![]() ![]() Lee shoots Gemini Man in an upgraded version of the high-resolution 3D format he pioneered on his 2016 military drama Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk to arresting but divisive effect. Only a final coda, which features both men unmasked in bright daylight, exposes the younger version as a slightly creepy animated waxwork. Composite sequences where the two Smiths grapple with each other in kinetic hand-to-hand combat are also elegantly handled. Using old photos and early movie roles for reference, Lee’s visual team do a very impressive job of rejuvenating the actor into a photorealistic fresh prince half his real age. The key special effect in Gemini Man is the digital de-aging of Smith himself. Inevitably, sparks fly and loyalties shift as Brogan finally comes face to face with his hot-headed young doppelganger in picturesque corners of Colombia, then Hungary, and finally during a spectacular gunfight on home turf in Georgia. ![]() Sensing imminent danger, Brogan goes on the run with fellow rogue DIA officer Danny Zakarweski ( Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and wise-cracking pilot sidekick Baron (Benedict Wong). His personal favorite is Junior (Smith again, in digitally de-aged form), a 25-year-old clone of Brogan whom Varris has raised as his adopted son.Īrguing that Brogan knows too much to be permitted to retire peacefully, Varris sends Junior to kill him on the grounds that only a younger, faster version of the agency’s top assassin can outthink and outgun his lethal older self. Chief among Brogan’s shadowy enemies is his former Army buddy Clay Varris ( Clive Owen in scenery-chewing villain mode), now a military-industrial biotech tycoon who is working on a secret unit of perfect warriors, all genetically engineered to kill without remorse. But Machiavellian insiders at the DIA have other ideas. Weary of the assassination game, Brogan now plans to retire and spend his autumn years fishing off the Georgia coast. Needless to say, the screenplay spends very little time agonizing over the morality of state-sanctioned murder before the body count starts rising again. After terminating 72 bad guys with superhuman precision, Brogan is finally starting to suffer pangs of conscience. Smith stars as Henry Brogan, undefeated champion hit man for the Defense Intelligence Agency, a thinly disguised version of the CIA. But both director and star have done much better work before. theaters, with a worldwide rollout to follow. His enduring marquee power, in tandem with Lee’s track record, could still generate big numbers when Paramount releases the movie Oct. That said, the huge profits scored by Aladdin and Suicide Squad prove that the 51-year-old star still commands enough global fan loyalty to elevate even mediocre films into critic-proof hits. Smith’s action blockbusters have helped nudge his total career-spanning box office take beyond $8 billion, but in recent years he has mostly favored low-key, worthy dramas that left critics cold and audiences lukewarm - which may explain why he has now reunited with Bad Boys producer Jerry Bruckheimer to make Gemini Man, with two more chapters in their Miami cops franchise also in the pipeline.īehind its high-tech visual gimmicky, Gemini Man is a dumb, depthless, undemanding fanboy pleaser which plants Smith dangerously close to Liam Neeson and Nicolas Cage in the midlife action-man league. The thin premise, about a secret program of rogue government assassins, also feels thuddingly familiar in a world where Jason Bourne, John Wick and Villanelle on Killing Eve are all mainstream anti-heroes. ![]() Despite a few deftly handled set-piece action sequences, the formulaic screenplay, stock characters, leaden dialogue and wobbly accents feel gratingly amateurish in places. Gemini Man is arguably a significant leap forward for visual effects but a backward step for gripping, sophisticated thrillers. Was it worth dusting off this clunky pre-millennial screenplay? Frankly, not really.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |