Logan Sork Film Reviews
Gemini Man
I would say that director Ang Lee is one of the most interesting and innovative directors working in Hollywood today. Not only are his films unique but they also push the boundaries of technology in a way not many others do (look no further than 2012’s Life of Pi for proof). So, when I heard that his next film was on the way I was very much looking forward to what that would be. After seeing Gemini Man, however, I think that Lee needs to reevaluate what’s important when it comes to making a compelling film.
Gemini Man is directed by Ang Lee and stars Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, and Benedict Wong. The story follows Henry Brogan (Smith), a highly skilled sniper who wants a peaceful retirement after his latest mission. His attempts to pull out of the business are put on hold when his agency targets him and another operative (Winstead). Forced to flee the country, the two find refuge but are soon hunted by another, more dangerous assassin – A clone of Henry called Junior (also portrayed by Smith). Forced to face this new threat, Henry must work to try and save this assassin from his dark future and stop his former mentor (Owen), who looks to weaponize this technology for evil means.
I’ll start off with the best thing about this film which is easily the actors. Will Smith brings his trademark charm to a role that desperately needs it and succeeds in breathing some much-needed life into the film. He also pulls off the dramatic material quite well as his younger self, which, despite the so-so de-aging technology, also brings in some great moments. Both Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Benedict Wong offer great support to Smith, with Wong’s execution of the comedic moments being one of the highlights of the film. Clive Owen, however, is another story entirely. His line readings are particularly dreadful, lacking even a single ounce of effort most of the other performers put in. He’s so bad in fact, that I was convinced he was a digital effect added in post-production. Owen’s lousy performance aside, the other actors work their hardest to make the film watchable and I commend them for that.
The other side of the camera ,however, is where thing’s start to get a little messy. Ang Lee is a great director no doubt about it, but here, it’s like he’s stuck on autopilot. The dramatic moments of the film fall flat and the pacing is also quite bad. The handling of the action’s sequences could’ve been a little better, but I can’t deny the fact that I was enjoying them, particularly the third act shootout. As an Ang Lee film, this was really disappointing. I will say ,however, that the cinematography in this film is fantastic. The colors are sharp and vibrant and brighten up the fantastic locations, providing a visual feast for the eyes.
The film also prides itself on its technological achievements in frame rate and de-aging technology. That’s all fine and good, except for two major problems. For one thing, the film was shot and originally intended to be shown at 120 frames per second (as opposed to the traditional 24 FPS most other films are shown at). This would be a major breakthrough to watch…except you can’t. As of now, there are only 14 theaters in the entire United States that can show the film at that rate, meaning if you don’t live near one, you’re stuck with standard 24 FPS. The de-aging technology was the other selling point, but that’s not particularly good either. It works pretty well when the characters are placed in darkly lit rooms, but there are several scenes where you see the digital double in broad daylight and it looks terrible. This effort that Lee put into the technological aspects of the film would’ve been better served on focusing on the story.
Which brings me to the worst atrocity of the film- the screenplay. The film was originally written all the way back in 1997 (it was pushed around since the de-aging tech wasn’t around) and has been rewritten by multiple writers and It shows. The film’s first act is so convoluted and messy, with multiple agencies and operatives being introduced on a whim. I was so confused during the first act of the film that I couldn’t even tell you which organization was working to hunt Henry. Things don’t get any better from there as between the action sequences you are bombarded with exposition, most of which is extremely repetitive and trying so hard to sound smarter than it actually is. It also jumps around a lot of important things and doesn’t develop the characters naturally enough to justify the decisions made later in the film. The premise of the film is interesting, but the execution of said premise leaves much to be desired.
This film is a mess from start to finish. While there are occasional bright spots throughout its ultimately a slog. Some of the performances are good, it’s photographed really well and there are some good moments with the de-aging tech. but these things aren’t enough to compensate for so-so directing a dreadful screenplay, and an emphasis on technology over story that just doesn’t pay off. It’s a shame too because there was a lot of potential to be had here, and I did respect what Lee was trying to do, but it just didn’t materialize.
4/10