5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
An ancient Japanese clan called the Arashikage welcomes tenacious loner Snake Eyes after he saves the life of their heir apparent. Upon arrival in Japan, the Arashikage teach him the ways of the ninja warrior while also providing him something he's been longing for: a home. However, when secrets from Snake Eyes' past are revealed, his honor and allegiance get tested -- even if that means losing the trust of those closest to him
Starring: Henry Golding, Andrew Koji, Úrsula Corberó, Samara Weaving, Haruka AbeAction | 100% |
Adventure | 65% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: 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
Spanish=Espana and Latinoamerica
English, English SDH, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Swedish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 0.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The G.I. Joe brand may be held in high nostalgic esteem by the generation that grew up playing with the toys in the 1980s and consuming the accompanying cartoon, but the franchise's fate on the big screen has left a poor taste in the mouth. Notwithstanding the original 1987 animated feature film, which was true to the Saturday morning cartoon roots, the bloated big screen adaptations that released decades later may have made some money at the box office but were not particularly well received by the nostalgia hungry masses. Like every other property, it seems, Hollywood couldn't just make a movie...it had to rebuild the brand, essentially killing off any sense of fan loyalty or connection to it in the process. The first film was a particularly egregious example of the Hollywood-ing of a favorite franchise. The sequel fared a little better but by then the damage was done; Joe just wasn't Joe in the live action arena, at least not as adapted to Hollywood formula. Fast forward to 2021's Snake Eyes, an origins story for the coolest cat in the toy line. The film is passably effective for what it is, a hybrid of original story and familiar elements in place to reel the original Joe audience back into the fold. The movie does not withstand scrutiny in any way, but as mindless entertainment with a few stabs at working in familiar character beats and plot devices it's a decent entertainer though hardly a groundbreaking franchise adaptation.
The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.
This is the shinier, glossier version of Snake Eyes. The film's 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD presentation offers a good boost over the concurrently
released Blu-ray, revealing a picture that is firmer, finer, sharper, and a more pleasurable
viewing experience. The resolution gain reveals the basic gamut of improvements over the 1080p counterpart, including more intimate detail clarity,
enhanced image sharpness, and more refined locations, costumes, graphics, everything the movie has to offer bears the fruit of the pixel density boost.
Fans will appreciate the enhanced clarity and stability on display. The Dolby Vision color grading likewise offers a superior output. Tones are deeper,
particularly blacks, which are inky smooth and very fine, finding a place of true black without crushing out fine detail on hairs or clothes or shadowy
backgrounds. Bright colors -- a barrage of neon hues seen during one of the film's signature action scenes partway through -- burst out of the screen
with tremendous vibrancy and brilliance, far surpassing the Blu-ray for light level intensity, clarity, and overall eye-popping goodness. Overall brightness
is amplified as well without betraying a mood or time of day (the escape at the 17-minute mark being a great example of how the UHD brings more
output intensity to a scene without fundamentally altering the visual tone). Whites are crisper, too, and flesh tones appear more stable and lifelike
compared to the Blu-ray. The picture is free from all but the finest noise and there are no encode troubles to report, either. This is a very good looking
UHD from Paramount.
Snake Eyes' Dolby Atmos soundtrack delivers everything expected of it. Action scenes are expressively large and fluid. Stage movement is seamless from one speaker to the next while discrete effects are perfectly positioned. Vigorous surround extension is the norm. Atmospherics are likewise full and make use of every speaker in the configuration. Rich rain and thunder effects are heard at the 48-minute mark, full of expressive placement and engagement to bring the scene specifics home. Musical presentation is everything it should be for volume, intensity, engagement, low end extension, and so on: perfection. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized from the front-center location. There's nothing to complain about with this one.
This UHD release of Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins includes a handful of featurettes and some deleted scenes. A digital copy code is included
with purchase.
Snake Eyes is best described as "satisfactory." "Proficient." "Competent." These are not bad words, but neither are they good words. And Anything "middle ground" best describes this middle-of-the-road film. It does everything well. It does nothing poorly but it does nothing extraordinarily. It holds serve as an origins story, an action film, a human interest tale, and so on and so forth. Where the character goes from here is anyone's guess, but probably straight into another try-hard that works well enough but doesn't really move the needle. "Next year at the local multiplex!..." At least fans will find this to be a very good UHD, the limited supplemental content notwithstanding. Video and audio are about where they should be for a movie of this style. Recommended to fans.
2017
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IMAX Enhanced
2019
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2009
Collector's Edition
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IMAX
2013