Gemini Man (2019)

Gemini Man (2019)

5/10

Starring

Will Smith

Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Clive Owen

Directed by Ang Lee

Gemini Man is a sci-fi action thriller that’s been in the making for a long time, or so they say. The movie’s idea is very interesting, but the plot falls flat. At times, it felt like I was watching a monologue from an old man to his younger self, especially during the early to mid parts of the movie when the two were chasing each other. The action scenes are grand when they happen, but they often climax weakly—though they do make up for it with some solid action toward the end. This one-dimensional plot could have been fun if the movie didn’t drift off into long dialogues between any two of the three characters on the run.

Here’s the plot: Henry Brogan (Will Smith), a government assassin, is getting older and decides to retire. After his last mission, a friend tells him that his final target was actually innocent. The government finds out about this conversation and sends operatives to kill Henry, his friend, and the woman who was sent to monitor the dock where he met his friend.

Henry saves the woman, but his friend is killed. The two escape and meet up with another old friend of Henry’s. While in the East, they’re attacked by a man who looks exactly like Henry. They soon discover he’s a clone, and now they have to stop him before he kills them.

The scenes where the present-day Henry tries to reason with his younger self were emotionally underwhelming. They came off as awkward and below par for the team responsible for the dialogue in this movie.

The film was nearly 20 years in the making, waiting for technology to catch up with its concept. Many directors and leads were considered before Ang Lee and Will Smith took on the project. Instead of following the approach of Looper (2012), where two different actors (Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt) played the younger and older versions of the lead character, Gemini Man uses motion capture and de-aging technology to create a younger Will Smith. Will Smith played both his character and provided the motion capture for his younger self.

I wasn’t impressed by this movie, especially given the hype and the talent involved. I expected more and was disappointed by what I saw. I wanted more action with amazing fight choreography (which only really showed up at the end) and less time wasted on bike chases. I also expected the plot to have deeper ties and an unexpected twist related to the clone’s existence—something shocking that we wouldn’t see coming. Instead, the ending delivered exactly what we all expected, so there was no surprise. All these expectations were just that—expectations.

I guess it’s my fault for expecting more. The movie delivered less, and I don’t feel comfortable recommending it for pure viewing pleasure. But if you’re a Will Smith fan, you might want to see it just for him.