Big-budget money magnet Will Smith will be sharing the acting spotlight with someone equally as marketable when the new sci-fi action drama Gemini Man hits theaters Friday, October 11th. The familiar face I speak of is none other than, gasp, Will Smith. He plays an elite assassin who is suddenly targeted and pursued by a mysterious young operative that seemingly can predict his every move, also played by Will Smith. Thanks to director Ang Lee’s visionary astuteness and the advancements in technology, the pieces of this extraordinary puzzle look to fit together seamlessly while tricking the mind and flattering the senses.
The technique of having actors portray doppelgängers of themselves has been an often attempted feat that, more times than not, gets bumbled in some way, shape or form. The easiest path is to have these characters appear on screen but not necessarily together, and if so, not in the same frame. A few examples would be Coming to America (1988), with Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall doing most of the heavy lifting; Surrogates (2009) starring Bruce Willis; The Dictator (2012) featuring Sacha Baron Cohen. There was an ample time of alternate characters but they didn’t interact. Gemini Man takes a hands-on approach that is sure to make your brain hurt a few times over.
With all of this talk about actors taking on dual (and sometimes more) roles in order to further a story line, this is as good of a time as any to take a few moments to check out some of the others that have paved the way for a movie like Gemini Man to hit the ground running. I wonder if these actors get twice the pay? Hmmmm…
Double Impact (1991)
Nearly 25 years after seeing his father killed by Hong Kong crime boss Raymond Zhang (Philip Chan Yan Kin), Chad Wagner (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is living in Los Angeles as a flourishing yet peaceful martial arts trainer. But Chad has a twin brother, Alex (also Van Damme), who suddenly reunites with his less-aggressive sibling and wants to avenge their father’s death. As the pair plan their payback against Zhang, they also struggle to overcome their personal differences.
Enemy (2014)
Jake Gyllenhaal re-teams with his Prisoners director, Denis Villeneuve, in this sexy and hypnotically surreal psychological thriller that breathes new life into the dopplegänger tradition. Adam Bell (Gyllenhaal) is a glum, disheveled history professor, who seems disinterested even his beautiful girlfriend, Mary (Laurent). Watching a movie on the recommendation of a colleague, Adam spots his double, a bit-part actor named Anthony Clair, and decides to track him down. The identical men meet and their lives become bizarrely and irrevocably intertwined. Gyllenhaal is transfixing as both Adam and Anthony, provoking empathy as well as disapproval while embodying two distinct personas. With masterfully controlled attention to detail, Villeneuve takes us on an enigmatic and gripping journey through a world that is both familiar and strange—and hard to shake off long after its final, unnerving image.
The Nutty Professor Franchise (1996-2000)
Brilliant and obese scientist Sherman Klump (Eddie Murphy) invents a miraculous weight-loss solution. After a date with chemistry student Carla Purty (Jada Pinkett) goes badly, a depressed Klump tries the solution on himself. Though he instantly loses 250 pounds, the side effects include a second personality: an obnoxiously self-assertive braggart who calls himself Buddy Love. Buddy proves to be more popular than Sherman, but his arrogance and bad behavior quickly spiral out of control. The story continues when Klump’s inventions, his upcoming marriage to his pretty colleague Denise Gaines (Janet Jackson) and his reputation are threatened by his evil clone Buddy Love.
Adaptation (2002)
Nicolas Cage is Charlie Kaufman, a confused L.A. screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing, and by the screenwriting ambitions of his freeloading twin brother Donald (Nicolas Cage). While struggling to adapt “The Orchid Thief,” by Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep), Kaufman’s life spins from pathetic to bizarre. The lives of Kaufman, Orlean’s book, become strangely intertwined as each one’s search for passion collides with the others’.
The Parent Trap (1998)
In this update of a 1961 film, twins Annie and Hallie (Lindsay Lohan) are strangers until happenstance unites them. The preteen girls’ divorced parents, Nick (Dennis Quaid) and Elizabeth (Natasha Richardson), are living on opposite sides of the Atlantic, each with one child. After meeting at camp, American Hallie and British-raised Annie engineer an identity swap, giving both the chance to spend time with the parent they’ve missed. If the scheme works, it might just make the family whole again.
Jack and Jill (2011)
Thanksgiving is usually a happy time, but ad executive Jack (Adam Sandler) dreads the holiday because his twin sister, Jill (also Sandler), makes her annual visit. When Jack and his sister get off on the wrong foot, the only way to make it right is to invite her to stay through Hanukkah. But, when actor Al Pacino, whom Jack desperately needs to star in a commercial, takes a shine to Jill, Jack may be forced to extend his sister’s visit even longer.
The Twin Dragons (1992)
Decades after the abduction of his newborn twin, world-famous American pianist John Ma (Jackie Chan) arrives in Hong Kong to perform and finds himself face-to-face with Boomer (Jackie Chan), the identical twin brother he has never known. When the reunited brothers switch places by mistake, John discovers that Boomer is a petty criminal with a knack for getting into trouble. Soon John gets in over his head with a group of gangsters looking for Boomer, and his brother vows to save him.
Legend (2015)
Suave, charming and volatile, Reggie Kray (Tom Hardy) and his unstable twin brother Ronnie (Tom Hardy) start to leave their mark on the London underworld in the 1960s. Using violence to get what they want, the siblings orchestrate robberies and murders while running nightclubs and protection rackets. With police Detective Leonard “Nipper” Read hot on their heels, the brothers continue their rapid rise to power and achieve tabloid notoriety.
The Double (2014)
Simon (Jesse Eisenberg) is a timid man, scratching out an isolated existence in an indifferent world. He is overlooked at work, scorned by his mother, and ignored by the woman (Mia Wasikowska) of his dreams. He feels powerless to change any of these things. The arrival of a new co-worker, James (Jesse Eisenberg), serves to upset the balance. James is both Simons exact physical double and his opposite – confident, charismatic and good with women. To Simons horror, James slowly starts taking over his life.
Austin Powers Franchise (1997-2002)
Austin Powers is a series of American spy action comedy films directed by Jay Roach; produced, written by and starring Mike Myers as both the title character and Dr. Evil. The franchise parodies numerous films and characters, including James Bond and Jason King, and incorporates myriad other elements of popular culture as it follows a British spy’s quest to bring his nemesis down. The character represents an archetype of 1960s Swinging London, with his advocacy of free love, his use of obscure impressions and his clothing style.
