(CCR Original Content) Gemini Man Review [Spoiler Free with Spoiler Section Below Picture] (6/10)
Gemini Man is a 2019 action/thriller movie directed by Ang Lee and written by David Benioff, Billy Ray and Darren Lemke. Producers on the film included Jerry Bruckheimer, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger. The movie was produced by Sky Dance Media, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Fosun Pictures and Alibaba Pictures and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film stars Will Smith, younger Will Smith, lol, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Benedict Wong and Clive Owen.
Disillusioned with killing, Henry Brogan (Will Smith) an aging government assassin, retires from his career after his latest mission. Henry reconnects with an old friend who uncovers that false information has been given to him about his targets. Before he can learn more he is forced to flee East when government agents are sent to kill him. There he comes face to face with another assassin who he discovers is his younger clone and must face off with him while trying to find out who made him and sent him to kill him.
I was pretty excited about this movie coming out. I usually like Will Smith movies and a action sci-fi movie about clones sounds something I could totally get into. I was also pretty interested in the director Ang Lee using some kind of new technology in bringing the younger Will Smith clone to life in this movie. First off the special effects for me were real hit or miss. Some scenes were just amazing in how much detail they put into the younger Will, but equally there were some scenes that just looked flat out fake and unbelievable. At first I thought it was going to be the action scenes that looked terrible because that's what it seemed liked but there were some where both characters on screen talking that seemed pretty weird. I think part of it might be the "uncanny valley" but also I think just some of it was maybe they just didn't take enough time and effort. I also heard that Ang Lee filmed the movie in 120 FPS and theaters usually show movies in 30 FPS so maybe that could be responsible for part of it too. That being said the acting was pretty good and Will Smith did a good job playing the role of a government assassin. His role in Suicide Squad as Deadshot made it more believable for me personally. I also enjoyed Mary Elizabeth Winstead's character and Benedict Wong too. The plot was a little simplified and didn't get into the whole sci-fi aspect of the cloning that I thought it was going to so I was a little disappointed in that. But there were some rather awesome action scenes that weren't ruined by the CGI. I enjoyed this movie and give it a 6/10.
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Spoiler Review Section:
So before I saw this movie I actually saw Will Smith on The Stephen Colbert Show. They rolled a clip from the motorcycle fight scene from the movie and I was taken aback by how fake some of it looked. And not the action of it but the movements of the younger Will Smith clone. On the show Will Smith said that this is the first film where the entire character of the young clone was completely digital and there was no MOCAP or digital de-aging. I'm not sure if it was this new way of having the character there that caused the movement to look so fake but some of the scenes had parts that were downright laughable. Since I knew this already I tried not to go into the movie with too high of expectations. And because of this and really giving it a chance I think I was more able to enjoy it then others who will definitely be turned off by it. I hate that for some people it will hurt there ability to suspend belief because that's one reason we all go to the theater. To get sucked into another world where anything is possible and forget about the real world for an hour or two. This really was a good movie besides that being it's greatest fault. There are even some scenes where it looks totally fine and really good. Most scenes like that are zoomed into his face during dialogue and the amount of detail they did was really fantastic. I mean Will Smith did a great job as this disillusioned assassin, Mary Elizabeth Winstead did a good job as a rookie agent meant to be surveiling him, and Benedict Wong was cool as Baron his friend and ex-colleague. Even Clive Owen did good as Clay Varris, head of a top-secret black ops unit codenamed "Gemini". The plot wasn't very complicated, Will retires and starts learning that people he killed were innocent and then people start trying to kill him before he can learn the truth. He finds out that a younger clone of himself is trying to kill him and he tries not to kill him as he tries to take down the man responsible for this. Nothing remarkable but there were some pretty good action scenes especially the finale where they fight in the town. As I said I give this movie a 6/10.