‘Snake Eyes’ Gets Digital Release Tomorrow
Surely Snake Eyes’ release was not what Paramount hoped for. In less than a month of release, the film that was supposed to jumpstart the moribund G.I. Joe film franchise has grossed just $35.2 million — and that’s its total worldwide, not just in the United States. Estimates about exactly how much the film cost to produce vary, but it surely cost much, much more than $35 million. Plus, the movie got a B- from CinemaScore voters and a 38 percent from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s not how you relaunch a movie series. That’s pretty much how you kill it for a decade.
While the film did not connect with moviegoers in theaters, it will get another chance to find an audience on home video — starting tomorrow when it becomes available on Digital HD. According to iTunes, the digital extras include an “all new short film, ‘Morning Light,’” plus a featurette on Snake Eyes’ sword, an “in-depth look at the iconic hero,” and deleted scenes.
I wouldn’t blame anyone for skipping Snake Eyes in theaters, particular since it came out right as Covid cases began to rise again around the country. I imagine there will be a lot of curious G.I. Joe fans who want to see Henry Goulding as the famous G.I. Joe ninja; the film could very well become a modest hit at home and on streaming. Here was what I wrote about Snake Eyes in my review last month:
People typically rank Transformers as the worst franchise based on a toy line. What Snake Eyes presupposes is, maybe it isn’t? G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was a hideous soup of bad computer effects and blockbuster cliches. G.I. Joe: Retaliation was less cartoonish but not much better, and Snake Eyes might actually be the least effective of the bunch. It takes the most popular G.I. Joe character and totally demystifies him until all that’s left is a blandly hunky dude with a sword.
If you prefer a physical copy of Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, the 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD discs will be available on October 19, 2021.