Gemini Man

Movie 🎥 Review: “Gemini Man”.

Critics gave it a 26% the users a 83%.

Rated: PG 13 with a running time 1 hr and 57 mins, and and an IMDb of 5.7/10

Cast: Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, and Benedict Wong.

Henry Brogan is an elite 51-year-old assassin who's ready to call it quits after completing his 72nd job. His plans get turned upside down when he becomes the target of a mysterious operative who can seemingly predict his every move. To his horror, Brogan soon learns that the man who's trying to kill him is a younger, faster, cloned version of himself.

Gemini Man is a 2019 American action thriller film directed by Ang Lee and written by David Benioff, Billy Ray, and Darren Lemke. Originally conceived in 1997, the film went through development hell for nearly 20 years. Several directors, including Tony Scott, Curtis Hanson, and Joe Carnahan, were all attached at some point and numerous actors, including Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, and Sean Connery, were set to star. In 2016, Skydance Media purchased the rights to the screenplay (which had been through several rewrites) from Disney and in October 2017, Ang Lee signed on to direct for Skydance with Paramount handling the distribution rights. Filming took place from February through May 2018.

Gemini Man premiered at the Zurich Film Festival on October 1, 2019 and was theatrically released in the United States by Paramount Pictures on October 11, 2019. The film received generally negative reviews from critics for its script and plot, although the performances were praised. The de-aging of Smith and the high frame-rate of 120 FPS also drew a mixed response, with some critics praising them as technical achievements, while others felt they were unconvincing.

If you retired like me you find yourself with time on your hands that affords you the opportunity to watch things in your “spare time”…..lol. Watching this movie was intentional even after reading the reviews and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised (hence the users 83% rating). The film is a flawed but fun action thriller.

It's surprisingly funny in places and has some genuinely great action sequences and is more thought provoking than I expected. Will Smith gives two great performances. The supporting performances by Clive Owen, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Benedict Wong are not bad either.

Ang Lee's direction is fantastic and it's beautifully filmed. The music by Lorne Balfe is excellent. It's only brought down by a plot with subplots that are forgotten about and CG that dips in quality during the final 10 mins, despite being impressive up until that point.

So if you’re looking for an action film and you have some “spare time” AND you can see if for free on one of the streaming platforms, give it a try…….you might be glad you did.