Gemini Man

Given the amount of recent Will Smith flops in recent years, I was a little apprehensive about watching Gemini Man on the big screen. Even with Ang Lee on board as director...

But alas, I was very pleasantly surprised!

Gemini Man plays like a 007 feature directed by John Woo. It just screams Hollywood action blockbuster from its big cast to its cliched dramatic moments, and its huge CGI filled action scenes to its international locations.

While not completely flawless, the CGI is very impressive and equals that seen in most Marvel movies today from its de-aging process to its intense fights and action sequences. That said, in the final scene I'm sure I saw young Will Smith's change about 3 or 4 times - but a minor gripe.

The action is huge of course in the scale of a Mission Impossible film, with plenty of one-shot scenes that make it all the more impressive! From motorbike chases to gun-play and plenty of hand-to-hand combat, any action fan should come away feeling more than pleased.

While note a masterpiece, Gemini Man is pretty damn good fun and a welcome return to form for Smith at this stage!

For the record, I didn't see Gemini Man in the high frame rate which critics said made the movie look cheap, which may affect why I liked it so much but Gemini Man 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 all really good. 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.

When I saw the trailer I thought "Yea, I already know exactly how the story goes, but the deaging effects look nice"

So I went into it expecting not much, but at least some average entertainment. But oh boy, the movie is kinda hard to enjoy. The characters have no depth, the story is totaly bland and the action in it's best moments is super average.

I was right on both my predictions. The trailer already tells you the whole story and it does feel like you've already seen it before. And also, the creation of a young Will Smith totaly worked.

The script is horrible and you can easily notice the flaws. There are some super obvious setups that are so randomly thrown in that you know it's gotta be important later, just to then be disappointed that the payoff is even worse. Speaking of "Bees".

Sometimes it feels like scenes are missing. Some actually important stuff just happens off-screen.

The finale is disappointing and unspectacular and also the special effects are super whacky. People jump and run so fast that it looks like an early 2000s movie.

Conclusion: Will Smith keeps picking mediocre movies, I can't recommend you watching this, I was really bored.

This film will be most notable for it's innovative achievements in the effects realm. Although, the scriptwriting/story in contrast to the effects were a little lacklustre.

I appreciate the effort with the involvement of Ang Lee and, of course Will Smith, but I was left wanting.

Clearly this movie is fighting itself, same as Will Smith fighting himself. Action, pace, scenery, photography, fight sequences are above par, but why didn't anyone have a thorough look at the story...? This could have been a great movie with a proper scenario that would engage into the characters and their conflict...but its not. I suggest you watch the film. It is not a waste of time, but it will leave you with an "off" taste or feeling at the end when you realize all the lost potential. 5/10 because Ang Lee is a great director and could have done so much better with this.