A Reel Review: GEMINI MAN

From Kong to E.T., from Gollum to Rocket and Groot, artificial characters have been populating our screens for decades. GEMINI MAN, which calls for an aging assassin battling a younger clone of himself, has had its script floating around Hollywood for over 20 years, often held up due to no real way to make a younger version of a lead actor. But this is 2019, and CGI has now given us ways to generate artificial people on screen. It’s a Pandora’s Box for filmmakers, and a tricky new toy for lead actor Will Smith and director Ang Lee. 

Henry (Smith), is an international assassin who has decided to retire. When his own government decides to kill him, he goes on the run with Dani (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a spy who was hired to keep an eye on him. As they trot from country to country, Henry finds himself being hunted by a younger clone of himself called Junior (also Smith), who was created and raised by Clay (Clive Owen), the showrunner for a secret government lab. 

GEMINI MAN sets itself up as a chase film, with Henry, Dani, and their ever-resourceful friend Baron (Benedict Wong), bouncing all over the world while being hunted by Junior. During their flee, they are tasked with figuring out the identity of Junior and unraveling the mystery of why the government has suddenly decided to kill Henry…one of the country’s most loyal soldiers. 

But this international tale of betrayal and mystery falls apart in a hurry, with the biggest problem being way too many shortcuts; every dilemma and question is solved way too quickly in the most maddeningly convenient ways. Need a way to travel from Georgia, U.S.A. to Budapest? No problem, Baron just happens to know a guy who will let them borrow a Lear Jet. Need to solve the mystery of who Junior is? No problem, Dani just happens to have a friend in a DNA lab who can answer that in two minutes. Need to convince Junior where he really came from? No sweat, just tell him and watch him switch allegiances. The movie is loaded with more, and it makes everything go from point-to-point with no real drama or challenge for the characters. There is also a lame attempt at a twist which anyone with half a brain can see coming. 

The pacing is brisk, the humor spot-on, the locations look gorgeous, and the fight and chase scenes are very well staged, but for the most part this never feels like an Ang Lee film. Lee, who has solidified himself as a visual master, never gets to put his signature visuals of pure art on the screen; this entire thing could have been filmed by anybody. The CGI version of a young Will Smith looks astonishing, but eventually we begin to wonder why the character only has close-ups in dark rooms or at night. That is answered by the end of the film when he appears in broad daylight, and the effect doesn’t fool anyone. Darkness really does hide flaws. 

Acting is decent enough even though no character gets a lot of meant to chew on. Will Smith gets the most work and delivers as he always does, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead fits well into an action role. Clive Owen is just bland as he blurts out his lines minus his usual charm. 

It’s ironic that the film uses technology to “make a person”, when the plot does the exact same thing. There are, of course, moral and ethical implications to doing this in GEMINI MAN, none of which is explored or given a second thought. It’s a glaring omission that takes any depth or maturity away from the film. On top of that, exactly why Henry is targeted for termination is never clear or makes sense. This is one movie that could have used another 20 years to get right. 

BOTTOM LINE: Fuck it