zoë rose bryant’s review published on Letterboxd:
Yes, some of the direction in the action scenes is absolutely abysmal (Hollywood, stop employing Robert Schwentke!), but the character work between Henry Golding’s Snake Eyes and Andrew Koji’s Storm Shadow is so stellar that I often found myself fully invested nonetheless (and to be fair, the chaos does clear up quite a bit in that thrilling third act).
It’s the best G.I. Joe film almost by default, and I’m absolutely gutted that it’s flopping at the box office, as I’d love nothing more than to see Golding and Koji return to tell more of this story, with the equally entrenching Samara Weaving (as a splendid Scarlett) and Úrsula Corberó (a beaming Baroness) in tow. Maybe it wears out its welcome at tad at just over two hours, but after being starved of summer blockbuster spectacle for so long, I’m far less picky about that than I would’ve been a year or so ago.
Even though this thing is being brutalized by critics, it’s far better than its being given credit for, and I hope more people seek it out to make their own mind up, as it’d truly suck to not see this saga continue after such a strong start.
