SNAKE EYES: G.I. JOE ORIGINS

SNAKE EYES: G.I. JOE ORIGINS is a thrilling action adventure movie about an Asian American man who agrees to do a job for a Japanese gangster in return for learning the identity of the man who killed his father, but who discovers there are more important things in life than seeking revenge. The second half of SNAKE EYES features two great action sequences and an exciting final battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil, but it has some foul language, strong violence and two scary scenes involving gigantic snakes, so MOVIEGUIDE® advises strong caution.

The movie opens with a young boy watches a man kill his father after forcing his father to roll a pair of dice. The boy discovers the dice were rigged to always come up “snake eyes,” or two ones, a losing roll.

Years later, the boy has become obsessed with getting revenge on the man who killed his father. Calling himself Snake Eyes, he earns a living in underground fighting in America. A Japanese gangster named Kenta offers to help him find his father’s killer if he joins his organization. While working for Kenta, Snake Eyes befriends a Japanese man named Tommy. However, Tommy turns out to be the heir of an ancient ninja clan in Japan that had kicked out Kenta. So, Kenta orders Snake Eyes to kill Tommy, but Snake Eyes refuses. He even saves Tommy’s life during a daring escape back to Japan.

After arriving at the clan’s fortress outside Tokyo, Tommy offers to let Snake Eyes join the clan, but he must pass three difficult tests. Snake Eyes learns that the clan guards the Jewell of the Sun, a magical gem that Kenta is trying to get for Cobra, an international terrorist group for whom Kenta smuggles weapons. Kenta offers to turn over his father’s killer, if Snake Eyes will steal the gem for them.

Will Snake Eyes betray his new friends?

SNAKE EYES: G.I. JOE ORIGINS is both an origin story and a story of redemption. Though parts of the fight scenes are chopped into too many close ups, they’re held together by the charisma of Henry Golding, the talented romantic lead from CRAZY RICH ASIANS who plays Snake Eyes. The other characters are also fun to watch. In addition, the movie’s second half features a great motorcycle chase and an exciting final battle between the good guys and the bad guys serving Kenta, who decides to betray Cobra and take the magical gem for himself.

In the end, Snake Eyes decides to do the right thing, eschew revenge and help the good guys battle the Japanese gangster and the international terrorist group. Despite this, however, the clan tells Snake Eyes that the magical gem was given to them by the “sun goddess,” who said the gem is a piece of the sun and told them to protect the gem and never use it to serve their own self-interest. SNAKE EYES: G.I. JOE ORIGINS has minimal foul language, but a female spy for Cobra does utter an “f” word during one intense battle. The movie also has strong action violence and two scary scenes involving gigantic snakes. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises strong caution for older children.