Snake Eyes is an action/adventure origin story film for the titular character, Snake Eyes, who is a part of the GI Joe franchise. When a young boy vows revenge on his father’s killers, he enters a life of violent training and bloodshed. Discovered and trained by ninjas, he acquires the deadly skills to take on any human being on earth – but his passion project for vengeance still bubbles to the surface.

As a young boy, Snake Eyes (Henry Golding) witnesses the killing of his father by a group of thugs. A broken human, he grows up with a lust for battle and becomes a professional underground fighter, hurting people for money. But Kenta (Takehiro Hira), a man who sees potential in him, offers to tell him who killed his father so that he can exact revenge. But there’s a catch: Snake Eyes must perform a couple of tasks first. When he crosses paths saving the life of a fellow fighter, Tommy (Andrew Koji), Snake Eyes is recognized for his unique abilities and taken to the top-secret Arashikage clan, which is a group of incredibly powerful Japanese ninjas. Despite the mistrust of insider Akiko (Haruko Abe), Snake Eyes quickly rises in ranks alongside Tommy, who is in line to be the heir of the entire clan. But something is amiss when Kenta reveals a friend named Baroness (Úrsula Corberó) who is part of a Cobra, a worldwide top-secret society of villains. Will Snake Eyes betray the Arashikage clan to learn who his father’s killer was so he can get revenge? Or will he stay true to his friendship with Tommy?

Directed by Robert Schwentke (Allegiant, RED) there’s an overall very serious tone to Snake Eyes, which is an interesting choice in that the film could easily have gone full campy comedy and still worked. Fortunately, the leading characters are talented enough to pull off the rare ability in any action movie of drawing compassion. However, another interesting choice was to suddenly shift the film halfway through from a simple, character-driven origin story of Snake Eyes and Tommy, to the immersive world of GI Joe. Originally based on a stealthy, quiet, ninja character known for always staying silent and never taking his mask off, the Snake Eyes film breaks from tradition in every regard, going back in time to before Snake Eyes’ accident so that his face can be seen the entire time, and having him talk throughout the story. Granted, it’s challenging to have a main character who is neither seen nor heard, but with the emotional impact in this iteration, it may have made for a more interesting movie. Additionally, the coolness of a ninja character that dates back to the 1960s treads on cultural appropriation in modern times.

Going in with the understanding that the film is about an American, motorcycle-riding, leather clad ninja who consistently brings swords, by choice, to a modern battlefield where people use guns, the bar should be set low enough to enjoy the action, of which there’s plenty, eventually. A violent romp across beautiful set pieces, Snake Eyes isn’t trying any harder than it needs to, offering a quick one-two punch to the face as a substitution for meaningful character development. Despite the flaws, the strength of the actors and an attempt at an origin story are enough to make it a contender for the best GI Joe film in the series.