This appears to be turning into something of a habit for Ang Lee - he will take a project that's been around for a long time that no one wants and direct it himself. It worked it well enough for him with Life of Pi in 2012, and now similar circumstances have led to him directing Gemini Man.
Here Will Smith stars as an ageing assassin who feels it is time to retire from his violent yet illustrious career. But these plans are ultimately put on hold when it becomes clear that his former employers want him dead, and are sending to do it, the one target he could successfully kill. Who just so happens to an exact copy of himself.
Will Smith plays both versions of himself with his signature likeability, but at the same time, and this is especially noticeable with the older one, he gives the impression that he's bored and would rather be somewhere else. But there are a few moments scattered throughout where it seems he might be showing signs of improvement. As for the younger one, he's very much in the same situation and even though he looks like a young Will Smith he's missing the essential charisma that made Smith's previous work so enjoyable and successful.
Clive Owen plays the villain and tries to add some intensity to his role, but despite his best efforts it just comes off as another clichéd villain part for him. As for Benedict Wong and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, they are completely wasted in their roles; and really just there to be two people to accompany Smith through the film's main events who are not his younger self or the villain, and who also won't become irrelevant or (more than likely) be killed off after one scene.
The script went through multiple writers, including the very talented Brain Heglaund. But the final product has three people given credit, one of whom originally pitched the film. The script is formulaic in every sense of the word, after a while you can see everything that's going to or could possibly happen a mile away. And when it comes time for the big reveal that the film has been waiting to show us, it doesn't feel particularly worth it, for many reasons. The first of which is some of the worst pacing I have experienced in a film all year, it takes what feels like an hour before it gets to addressing it. And when it starts to, it tries to generate a sense of mystery - is it a clone or a son? More than likely, the audience have already guessed who he is and as it was highlighted in all the trailers and posters, the double comes as no big surprise. I know that sounds more like a fault of the advertising department, but when you have a sub-standard action film like this, and its only good idea (which has been done before anyway) is being used as the main selling point, then I would have to call out both the writers and whoever was in charge of advertising this film as the ones who were at fault.
One thing that's been discussed about this film from the start is the process of 'de-ageing' Smith. Some have praised it as a great technical achievement, while others have felt unconvinced. My view is that through the use of this relatively new technology, Smith has been successfully de-aged to his early twenties. I have been hard on this film but I have seen examples of good and bad digital de-ageing, and if I'm honest this has got to be one of the better ones. I am also aware that frame rates got a lot of talk leading up to the film's release. I don't know much on that subject, so all I will say is, I viewed it like I have viewed any other film, and it was perfectly fine.
Hans Zimmer collaborator Lorne Balfe composed the score, and within a few seconds of listening to the main theme it becomes more than clear he's taking a lot of influence from Zimmer, mainly the use of music that has an almost meditative feel to it. And considering what the film eventually turns into, no matter how high quality you're trying to make it by copying a very well respected composer, it can't help but feel out of place, and might be better suite to a different film.
So with Gemini Man we have a mostly wasted cast of talented individuals with only two actors showing any form of interest; a script that spent years being shopped around Hollywood, and when finally made it proved to be full of clichés; a potential saving grace in a reveal that was unfortunately used to be the film's main advertising point; one of 2019's better examples of the de-ageing process on Will Smith; and someone clearly looking to take the Hans Zimmer mantle with his score.
This was a movie with so much potential, and yet it had to go and be as bad as this. I have no idea what happened to make it turn out like this, I don't know if it's the film or its star, but one thing is clear, 2019 has definitely not been kind to Will Smith.
C+
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