I wouldn’t call 2009’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra my favorite movie but it’s certainly watchable though the devil is in the details and that’s where it falls short.

And among those details one of the most problematic was the fact that the lower section of Snake Eye’s mask was anatomically accurate.

As you can see from the picture to the left, it’s (I assume) molded to the face of the individual who happens to be wearing it, which is really dumb because it serves no purpose beyond someone – likely Stephen Sommers – thinking it’s cool.

In the upcoming Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins this niggling little detail is correcting, but they’ve apparently introduced others, such as casting Henry Golding as Snake Eyes.

Now keep in mind I’m judging this from a trailer that doesn’t even last a full minute, but when Golding turns up he feels madly ill at ease.

He’s a good actor – I particularly liked his performance in Monsoon (2019) – though not everyone is an action movie leading man.

In fact, that’s the entire conceit behind Nobody (2021). Nobody probably thinks of Bob Odenkirk as an action movie actor (Heck, I’m reasonably confident saying Odenkirk doesn’t think of himself as an action actor).

Though that’s what makes his turn as one so interesting.

Golding, while he has the height at 6″0 (let’s be honest. Action stars aren’t typically short and if they are, they’re photographed to appear as if they’re not. Tom Cruise is be around 5″8, which is probably around average height though if you watch the movies he appears in he might seem taller, which happens why you cast women and extras that are shorter than he is, so by default he looks taller) he doesn’t appear to have the swagger, the barely-concealed explosiveness common to the modern day action star.

And if the movie were more complex I could get behind what appears to be a more nuanced approach to the character but that’s likely not what we’re going to get.