About the film (courtesy of Paramount Pictures):
Gemini Man is an innovative action-thriller starring Will Smith as Henry Brogan, an elite assassin, who is suddenly targeted and pursued by a mysterious young operative that seemingly can predict his every move.

Despite a couple of major box office stumbles such as Wild Wild West (1999) and After Earth (2013), Will Smith has proven that he is a commodity worth betting on. His track record for pulling in some heavy numbers throughout his career cannot be disputed. Even so, there’s always that worry that another flop is right around the corner. Gemini Man comes at a time when there’s not much opposition to go up against, so there can be no excuses if the numbers come up soft once all is said and done.

Will Smith portrays an aging veteran that has simply lost the desire to continue doing what he’s done so well for the past three decades. His desire to simply walk away leads down a perilous road and on a collision course with a foe that can match his every move. Through the magic of technology, the person that he’s squaring off against is a younger version of himself. Director Ang Lee loves to place a heavy emphasis on visuals in his films. The path that Gemini Man travels will give Lee ample opportunities to create quite the spectacle, but does he deliver?

Visually speaking, Gemini Man starts off as a visually striking presentation that is full of rich colors and sharp imagery. Don’t get too excited though because these glimpses of potential soon become just more of the same overused CGI tactics that have saturated many other movies in recent years. I didn’t stay throughout the entire credits but I imagine that the “green screen” probably received top billing right next to Will Smith.

That brings us to Will Smith’s younger doppelgänger known as Junior in the movie. The digital de-aging technology is pretty solid in short bursts. The problem with Gemini Man is that Ang Lee overreaches and tries to wave the CGI characters in the audience’s faces way too often and for too long. Some of the action scenes lose any intensity they might be shooting for and that feeling is replaced with the absurdity of digital characters bouncing around as though you’re watching an animated movie or, worse yet, a video game.

Joining Smith are Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen and Benedict Wong. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is the best of the three supporting actors. Her character is a good pairing to that of Henry Brogan. Clive Owen as the villain of Gemini Man comes across as a bit weak and rather uninteresting. Benedict Wong pretty much brings a lighter, sarcastically fun side to things for a while. Each of these actors are pretty much the sidecar to Will Smith’s two main character roles. While he’s funny and gets it done from an action standpoint, the digital distraction of the “younger him” will leave you feeling like they could have done more.

As an action thriller, Gemini Man keeps the ship afloat for a while, from a sci-fi and grandiose CGI perspective, Ang Lee’s vision is flawed leading to a less than desirable finished product. This is not a “bad” movie but it leaves a lot to be desired due to trying to do too many things amazingly rather than focusing on what would make for a solid movie. Twice the star power only leads to have of the enjoyment. I’d wait to see this at a matinee.

Editor’s Note: