Why Gemini Man is what the doctor ordered … and not!

For those who thought that one Will Smith was enough in Aladdin, think again. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor is back with Gemini Man where he has catered both his old and young fans.

And what’s the best way to do that – play both the old and young version of himself and let the audience decide whether they accept it, or not.

Directed by visionary director Ang Lee, the film is about an ageing assassin who must save himself from his younger version, and find out a way to neutralize a threat that knows everything about him, because he is him. However, if there were six factors that pull you towards the flick, there are six that push you away.

1. Two Will Smiths are always better than one!
For his fans, Will Smith is one of the best actors in the world, who has been around for nearly 30 years.

He has entertained them all with comedy roles, serious ones and has even saved the world a few times.

Earlier this year he entered the fantasy zone with Aladdin and added another feather to his cap. So what could be better than one Will Smith in an action film that revolves around him? Of course, two Will Smiths who are trying to kill each other so that one of them stands tall and controls the world through their actions (assassinations, in case of this film).

2. The younger Will Smith reminds you of The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air
There are two kinds of people who grew up in the 90s – those who loved Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and those who still binge it on Netflix. For both these groups, Gemini Man is a must-watch because the younger Will Smith here reminds them of the character of Will in that sitcom.

Just like that character, Junior here thinks highly of himself, considers himself the best there is and is often found at the receiving end after making a blunder or two.

3. The older Will Smith continues his ascent in 2019
He was there making a cameo in Student of the Year 2; he played Genie in Aladdin; he will be lending his voice in Spies In Disguise and would be part of the third Bad Boys film releasing in January next year.

If that’s not enough for an actor who has crossed fifty I don’t know what is. He made countless fans through Aladdin and emerged as the star of the Disney flick and betters his performance in Gemini Man where he plays Henry Brogan, an assassin who is cloned because of being the best.

When that clone comes after him, things become more interesting as Will Smit fights Will Smith just because one of them can stay alive and relevant.

4. Mary Elizabeth Winstead keeps on impressing…
And then there is Mary Elizabeth Winstead who keeps impressing the audience with every project.

The actress who started her career with Sky High and later played John McClane’s daughter in distress in Live Free or Die Hard is now helping Will Smith’s character escape from his own younger version.

As Dani Zakarweski, she looks the part and has a backstory that helps her trust an assassin, wherever they are. Her killer moves during a fight and ability to stand her ground in front of not one but two Will Smiths make her a key element of the plot.

5. Clive Owen as the bad guy takes villainy to another level
You may have seen him in Shoot ‘Em Up but Clive Owen is on a different journey in Gemini Man. The veteran Hollywood star crosses over to the dark side to have control of the world’s deadliest assassin, even if it means waiting for that person’s clone to age. One has to be icy cold to play such a character and Clive

Own does exactly that, manipulate Junior so that he cannot say not to him, sending him against his elder self so that he is the one who eradicates the competition and above all, has a contingency plan in case things go South.

6. The technological advancements will be remembered for a long time
Gone are the days when one actor had difficulty in playing double roles in a film; with the advancement in technology, now any actor can play two roles in a film and even shake hands or hug each other. What Gemini Man does is go one step further and make one actor face off his own self, but in a different version – one in young, the other is old. Watching two Will Smiths in action is something only Ang Lee would have thought and executed wisely. Kudos to the actor for working double hard to make the director’s vision a reality!

7. Too much of technology is never good!
While watching the film, the audience realizes that in some scenes the technology is overused, making the younger version of Will Smith look unreal, robotic and fake. Had the director toned down the CGI and Special Effects, it would have come out as classy but on more than one occasions, it sort of backfired.

8. The film seems to be made for the 90s audience
If Gemini Man doesn’t remind you of Face/Off, I don’t know what will. The film had a similar storyline with two people interchanging their faces and then fighting off each other with their world at stake.

This doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing but I believe that the audience of 2019 deserves something else, something that is more modern than what John Woo offered twenty years back.

9. Cloning is spoken of, not shown visually in the film
Usually, in a science fiction film, things are explained in detail so that it looks believable to the audience.
Remember Jurassic Park where cloning a dinosaur was discussed as if it was possible or in Back To The Future that makes you believe that time travel is possible.

Here, there are many missing facts regarding Will Smith’s character being cloned; when was his sample taken, how was the cloning done and what made his superiors go for the process, all this could have been explained in a flashback sequence. But Ang Lee wanted his film to be more in the present and less in the past, hence dialogues filled out the blanks for the audience.

10. The fight sequences were good but too lengthy
A good fight sequence has good moves and doesn’t exceed more than a minute, depending on who is fighting whom on screen.

If it is Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone, then it can be a lengthy sequence but when its Will Smith fighting Will Smith, an action sequence has to be short, crisp and smart.

Sadly in Gemini Man, the action sequences are lengthy and bore that batch in the audience who have no idea what Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was, why Will Smith was a huge name in the 90s and why are people being so concerned over the Genie from Aladdin.

11. Benedict Wong should have had a bigger role
The film doesn’t do justice to Benedict Wong who deserved a bigger role; he comes in after the action starts and disappears when things get interesting.

Since both, his and Will Smith’s character have served under Clayton Varris (Clive Owen) and feel betrayed, they both should have taken him down but the director had other ideas.

Anyway, he still is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will get all the chances in the Universe to save Doctor Strange and his fellow Earthlings.

 12. A little polished screenplay would have helped
data-preserver-spaces=”true”>A good music video from the 1990s would have had a better screenplay than Gemini Man where the dialogues seemed to have been penned on the spot.

It lacked powerful dialogues that the audience could take back with them once they exited the cinema but it seems the makers were more intent on the graphics than dialogues. Had the dialogues been memorable, many would have gone back to give the film another watch, but sadly that wasn’t the case.