Snake Eyes has hit theaters and brings the origin story of G.I. Joe's mysterious ninja warrior to the big screens. What resulted was a big-budget martial arts movie with a touch of the supernatural, a mix of G.I. Joe Easter eggs and a possible setup for future installments in the franchise.
The movie also contained a mix of new and old characters. On top of Snake Eyes, there was one other classic member of the G.I. Joe team, one of Cobra's top villains, Snake Eyes' most notorious rival, and a slew of new characters unique to this movie. While some of them were instant favorites, others didn't quite hit the mark.
Father
While an origin story for Snake Eyes threatened to take away the mysterious nature of the masked G.I. Joe member, the movie ensured that some mystery remained and even improved upon some aspects of previous G.I. Joe movies. Snake Eyes started with him as a young child at a cabin in the woods with his dad. This didn't last long before people showed up and murdered his father.
This remained a mystery until the end. Snake Eyes learned his father used fake names, and he didn't even know his real name, only choosing to call himself Snake Eyes because of the dice used to kill his dad. G.I. Joe veteran Scarlett showed up at the end to tell Snake Eyes his dad was a member of the Joes, but other than that he just existed to die and haunt his son's memories.
Hard Master
Hard Master was one of the two trainers and master ninjas working with the Clan Arashikage. He was also the least interesting of the two. When he first appeared, it was his job to put Snake Eyes through the first of three tests to determine if he would the Clan Arashikage or die.
Played by The Raid star Iko Uwais, he showed instantly that he was a powerful warrior. He had an even bigger role in the movie when he stood to protect the Clan Arashikage from Kenta's attack. However, outside of his impressive fighting skills, nothing else helped him stand out in Snake Eyes.
Kenta
Kenta was the principal antagonist in Snake Eyes. In the movie, he was part of the Clan Arashikage, but when he learned Tommy would become the heir to the clan, his jealousy got the better of him. He ended up banished and built his own empire alone.
As a villain, he was mostly bland. He manipulated Snake Eyes into working for him and then became the ultimate villain using a mystical gem to destroy Clan Arashikage. Sadly, he never matched up to the people he battled and never rose above a below-average villain.
Scarlett
Scarlett was the only thing that connected Snake Eyes to G.I. Joe, other than Cobra being involved in the plot. She was impressive early when she was on a face chat with the Clan Arashikage and then sat the phone down to take down three terrorists who cornered her in the bathroom.
Things got better when Scarlett showed up and ended up facing off with The Baroness. The interaction between the two women was one of the best in the movie. However, other than the fact she is a legendary G.I. Joe member, and she is good with guns, she was just an Easter egg serving as an ally in Snake Eyes.
Blind Master
Blind Master was one of two ninja masters that served the Clan Arashikage. While blind, he could see more than just about anyone in the clan. He proved this when he knew someone nodded and raised a glass to him from across the room.
He also proved to be highly entertaining, as he was the master who took Snake Eyes on his second test and came across like the movie's version of Yoda. In the big final fight, he also proved that he could stand up and beat anyone in a fight, regardless of the odds.
Akiko
Akiko looked to be set up to become a love interest, but Snake Eyes didn't use a romance subplot in the movie. Instead, she was a fierce warrior who held her own and proved she could win any fight, as long as it was a fair one. The movie gave her a solid backstory, a woman with no family, who the Clan Arashikage took in.
She was also one of the most loyal warriors in the Clan Arashikage and stood to protect them at all costs. She was, at times, underwritten and made inferior to the men in the movie, but she was still strong enough to fight and win battles when the chips were down.
Sen
Sen was a character that many people might overlook, but that proved deadly. For those unsure, Sen is Tommy's grandmother and the leader of the Clan Arashikage. She seemed, at first, a figurehead who ran the clan, but she ended up as much more and was a fascinating character by the end.
While it seemed she needed protection, she proved with the flick of her hand fan that she could kill anyone who tried to hurt her. She faced death when Kenta got the mystical gem, but she survived and ended up fighting alongside her ninja warriors in the end.
Snake Eyes
Snake Eyes is the main hero in the movie, but he is not the best character. When the movie started, he was a young boy who watched men kill his father and took his name from the fact the killer had dice that rolled snake eyes and fated his father to die.
However, what keeps him below names like Tommy is that Snake Eyes was a blank slate in more than one way. Yes, he was mysterious, but he was also boring and single-minded. He spent much of the movie as a villain before a noble turn at the end, but he never matched up to the greatness of his nemesis.
Tommy Arashikage
Tommy started the movie as someone who looked like a lackey working for Kenta. However, it turned out he was undercover and was the last heir to the Clan Arashikage. When Snake Eyes saved him, Tommy took him back to Japan and offered him a spot in his clan and in his family.
However, Snake Eyes betrayed Tommy and the Clan Arashikage, and yet fans were supposed to cheer for the future G.I. Joe member. In truth, Tommy was the hero of this story, and it was his tragic fall, in the end, caused by a betrayal from a trusted ally, that proved this was as much his story as it was Snake Eyes.
The Baroness
While she was only a minor character, The Baroness stole every scene in which she appeared. Played by Ursula Corbero, she took the role and made it her own. The one representative of Cobra in the movie, The Baroness was a villain who carried herself with arrogance and aura at a level that Kenta only dreamed he possessed.
When Baroness met up with Scarlett, it was one of the best moments of the movie. She also had a great line when she realized this wasn't even her battle anymore. Then, at the end credit scene, she proved she was there for the sequel, and she will only make any future G.I. Joe movies better by simply appearing in them.
