Gemini Man

This review may contain spoilers!

A neat special effects premise that is lost on a lousy script and generic action flick. I would give Gemini Man a 4/10.

Gemini Man follows Henry Brogan, a retired government hitman who must run for his life after being attacked by a younger clone of himself. The driving force behind the film is watching Brogan attempt to uncover all the players behind the cloning operation and seeing him attempt to take them out. What works to this film's strength is the visual effects, the whole film is founded on making a version of the lead who appears younger and serves as his own separate character. I thought they managed inserting Junior in really well, seeing a young Will Smith face off against himself was great and it certainly showcased how far this particular line of effects has come.

Benedict Wong, who played Baron, is a very strong comedic presence throughout the film; Wong has some brilliant lines and knows how to make the most of his moments in a scene. Ralph Brown, who played Del Patterson, has a gentle kinship with Smith that fits their handler/agent relationship; I liked how this pair quietly got along with one another and the level of concern Brown portrayed at the risk to his friend.

However, the best performance came from Will Smith, who played Henry Brogan and Junior. Smith is a really seasoned pro at the blockbuster trade by now so he plays well to the different personas he has to juggle in this film. As the clone, Junior, Smith constructs a highly self-confident, headstrong role who operates efficiently in the field. But as Junior has to come to grips with his origins you begin to see his world fall apart. Junior becomes filled with doubt and has a lot of vulnerability about who he actually is as a person. I think Smith really found something with this having to journey back to a younger mindset, one who is held up so strongly by his dependence on a father figure. On the other hand as the lead, Henry Brogan, you get someone who is seasoned and plenty capable due to his experience. You can see that while Henry can fight relentlessly, he isn't committed to throwing himself into a battle as he once was. This is a more compassionate role who doesn't blame Winstead's Danny for doing her job or Junior for being created, he attempts to get the best for others out of the situation which makes for a likeable protagonist. Either way you cut it Will Smith is one of the best in the game for handling dialogue and he does it extremely well in this too.

The flaw with Gemini Man is it never exactly stops to take a breath or really show character connections, in fact you barely stop to get introduced to a character. From the very start of the feature we see how adept Henry Brogan is as a combatant but also the idea that he's getting old and wants to retire. This is important surface information about the character and relevant to the overall plot but you never really get grounded with the role, any information given is a plot point down the track. If you want an audience to connect with your protagonist it isn't enough for the actor who plays them to be charismatic (as Will Smith is), the role itself has to exhibit personality and show you who they are. Because the film feels like a lot of stoic, expressionless soldiers with daddy issues shooting each other the whole film it becomes quite easy to tune out and grow bored. The plot treats the clone as a twist but it never comes as much of a shock, the whole dynamic between Henry and Junior isn't overly dramatic but feels like something we've seen in a lot of sci-fi action films. The initial confrontation, shock and denial before eventually teaming up isn't thrilling when you've seen the same old formula so many times and this time isn't any different from the last. The way Gemini Man is shot must be about the dullest cinematography in an action film I've seen this year; I'm pretty surprised to see an Ang Lee film so clearly lacking vision. The score for the film is barely present to help set tone and the soundtrack is pretty sparse and not very engaging.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who played Danny Zakarweski, is normally such a hit in any film she's in so it's a shame to see her in such a boring role;The entire movie she's present but just seems dragged along through the action. Clive Owen, who played Clay Verris, gives a really warped portrayal of a military father figure; Owen's take on building a role whose redeemable trait is fatherly love falls flat when you never really see a moment where you believe in him. Douglas Hodge, who played Jack Willis, is brought in as an old friend to Smith's Henry and the chemistry is not once present; Hodge's character feels sleazy and unclean which is a long shot away from the fast wit and noble fighters you see our protagonist with for most the feature. Linda Edmond, who played Janet Lassiter, is quite dry as one of the heads of a government intelligence branch; Edmond approaches the role of a position of power in quite a flat manner which doesn't separate her from numerous others who've failed in this type of character. Ilia Volok, who played Yuri Kovacs, doesn't really seem to take his scene seriously; Volok pulls between humour and an intense mobster seriousness and neither blends well together in his performance.