Bad Boys for Life
2020
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Is Ang Lee's 'Gemini Man' worth a watch?
Oct 11, 2019 · Gemini Man's impressive visuals are supported by some strong performances, but this sci-fi thriller is fatally undermined by a frustratingly subpar story. Read Critics Reviews
The reasoning behind Junior and the Gemini project is far more trouble than it is worth. “Gemini Man” never pretends to be anything but a time-wasting contraption hoping to entertain its viewer. I can’t reasonably be mad at its honesty, and despite the horrendous dialogue its actors are often forced to speak, I found myself enjoying a ...
Oct 9, 2019 · Gemini Man, starring Will Smith, spells catastrophe for the future of movies. It’s both an innocuous Will Smith vehicle and ... maybe a harbinger of cinema’s demise. by Alissa Wilkinson. Oct 9...
- A fun but flawed action flick with a starring turn by Will Smith
- The 18 Best CGI Characters in Live-Action Movies
- Verdict
By Rosie Knight
Updated: Apr 28, 2020 10:33 pm
Posted: Oct 9, 2019 10:40 pm
The script for Gemini Man has been floating around Hollywood since 1997 and in those 22 years, it has gained something of a mythic status. Throughout its development, it's seen huge stars attached including Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and even Sean Connery. Eventually, Will Smith landed the lead and with Ang Lee at the helm, Gemini Man finally saw the light of day. So was the long-gestating action flick worth the two decade-plus wait? That depends on what you like from your action movies.
The big draw here is, of course, Smith, who's fun in dual roles as a former soldier turned assassin, Henry Brogan, and the young man, Junior, who's hunting him down. Imagining this film as a late '90s high-concept action romp makes a lot of sense, but sadly the finished flick feels very much like a product of 2019 and that's not a particularly good thing. Despite the fun, if gimmicky concept, Gemini Man feels pretty rote throughout with a script that lacks (intentional) humor and characters that we know so little about that it's hard to feel invested in any of them.
Gemini Man begins, as so many military thrillers do, with a betrayal. Soon, Henry is on the run alongside a fresh out of the academy agent (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who was meant to be surveilling him. Winstead and Smith are fine leads and both excel when they (and their stunt doubles) get the chance to throw themselves into the action. (There's a particularly impressive and grimy sequence in the first act that got this reviewer very excited to see what Winstead will be bringing to Huntress when she slips into the role for next year's Birds of Prey.)
It's hard to talk more about Gemini Man's plot without revealing its (admittedly obvious) secrets. But as the film heads into the second act, Lee does deliver on some very interesting action when the script allows for it. There's an astonishingly silly and superb motorbike chase that will likely leave you with motion sickness due to the speed and ingenuity of the direction. Plus, it's one of the many times when Weta Digital really showcases how far de-aging and actor duplication technology has come. Overall, the double Smiths are surprisingly effective with only a couple of truly Uncanny Valley-inducing moments. If anything, one of the biggest shocks is that the effects are one of the best parts of the film; it's the script and story that let it down.
One of the film's other weakest points is that for an action movie there isn't really enough action. When Gemini Man is being a big, silly, bombastic action film it feels exciting and honestly quite unique -- though that may be due to the fact that the film was shot at 120 FPS which makes it look half crystal clear and half like you're watching it on the motion-smoothing setting on your parents' TV -- but sadly it doesn't get to channel that energy enough. Despite the fact that it's filled with very entertaining moments the movie doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. It's definitely not the '90s action movie it originated as, it never fully commits to being a high-octane action showcase, and many of the character interactions seem like they'd fit better in a '00s drama.
Watch Gemini Man's crazy bike chase scene below:
In another world, Gemini Man could've been a gritty cerebral sci-fi thriller. Plenty of interesting themes are dipped into but the script keeps those explorations shallow, with most feeling like an afterthought. The film touches on race, war, self, isolation, grief, abuse, and -- even for the briefest of moments -- the brutal and real historical precedence of black people being used as cannon fodder in American wars. But these conversations don't drive or elevate the film with David Benioff, Billy Ray, and Darren Lemke's script preferring to skirt the edges and stick to tropes and cliches rather than using the sci-fi structure to tell a more engrossing or relevant story.
Fans of 3D cinema will likely be impressed by how well the format suits the film even if it only really makes use of it for around half of the runtime. Uneven but ambitious, Ang Lee's return to the action genre isn't as good as it should be but Will Smith, Benedict Wong, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead make this weird flick an entertaining watch even w...
- Rosie Knight
Oct 11, 2019 · Metascore Generally Unfavorable Based on 49 Critic Reviews. 38. User Score Mixed or Average Based on 275 User Ratings. 5.4. My Score. Hover and click to give a rating. Add My Review. Where to Watch. iTunes ($3.99) All Watch Options. View All. Will Smith. Henry Brogan, Junior. Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Danny Zakarewski. Clive Owen. Clay Verris.
Sep 26, 2019 · ‘Gemini Man’: Film Review. THR review: In Ang Lee's effects-heavy 'Gemini Man,' Will Smith plays dual star roles as both a veteran assassin and his younger clone. By Stephen Dalton....
