‘Gemini Man’ is more of a great gimmick than a good movie. As a film goer, I think it’s acceptable to be disappointed with what we get here, for no other reason than the promise of what’s in the pitch; Will Smith, director Ang Lee, a futuristic action offering and one specifically crafty visual treat that could outright change the game in the sci fi neighborhood.
Well, they DO get all they can out of that visual goodie. Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot else of any merit to take from this overly expensive, overly clunky offering.
The story, in a nutshell, is that professional assassin Henry Brogan (Smith) is being targeted by the government. Aiming to gun him down? His younger self. So basically, envision Will Smith from, say, the ‘Fresh Prince’ era chasing 2019 Will Smith, and you essentially have the uncomplicated synopsis of ‘Gemini Man’.
Kinda cool, you say? Well….it should be. Unfortunately the movie is just so monumentally wooden in both structure and dialogue, it’s almost impossible to get invested in its story. Add to the fact that the emotional element…..y’know, ’cause sometimes it actually helps to care about the characters…..hovers somewhere around zero.
That IS some darn impressive visual magic, though. Bravo to the team that somehow shaved a few decades off Smith to pull this off, it looks really, really good. But really, really good are three words that won’t get repeated too much when it comes to ‘Gemini Man’. I mean, any movie that references both the Hindenburg AND Titanic in a quip is kinda playing with fire, don’t you think?
