Seeing double in a formulaic flick
Are two Will Smiths better than one?
That was the overriding question I had going into Gemini Man – along with whether Weta Digital could convince audiences the former Fresh Prince was sharing a screen with a 28-year younger version of himself.
If you’re no fan of Smith then it’s best avoiding this sci-fi drama which sees him play over-the-hill hitman Henry Brogan and the youthful clone (Junior) sent to kill him.
Gemini Man’s key hook is its fully digitally created human colead – and it’s a triumph.
Using Smith’s motion-capture and skin and eye animation, Junior is a very believable presence more in line with the impressive de-aging of Samuel L. Jackson in Captain Marvel than Rogue One’s shoddy CGI Carrie Fisher.
What a pity, then, that he’s caught up in such a generic outing; writers David Benioff, Billy Ray and Darren Lemke have clearly seen plenty of sci-fiactioners in their time.
I was hoping – and half expecting – a fresh, vibrant flick but was left feeling like I’d seen it all before as Gemini Man lifts ideas and sequences very similar to previous genre efforts.
It relies heavily on Smith’s star wattage and while he’s in pretty good form, following on from Aladdin, 2019 is a long way off his mid-nineties’ heyday one-two of Independence Day and Men in Black.
Clive Owen (Clay Verris) is thoroughly unremarkable as the main antagonist and Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s (Danny) hitwoman is as ill-defined as she is pointless.
This was Ang Lee’s first mainstream movie since winning the Best Director Oscar for 2012’s luscious Life of Pi and he really struggles to muster any magic beyond its central doppelgänger gimmick.
Gemini Man took more than 20 years to make it to the big screen following a series of failed projects; given the formulaic, patience-testing end product it would’ve been better left to burn in developmental hell.