Ryan Shoots First: Gemini Man
Now, this is a story all about how this guy’s life got flipped turned upside down. So let me take a moment and just sit right there I’ll tell you how Will Smith fights a younger version of himself in a so-so Ang Lee film.
Gemini Man stars Will Smith as an old top-notch assassin who just wants to retire and spend the rest of his days in peace. If movies and shows have taught us anything it’s that this is not possible as you don’t get to that level of assassin without seeing a ton of incriminating stuff and the easiest thing to do for an organization is to make you disappear. You know how this goes by now, the agency sends other assassins… younger and in their prime to take out the aged vet who still has some tricks up his sleeve and experience on his side. The twist in this film as you have probably seen in the commercials is the younger assassin is in fact Will Smith fresh out a cab with a dice in the mirror.
Gemini Man touts the most dedicated and dependent use of Hollywood’s newest toy, de-aging CGI. We’ve seen it for while in various Marvel movies and Star Wars Rogue One or if you wanna go way back Tron Legacy but in those films, it is typically reserved for a single scene or only a few shots, in Gemini Man it is absolutely crucial to the only plot in the movie. If they don’t get you to believe it or if it looks hokey the entire film falls apart. Well, you may be pleased to know when it comes to the Fresh Prince aspect of the film they really nailed it. Now the script not so much. The younger version of Will is the spitting image of the early Will Smith days even complete with the flat top haircut. As good as the face is though the performance doesn’t quite match early Smith, that swagger and kind of lanky snappy movements he would do in early Bad Boys and ID4 films is missing as an older Smith is providing the performance. Still, the technology is impressive especially when you realize how much weight the film places on it. There are a few shots primarily in the daylight where it slips a bit but the majority of the film is in dark settings where the illusion is easier to achieve.
The real downside of the movie is the script, as is typical with a thin script is a story of development hell and countless re-writes and Gemini Man has been around for a while. So long in fact once Mel Gibson and even Clint Eastwood were attached to the film but the technology to pull it off was not available. Even though the script is lacking Ang Lee does a fantastic job directing, his eye for motion and action is a pleasure to watch in an age where so many action films fall back on shaky cams and 1,000 cuts per minute his style is missed. The camera to him is like a character flowing through the scene and it is pleasing to the eyes. Some, however, have criticized the films look in theaters that are showing it in 120fps but mine was the traditional 24fps. If you are unfamiliar with what that means a higher frame rate makes the motion and film appear smoother almost how Soap Operas have that unique look but you may not know what it is. That drastic of a change I’m sure can be off-putting to those used to the certain look of a film but I cannot speak to it.
Gemini Man is a good enough action movie and Will Smith’s star power and the curiosity of the new tech is enough to push it over the top but whenever a character opens their mouth things sour a bit. So try not to scare your mom and get jiggy with it as you enjoy a simpler time when every Will Smith movie had a rap song to get you hyped. Come to think of it why didn’t this film get the patented Will Smith rap??? I take back everything I said.
