After Will Smith’s apt portrayal of Genie in Aladdin, which is said to be his highest grossing movie since the beginning of his film career. He proceeded to breathe life into his character in Gemini man. I am also looking forward to an amazing performance in the 2020 Bad Boys sequel.
Gemini man is about an elite 51-year-old assassin who’s ready to call it quits after completing his 72nd job. His plans get turned upside down when he becomes the target of a mysterious operative who can seemingly predict his every move. To his horror, Henry ( Will Smith ) soon learns that the man who’s trying to kill him bares an uncanny resemblance to him.
Henry is puzzled by his similarities to the younger assassin, whom Danny (Elizabeth Winstead ) suggests might be his child, though Henry (Will Smith ) claims he isn’t married. Testing DNA samples recovered from the mystery man, Danny (Elizabeth Winstead) discovers that his and Henry’s DNA are identical, meaning that Junior is in fact Henry’s younger clone, manipulated by his father figure Clay Verris (Clive Owen).
The movie was originally conceived in the late ’90s, it’s taken Gemini Man over 20 years to finally reach the screen — two decades in which all kinds of stars ( Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise) and directors (Tony Scott, Joe Carnahan) joined and abandoned the project.
When i watched the trailer for Gemini man i honestly thought it was a time travel movie, i never bothered to read the plot since it’s Will Smith, why bother.
One of the things i like about this movie is the attention to detail and this was shown in the first scene when Henry Brogan ( Will Smith) was preparing to strike a “terrorist” aboard a bullet train. With the way he savored each moment in this scene from loading his rifle to calculating the wind pressure i got a dead shot ( suicide squad) vibe from him. Each move was suspenseful, with this he carried viewers along.
I guess we have the director (Ang Lee ) to thank for that. This is the first movie Ang Lee is directing since Life of Pi which was released 7 years ago. Other works include Broke Back Mountain, The Crouching Tiger, Hulk , The Ice Storm and more.
Will Smith also put in an amazing performance and the CGI de-aging effect on his younger self was convincing-you have to watch the movie to understand, imagine the Fresh Prince of Bel Air doing parkour & bike stunts. Asides from Smith’s performance, Benedict Wong lightened the mood of the movie as Baron, since Elizabeth Winstead’s character ( Danny) was all over the place – was she interested in Henry (Will Smith) or not, that wasn’t established.
What the movie lacks in impressive dialogue and breathtaking action scenes it complements with high frame rate representation. Even though there were instances where the shaky cam action scenes were over the top and distracting.
Cast: Will Smith , Mary Elizabeth Winstead , Benedict Wong, Clive Owen, Ralph Brown , Linda Edmond and more
Genre: Action, Science Fiction , Drama
Director: Ang Lee
Written by: David Benioff, Billy Ray, and Darren Lemke.
Ratings: PG-13
Runtime: 1hr 57 minutes
Release Date: 11th October 2019.
To my verdict, I would give the movie a 7/10. Why? Because of the impressive CGI & the nostalgia of seeing a younger Will Smith on screen doing bike stunts. If you are a fan of high speed chase, clones, explosions and sub par scripting then this movie is for you.
