Gemini Man (China/United States, 2019)
October 09, 2019
While the makers of Gemini Man may have had
aspirations for this to begin a new sci-fi action franchise, the would-be
series doesn’t get off to the most inspiring of starts. At its best, the movie
feels like a superhero/spy movie hybrid with a science fiction underpinning. Little
of the film is new or innovative and, although director Ang Lee can boast some
interesting choreography with one of the fight scenes (something involving the
use of a motorcycle as a martial arts weapon), his inventiveness doesn’t extend
to the tired storyline, which feels like recycled pulp material. The film
promises more than the by-the-numbers climax it delivers.
The premise sounds intriguing: an expert assassin is marked
for extermination and hunted down by a much younger clone of himself. There’s
some window dressing to go along with this: government corruption and cover-ups,
a quasi-romantic relationship with an agent, and soldier-for-hire company that
operates with impunity. Gemini Man is a case of the whole being less
than the sum of its parts. Screenwriters David Benioff (one half of the Game
of Thrones duo), Billy Ray, and Darren Lemke do a poor job with relationship
building; the characters never feel real. It’s like they’re auditioning
for a Marvel movie or a Jason Bourne rip-off. They fail to make the interaction
between a man and his clone sufficiently complex – they try but there’s too
much glib banter and testosterone exchanges. The movie often can’t make up its
mind whether it wants to be a popcorn thriller or something with an existential
bent. As a result, it’s not fully satisfying as either.
Henry Brogan (Will Smith) is the best option the government
has when an ugly job must be done. He’s so good with a sniper rifle that he can
nail a target on a moving train from more than a mile away. Following a questionable
hit, he decides to retire but he knows things he shouldn’t know and his former
boss, Clay Verris (Clive Owen), decides he’s a liability. Clay is deep under
the sheets with some higher-ups in Black Ops and makes it clear that if they don’t
“remove” Henry, he will bring “Gemini” into play. Henry easily spots the first
agent assigned to trail him: the squeaky-clean Danny Zakarweski (Mary Elizabeth
Winstead). Then all hell breaks loose. Henry ends up on the run with Danny. His
globe-trotting pursuer is Clay’s protégé/adopted son, Junior (also Smith), who
happens to be a 30-year younger version of the assassin with all of Henry’s skills
and strengths but none of the weaknesses that come from age and a burgeoning conscience.
This isn’t the first movie to feature a computer de-aged character
– Marvel has been doing this sort of thing for years with mixed results – but it
may be the most ambitious attempt to-date. Unfortunately, while technology has advanced
considerably in recent years, it’s not perfect. The younger Smith looks better
than the younger Carrie Fisher in Rogue One but there are times when the
face looks blocky, blotchy, and plastic. In some scenes, at some angles, the
illusion is effective but there are enough glitches to take the viewer out of
the moment. This is a reminder of why “synthespians” are still best given
limited exposure. The more we see of them, the more obvious it becomes what
they are.
On the whole, Gemini Man boasts its share of entertaining moments and set pieces, including the aforementioned motorcycle fight scene. But there are dead spots in between the action sequences where the exposition becomes too dense and the pacing drags. At the end, there’s also a sense of “Is that all there is?” as if the movie couldn’t quite live up to expectations for it to do something more. If Will Smith is in search of a new franchise to call his own, he may need to keep looking.
Gemini Man (China/United States, 2019)
Cast: Will Smith, Clive Owen, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Benedict Wong, Douglas Hodge
Home Release Date: 2020-01-14
Screenplay: David Benioff and Billy Ray and Darren Lemke
Cinematography: Dion Beebe
Music: Lorne Balfe
U.S. Distributor: Paramount Pictures
U.S. Release Date: 2019-10-11
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Sci-Fi/Action
Subtitles: none
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- (There are no more better movies of this genre)
- (There are no more better movies of this genre)
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