?

The film's dialogues are often corny and bizarre as well. Even though most of the Japanese characters speak English with a heavy accent, some non-Japanese characters spill some Japanese words once a while. Besides the random usage of the Japanese language, the film's Japan location is also superficial; it provides some forced exotic flavor, but serves no purpose in enhancing the characters or storytelling. That treatment extends to the casting of Henry Golding for the leading role—he is used for his star power, not for playing a strong character.

The film's visuals look more like manga than cinema. The film's martial arts scenes are more like an exhibition on stage than a real fight. The auto-chasing sequences seem to be a copycat from a Fast and Furious franchise.

One thing for sure is that Henry Golding must have taken plenty of good-looking photos while posing as a ninja toy. He should have been given more to show what he can do.

"Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins" opens on Friday, July 23, 2021.