Gemini Man

An enjoyable popcorn action flick, Gemini Man won’t blow you away, but Will Smith and the rest of the cast have enough charisma to make this a fun, if by-the-numbers, ride.

Premise: After disillusioned government hitman Henry Brogan (Will Smith) retires, a former army buddy reveals that forces within the intelligence agency may have been lying to him about his final mission. Soon Henry himself is a target, relentlessly pursued by a younger, faster assassin – his clone (also Will Smith).

Review:

Gemini Man is not an all-time classic by any stretch of the imagination – but taken for what it is, it’s an enjoyable popcorn action flick, reminiscent of 90’s action films where the concept was perhaps more memorable than the plot or the action. In this case, the concept is an entertaining one: a 50-something retired assassin is being hunted down by his own clone, who is nearly 30 years younger – and faster – than he is.

Will Smith plays both roles, and although the scripted dialogue can be a little clunky at times, Smith does a great job portraying both characters. Smith plays the older Henry Brogan with a relaxed charm and a twinkle in his eye, but also with a heavy sense of regret for a life that has been defined by death, leaving him with nothing to really show for his time on Earth. Meanwhile, the de-aging visual effects that have been used to transform the 51-year-old Will Smith into his 23-year-old, Fresh Prince of Bel Air-era, younger clone are really impressive. If I’m being picky, there were a couple of VFX shots of the younger clone that didn’t quite seem to work, but for the most part, the VFX was so convincing I genuinely forgot at times that the clone wasn’t being played by a younger actor.

“…Mary Elizabeth Winstead is never relegated to ‘damsel in distress’…”

But credit also has to go to Will Smith for his portrayal of the clone, because as good as the VFX are, I don’t think the film would have worked if the clone just felt like he was the same character as Henry Brogan. Thankfully, Will Smith is able to portray him as a completely different character, from the way he moves, his speech patterns, and his demeanour, so that when you look into the clone’s eyes, you feel that a completely different soul is in there compared to what you see behind Henry Brogan’s eyes.

The rest of the supporting cast is really entertaining too. Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays a character who is caught up in the collateral damage of the attempts on Henry’s life – and for me, one of the highlights of the film’s script was the fact that her character is never relegated to “damsel in distress”. Her character not only holds her own throughout the movie, but she is treated as the equal partner of Henry Brogan in many ways, rather than a sidekick or love interest. Mary Elizabeth Winstead gets to really show off her action-heroine credentials in this film, and based on her performance here, I’m now interested to see what she does with the role of Huntress in next year’s Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).

“…Will Smith does a great job portraying both characters…”

Clive Owen, who I have a real soft spot for, chews up the scenery as the film’s bad guy, and he’s just the sort of larger-than-life overblown villain that a 90s throwback action film like this needs. And although this is the kind of film where none of the characters are fleshed out that much, Clive Owen’s character does actually get to make some interesting points about the morality of his plans towards the end of the film. Rounding out the main cast is Benedict Wong, who is essentially the comic relief and guy-who-provides-the-things-that-the-plot-requires, but it’s a role that he performs ably.

Directing Gemini Man is Ang Lee, who may seem an odd choice to direct something that does feel so … superficial? Don’t get me wrong, I actually liked Gemini Man taking it for what it is, but this still feels like an odd choice for the director of The Ice Storm, Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi. That said, he was also seen as an odd choice for Hulk, but I loved his take on that character. In a weird way though, Hulk was unsatisfying as an action film because it placed so much emphasis on the character study elements, whereas Gemini Man goes in the opposite direction, creating a much more entertaining action film, but perhaps at the expense of exploring the characters – or the concept of what it is to be human in the context of cloning – as deeply as it could have.

“…the actors have some fun running & spouting ridiculous dialogue between action-packed showdowns…”

I should also add that I saw the “standard” version of this film, rather than the 120 fps “High Frame Rate” version. I saw the HRF version of The Hobbit years ago and absolutely hated it – the resolution is too clear, meaning that it loses all of the cinematic qualities that you associate with a big budget film. The image is so “real” that you see how fake everything is – you can see that the sets are made of foam and wood, that the costumes and props are replicas, that scenes are shot on a soundstage, and it completely ruins the illusion. From what I’ve heard, this is still the problem with the HFR version of Gemini Man, so I would personally suggest you stick with the standard (24 fps) version of the film.

Gemini Man isn’t a masterpiece and it’s unlikely to make it on to anyone’s top ten films of the year list, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an enjoyable couple of hours. In many ways, it reminds me a little of 90s action film Face/Off, insofar as it’s a film built around a central sci-fi-based premise, which allows the actors to have some fun running around with guns and spouting ridiculous dialogue between action-packed showdowns. That won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it should still appeal to anyone looking for a bit of escapist fun.