Gemini Man

For how seriously it takes itself, Gemini Man isn't a particularly sophisticated spectacle, and though I secretly wished it would, the third corner of the Will Smith cinematic triangle of I Am Legend + I, Robot + ? certainly didn't come into being. Aside from the strange script, which seemed to set the stage for a surprising twist several times but ultimately let it go, the gimmicks were also strange. I don't mean the rejuvenated Will Smith, who is really perfect (What's next? Can we look forward to Buster Keaton slapstick?), but as for the rest – a lot of the shots look so disturbingly digital... The motorbike chase is fine, but sometimes something catches the eyes (you just have to wonder what it would be like with a stunt madman like Tom Cruise with no need for digital doubles and motorbikes), the man-on-man fights look more like robot-on-robot fights... And any directorial ideas? When I remember how originally Ang Lee once envisioned the comic book Hulk(yes, I really likedit), here I have to say: no glory. (2019-10-12)

The advertisement for Gemini Man in 3D HFR format lured me to the cinema and I was curious to see what a rejuvenated Will Smith would look like "in real life". More than once during the plot, I felt a certain genre confusion and wasn't entirely sure if the film itself knew what it wanted to be. What we're dealing with here is an action-packed sci-fi about human cloning, peppered with the odd quip and romantic reference here and there, while at times superficially trying to be something better within the sci-fi genre. As far as the action sequences are concerned, I have no complaints, the motorcycle chase, the duel among the skulls and the final fight were flawless – though I must point out that at times it looked a little too artificial due to the picture quality, but I'm still glad I decided to go to the cinema to see this particular format. The visuals of the rejuvenated Smith were indeed impressive, I was a little put off by the small space for Benedict Wong and puzzled by the rather bland ending. It's certainly not a wasted two hours in the cinema, but at the same time it's a one-off affair that will fade from your mind within a week. (2019-10-13)

The intention here was to elevate a simple theme like that of a Van Damme movie to the level of a clever, emotional action drama with a social subtext, with the help of a top scriptwriter and “artistic” director. And it didn’t really work. The digitally rejuvenated Will Smith is a WTF character – he’s supposed to go through an intense internal struggle requiring a quality acting performance and, paradoxically, delivers the worst “acting” of the movie with his Shrek-like facial expressions. Despite its ambitious plan, the film is also dragged down by unrealistic digital action scenes that are reminiscent of a Fast & Furious theme park. And that’s too bad, since it had such a promising start with the still cool Will and nice chemistry between him and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. (2019-11-26)

An art director and a renowned screenwriter have put together a very modern actioner with a 1990s theme. The digitally rejuvenated Smith has the same problem as De Niro in The Irishman, or the eyes tell all. The digital faces still aren't top notch, but kudos to the filmmakers who aren't afraid to experiment with new things. Thanks to them, cinema is moving forward and digital technology is one of the alternative futures of where to go. I’ll ignore the story, it stops being interesting after 30 minutes, which unfortunately should have been the "wow" moment. Smith can still swing fantastically, even though he’s pushing fifty already. Overall, Lee nailed the action scenes and they look very impressive, which is also the only reason to watch this film. (2020-01-11)

I didn’t believe Hollywood was still able to produce pure action blockbusters like this. Despite all the inevitable changes during its production, this is clearly a Bruckheimer premise from the 90s in its full glory, at the centre of which there is a protagonist who’s exceptionally proficient in the liquidation of villains, a potentially romantic line that is fully pushed aside, and a conspiracy that goes all the way to the top, but without the burden of a social or political context. The narrative creates a simple hyperreality where only the two sides of the conflict exist, and everything else is unimportant. Using pure images and digital effects, Ang Lee emphasises this concept to create an alternative world that I had no trouble accepting and let myself be absorbed in at least at the level of a proper action experience. The action itself is not static or forced, but fairly diverse in the way it moves the plot forward, and the digital look is not painful to watch – it actually fits into the concept. Actually, there’s not that much action, it relies more on the interactions of the characters, who direct an otherwise simple story. This is not revolutionary genre nonsense, the story is too standard for that and the way it develops some of the motifs is unoriginal and telegraphic, but I was impressed by the old-fashioned feel and, after a long time, Lee gave me 3D comfort where I can see a promising visual future (though I understand that many viewers won’t like this hyperrealistic style). Personally, I expected it to be considerably funnier in a 90s way – all that seriousness didn’t work on me at times. (2019-10-15)