In the world of Covert Ops; Henry Brogan (Will Smith) is the go to man. He is a highly-skilled assassin who answers the call when he is asked to dispatch dangerous individuals that threaten the peace and stability of the world.
Henry is so skilled that he takes on impossible tasks and completes them as if they were routine as he was recruited from the Military as he stood out as a unique and talented soldier.
When a successful mission does not go as precise as he would have liked; Henry decides to retire much to the chagrin of his supervisor who wishes him well despite being upset over losing such a highly-valued asset.
Henry meets with an old friend from the military who has done very well for himself financially since his service days. He tells Henry that his last target was not a dangerous threat to the population but rather a respected genetics worker. Henry has some misgiving but realizes there may be some truth to what is being told to him and agrees to meet with a contact of the departed scientist in Hungary.
Henry’s meeting does not go unnoticed as he soon has teams of soldiers attacking him and he is forced to flee with his undercover surveillance Danny (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) as they are pursued by deadly agents at every turn.
As the pair make their way to Columbia to try to plan their next move; an elite assassin makes a move on Henry and it takes all of his skills to barely survive and encounter which leaves them scrambling for answers. As suspicions mount, Henry and his team look for answers and what the eventually discover rocks the core of their very foundation.
Henry soon finds himself facing his most dangerous enemy yet as his past has come back to haunt him and there may be no escaping the threat it poses.
The film is directed by Ang Lee and while fairly linear in plot and character development and progression; the movie does offer a fresh take on some Science Fiction staples and does raise some interesting questions in the process.
The action sequences are solid and allow for the film at moments to break into a frantic pace before throttling back. The cast is solid and Will Smith continues his impressive comeback and it was nice to see him playing a more hardened and world-weary individual despite the occasional lapses into his normal screen persona.
In the end “Gemini Man” offers some flawed but entertaining escapist entertainment that delivers all the best of what fans have come to expect from Will Smith and more.
3.5 stars out of 5
Second review by Joshua Aja
After a mission doesn’t go as planned Henry Brogan (Will Smith), maybe the US Governments best assassin, decides that it’s time to retire. He now is resolved to live alone with the ghosts of his past kills. But when his friend Jack (Douglas Hodge) reaches out to him and lets him know that his last assignment not only didn’t go to plan but also may not have been what it seem. Little do they both know but listening into them is Clay Verris (Clive Owen), head of a private mercenary firm called Gemini. Clay used to be Henry and Jacks commander in the military. Verris was the one behind the misinformation and the assassination of who Henry thought was a terrorist but really was just a disgruntled Gemini scientist.
Now Henry is on the run and trying to find out why he killed a seemingly innocent man for his country. But Verris is determined to take Henry out before he learns the truth. He sends is best hitman to track down and kill Henry, a young man named Junior (Will Smith). And Junior is the perfect person to anticipate Henry’s every move, because he is Henry or rather Henry’s clone.
The film directed by Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Life of Pi) is supposed to show how far the CGI technology has come, but that is only true if you see it in the recommended 4K or 120 frames per second. Which I did not. While the ambitious film has some really good CGI moments it also has its bad. Having two Will Smith’s on screen might not be the better than just one in this case.
There has to be some credit for taking such a risk but in some scenes it looks like a person and their video game avatar on screen at the same time. Most of the time I didn’t really notice glaring differences and was ready to say it was a success but then it fell apart as the movie progressed.
Especially in close ups and when the characters spent more time side by side. The other issue I had was that you spend so much time on CGI for the two main characters but then when there is a stunt scene, e.g. the motorcycle chase scene in the first third of the movie, you can clearly tell the stunt double is in the shot not Smith.
The rest of the movie was just okay. There are moments but the attempted comedic moments fell flat. The only laughing in the theater I was in happened when there were over the top lines delivered that were supposed to be serious. I thought Smith did well in both roles despite the issues I had, listed above, but the story was predictable. I also thought Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Benedict Wong did well in supporting roles.
The issues I had were that I felt I could tell the end of the movie after the first five minutes and there was no real suspense or build up. It just went along about as you would expect. The action was okay, the motorcycle scene being the most innovative and fun to watch, but overall the same as most action films that are out there.
If you can see this film as intended I think it would be interesting to see how the technology as progressed.
I hope this progresses the industry and opens up the possibilities for more original film ideas. But if you are coming for just the action and story I would say keep expectations low. It’s definitely a movie you can sit back and not think while watching. I don’t feel like I would seek this out to see again but if you do see it save the money and wait until it is out on streaming.
1.5 out of 5
