Snake Eyes tells the origin story of the man who will become the titular hooded ninja fighting for justice as a member of the G.I. Joe team. His journey starts when he is just a child, witnessing a man murder his father, rolling a pair of dice to decide his fate, which come up snake eyes. The boy gives himself the name “Snake Eyes” and spends the next 20 years searching for this man who murdered his father to exact his revenge. Snake lives on the streets, making money fighting in cage matches. Until he is approached by Kenta Takamura (Takehiro Hira), head of the Yakuza in Los Angeles, who offers to help him find his father’s killer if he comes to work for him.

One day Kenta discovers that he has a spy in his organization. His old nemesis/cousin Tommy (Andrew Koji) has been trying to stop him from smuggling guns into Japan. Kenta orders Snake to kill Tommy, but instead he helps him escape, and in return Tommy takes him back to his home in Japan. Tommy is the last of his bloodline, and next in line to become head of the Arashikage clan. Kenta had also been considered for the position, before his actions got him banned from the castle. While the Arashikage clan generally doesn’t accept outsiders, Tommy offers to let Snake to join as a thank you for saving his life. Chief of Security Akiko (Haruka Abe) is the only outsider in the clan, and she suspects that Snake is hiding something. However, in order to join the clan Snake will need to go through The Three Challenges of the Warrior to test his loyalty, and prove his honor and truthfulness. The tests are designed to reveal one’s true character and the final challenge could result in death if the candidate has not been 100 percent honest. Meanwhile, Kenta has returned to Japan, importing weapons and preparing for war. He’s teamed up with Cobra terrorist network cell leader Ana DeCobray aka the Baroness (Úrsula Corberó), and they are plotting something big. They have their sights set on the Jewel of the Sun, an artifact locked away on the Arashikage grounds. It is said to be source of the clan’s power—a jewel created by the sun goddess that contains the power of the sun itself. The clan is sworn to protect the jewel and to never use its power. With news of the Barroness’ arrival, Akiko calls in Major Scarlett O’Hara (Samara Weaving) of the Joes to help.

Snake Eyes is an action-packed adventure that proves to be the origin story for not one, but two G.I. Joe characters, who are on opposite journeys. Snake has spent all his life obsessed with finding his father’s killer, but just how far will he go to get his revenge? Tommy has welcomed him into his family and has treated him like a brother. He sees a future where they fight side by side, molding the next generation of the clan. And so Snake finds himself at a crossroads, choosing between loyalty and vengeance. Meanwhile, Tommy’s motives are just, but he has wanted to be the head of the Arashikage clan for a long time, and this has become somewhat of an obsession for him. He has been a loyal and steadfast member of the clan, and feels that he has both earned and deserves the position. So when something threatens this future, his pride starts to lead him down a darker path.

From fist fights to swordplay to car chases and a big all out war, there is loads of action in this film. These sequences are exciting and well-choreographed, and never feel repetitive. Though, after seeing Andrew Koji’s martial arts skills in Warrior, he feels a bit underutilized here. That said, I think Koji is great on the dramatic side, and does a nice job of slowly building Tommy’s transformation across the film. The film does stray quite a bit from the G.I. Joe comics/cartoon. There, Snake Eyes was more of this silent, always fully-cloaked ninja. But here he’s played by the suave and charming Henry Golding, so why would you want to cover that up?! Snake likes to joke around, and there’s a bit of palpable unspoken chemistry between him and Akiko. Snake builds his martial arts and ninja skills over the course of the film, becoming closer to that cloaked hero that we all know him to be. The film also brings in the iconic duo of Baroness and Scarlett, who have a history of their own—they were university friends before their differing ideals sent them into completely opposite directions. Samara Weaving is always a mix of kick-ass and delightful in everything I’ve seen her in, and it’s more of the same here. And while I was unfamiliar with Úrsula Corberó, she brings a similar blend of action and playful humor to the Baroness. Even though she’s evil, you kind of root for her because she’s just so much fun.

The film also explores two very different sides of Japan. Behind the secure walls of the Arashikage fortress, it is a calmer, more traditional life. Hard Master (Iko Uwais) and Blind Master (Peter Mensah) train the clan members in traditional sword fighting and the ways of the ninja, and challenge them with tests of wit. There’s also some humorous moments mixed in here and there, particularly with Blind Master, who despite being blind, seems to see everything. Outside the walls, where Kenta and the Yakuza are plotting their seedier exploits, are the flashy neon lights of the city, which moves at a faster, more modern pace.

Paramount’s 4K Ultra HD release looks and sounds great. The video presentation provides an excellent level of detail in faces and textures, and takes advantage of the Dolby Vision color palette to give the film a signature look, often adding either a green or red tone to scenes. Black levels are excellent, details in the darker scenes are easy to make out, and the glowing neon lights of the city never bleed or look staticky. Dialogue is always clear, and the Atmos audio track provides a nicely immersive viewing experience, whether it’s the sounds of fighting and swords clashing in every direction, or speeding cars zooming by, or the patter of rain and clash of thunder coming from overhead. The 4K disc comes packed in a standard UHD keepcase, with a glossy slipcover, along with an insert with redemption instructions for a 4K digital copy of the film. There is no Blu-ray disc included (it seems like you need to go with the Steelbook 4K release to get that as well), but the 4K disc contains nearly 28 minutes of bonus material, including an animated short about the history of Snake Eye’s sword Morning Light, 5 short deleted scenes, and 3 behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast and filmmakers.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:01:25)

4K Ultra HD:

• 2160p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Dolby Vision
• Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English Audio Description, Czech Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish (Spain) Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish (Latin America) Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, French (Canada) Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Hungarian Dolby Digital 5.1, Polish Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, Czech, Danish, Greek, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Latin America), French, French (Canada), Italian, Hungarian, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Slovak, Finnish, Swedish

Digital (Code subject to expiration, may not be valid after 10/19/2023):

• 4K Digital Copy redeemable via Apple TV or Vudu (not Movies Anywhere compatible)

Extras:

• Morning Light: A Weapon with Stories to Tell (3:11)
  A narrated, animated look at the history of Snake Eyes’ legendary sword, Morning Light.
• Deleted Scenes (2:07)
  Collection of 5 very short deleted scenes. Play All, or select from:
  • Akiko Trains (:29)
    Snake Eyes watches Akiko as she trains.
    
  • Snake Eyes’ Sword Play (:25)
    Snake Eyes trains with a wooden sword.
  • Blind Master’s Kunai Throw (:27)
    All but one of a swarm of oncoming enemies manages to dodge Blind Master’s kunai.
  • House Attack (:12)
    Enemies come running out of a house after the wall is torn down.
  • Tommy Unleashed (:33)
    Tommy takes on a room full of enemies and shows no mercy.
• Enter Snake Eyes (9:32)
  The cast and filmmakers talk about the characters and their journeys, exploring the backstory of how this bad blood formed between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, filming the action and fight sequences, and putting on the suit for the first time. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with 2nd unit stunt director James Madigan, creator of G.I. Joe Comic Books Larry Hama, stunt coordinators Kimani Ray Smith & Jeremy Fry, producer Erik Howsam, and stars Henry Golding (“Snake Eyes”), Andrew Koji (“Tommy”) & Takehiro Hira (“Kenta”).
• A Deadly Ensemble (6:22)
  The cast and filmmakers talk about the various characters and their relationships with one another. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, creator of G.I. Joe Comic Books Larry Hama, and stars Henry Golding, Andrew Koji, Haruka Abe (“Akiko”), Samara Weaving (“Scarlett”), Ursula Corbero (“Baroness”) & Takehiro Hira.
• Arashikage (6:59)
  The cast and filmmakers talk about figuring out the backstory for Arashikage clan, filming in Japan, creating the swords, designing the fight sequences, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with creator of G.I. Joe Comic Books Larry Hama, production designer Alec Hammond, prop master David Dowling, stunt coordinator Kimani Ray Smith, fight coordinator Kenji Tanigaki, producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, and stars Henry Golding, Haruka Abe, Peter Mensah (“Blind Master”), Andrew Koji, Iko Uwais (“Hard Master”).
  
  

Final Thoughts:

While die hard G.I. Joe may have some issues with this more suave, talkative version of Snake Eyes, overall I found the film to be a solid, fun popcorn action flick. I thought the performances and action sequences were great, but the story itself was a bit forgettable. It’s one of those movies where a few years later you’ve completely forgotten any specific details, but then you pop in the disc and enjoy it all over again. The picture and sound on the 4K disc are great, though the bonus material is a bit hit or miss. There’s some nice behind-the-scenes material, but the cover promotes a “Bonus Short Film”, which is just a 2-minute animated history of Snake Eyes’ sword, and the deleted scenes are barely even scenes. That said, the release comes recommended for casual G.I. Joe and action film fans.