GEMINI
MAN (2019)
Starring
Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, Benedict Wong, Ralph
Brown, Linda Emond. Directed by Ang Lee. (117 min)
ON
BLU-RAY FROM PARAMOUNT
Review
by Tiger the Terrible😽
Ultimately,
Gemini Man might have been partially undone by its own trailer,
which spills the beans that Will Smith is a retiring government
assassin forced to square-off against his younger self, an
equally-skilled clone developed by his own people. But even though I think this is a dish that would have been best-served cold, it’s
also a pricey, high-concept action picture and one would be hard-pressed to create any kind
of promotional campaign that didn’t tease the viewer with
two Will Smiths.
The problem is the way the narrative actually unfolds. Henry Brogan
(Smith) is betrayed by the DIA after learning his last kill was not
the terrorist he was led to believe, but a scientist working for the
DIA on a black-ops project called ‘Gemini,’ headed by its
nefarious director, Clay Varris (Clive Owen). Varris sends his best
assassin to track-down and kill Brogan. Up to this point, Gemini
Man is a watchable-but-unremarkable thriller featuring solid
performances by Smith and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, the latter of whom
who is a tough, resourceful DIA agent originally assigned to keep an
eye on him, but ends up a target herself.
Neither
learns who’s actually hunting them until well-into the second act
and it's obviously intended to be the story’s big revelation. But
since the audience is privy to all of this from the get-go, instead
of being pleasantly surprised by the sudden plot twist, we spend the
first hour waiting for Brogan to figure out what we already know. The
remainder of the film plays itself out in predictable fashion and is
certainly watchable, but I suspect viewers going into this completely
cold would have a lot more fun with it.
 |
| "Well, I guess you're riding shotgun." |
Elsewhere,
Gemini Man works best when director Ang Lee briefly returns to
his comfort zone, which is exploring the internal conflict of both Brogan and “Junior,” the latter of whom is also
played by Smith through motion capture and CGI. Speaking of which,
the ballyhooed “de-aging” of Smith works about as well as it has
in other recent films like The Irishman and Endgame: Not entirely convincing, but less of a distraction once we
acclimate ourselves. The action itself ranges from exciting to ridiculous. A close-quarters fight in the catacombs of Budapest is
impressive, but a CGI-heavy motorcycle chase earlier in the film
plays more like a Grand Theft Auto mission. The climax itself
has our protagonists surrounded by dozens of Gemini super-soldiers,
yet they’re collectively worse shots than Imperial Stormtroopers
and are little more than canon fodder.
But
again, Gemini Man is ultimately more of a marketing mistake than a
failure as a film. The characters and performances are enjoyable and
even the action is kind-of fun, like an exciting video game. However,
the overall narrative is hampered by waiting so long to reveal what
we already know without really expanding on
such an inherently intriguing concept any further.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
FEATURETTES
- “The Genesis of Gemini Man” (the film does have
an interesting history, going back a few decades); “Facing Your
Younger Self”; “The Future is Now”; “Setting the Action”;
“Next Level Detail”; “The Vision of Ang Lee” (A majority
of these bonus features cover the special effects and technical
aspects of the film, featuring interviews with the primary cast,
director Ang Lee, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and various effects
artists & stunt performers.)
ALTERNATE
OPENING
DELETED
SCENES
DVD
& DIGITAL COPIES
KITTY CONSENSUS:
NOT BAD. LIKE CAT CHOW.
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