G.I. Joe doesn’t have the greatest Hollywood track record. The franchise has quietly dominated the comic book industry and toy aisle for decades, but adapting that success to the big screen has proven elusive. Paramount and Hasbro have produced three films in the G.I. Joe universe: a “so bad it’s good” kick-off in 2009, a surprisingly decent 2013 sequel, and Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, a 2021 reboot that tried to turn the saga’s most mysterious supporting player into a leading man.
The latter faced an uphill battle, and not just because it struggled with the era’s inconveniences. Snake Eyes was also working to separate itself from the previous G.I. Joe films, which were entrenched in the schlocky, hyper-stylized action vibes that Marvel Studios would drive to extinction. The film is a bit too serious for its own good, and its scattered script doesn’t do much to pick up the slack. Even if it hadn’t premiered amid a global health crisis, its withering critical reception might have discouraged many from giving it a fair shake.
