Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins

"A satisfying martial-arts action-adventure with two magnetic leads..."

"The true sin is that Snake Eyes as a character is so deathly dull."

"(A) bombastic, slick, convoluted and unnecessary second-tier action franchise reboot."

"By the end, it's no better than a mediocre superhero effort, except it's even worse, because there was potential there for more."

"Funless..."

"The fight scenes, full of swordplay and gunfire, are choppily edited and somehow lackadaisical."

"Another unnecessary origin story..."

"The fights, taken on their own, are occasionally OK, but not enough to lift this joke- and fun-free slog."

"It's too polished to be a war crime, but it's also too bland to be a decent summer movie."

"Golding makes a solid hero, with Andrew Koji and Haruka Abe as key clan members... But there's only so much that actors can do with material this woefully thin..."

"It feels so pro forma, so uninventive and glum, that if you told me everybody making it had an Uzi pointed at their head, I might believe you."

"Snake Eyes' fight scenes are framed in the current Hollywood house style, i.e. impossible to see and low-key nauseating..."

"Remove the G.I. Joe element, and Snake Eyes is a slightly above average American homage to the martial arts genre."

"The action scenes are so inexplicably painful - and the character work... so unexpectedly strong - that your heart sinks whenever the swords come out."

"The mayhem is furious and the goofiness is perhaps inadvertent..."

"Though the motivations are all in place, the screenplay fails to turn Snake (even temporarily) into a compelling antihero."

"(Snake Eyes) sputters out fast with unengaged action sequences and bloodless combat..."

"A darkly atmospheric, sleekly scissor-limbed ninja combat orgy..."