Oh, I Do Have Eyes for Snake-Eyes

As a kid, I loved the G.I. Joe cartoon. "Yo, Joe," "knowing is half the battle," and all that. And the action figures were easily my favorite toys. One of the best Christmas gifts I ever received was a Skystriker jet. More than 20 years later, my sister occasionally teases me about how much I played with those things around the house, making jet and gunshot noises.

So I was a little bit excited to hear that a live-action G.I. Joe movie was being made. But not too excited. I'm fine with keeping those feelings in the childhood wing of my memory bank. Besides, no movie is going to give me the same thrill that the cartoon and toys did for Young Ian. Especially not one that's directed by a filmmaker who favors soulless, CGI-laden crapfests like Stephen Sommers.

But this photo that was just posted at Cinematical sparked some of that Young Ian interest:


Snake-Eyes was easily the coolest character of all the Joes. The man in black, whose face you never saw, who could kick your ass in all sorts of ninja ways, yet couldn't speak because of disfiguring injuries he suffered. Plus, he had a thing for redheads, which I could totally relate to.

The movie could end up being completely awful (as all of Sommers' films have been), but they appear to have gotten one thing right. Ray Park was great when he was unrecognizable and mute as Darth Maul in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, so maybe he'll shine again as another swift-kicking, silent warrior. Here's hoping.

Seeing a cool photo is at least part of the battle.