‘Gemini Man’ Review

Gemini Man was a rather mellow and unsatisfying journey. Ang Lee’s latest shows up with a familiar premise of hitman facing their biggest challenge yet but despite taking advantage of modern technology, it doesn’t bring much to the table. It could be describes as a rollercoaster ride that speeds up steadily but there’s not much thrill along the way.

The de-aging technology admittedly comes off very well. It’s less distracting here than last seen on The Irishman, though it’s also helpful that with Will Smith, character is only 25-or-so years younger. Speaking of Smith, he does good enough job as the lead even when working with subpar material. Benedict Wong is the real delight in this one whenever he’s on the screen and there is a certain motorbike sequence that uses POV effectively to bring some excitement to the film.

What makes Gemini Man not thrilling is its story. From the beginning it seems like we’re building up to something but turns out that there’s really no payoff in the end. The material given to the actors is very surface-level and it’s hard to feel any kind of interest in Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s or Clive Owen’s performances. Shot in 120 FPS, the film is a real eyesore visually and the action/fight scenes look silly (no better word for it, really). To call this disappointing would be overselling it since it feels like that this is as good as it could’ve ever gotten.

Smileys: De-aging VFX, Benedict Wong

Frowneys: Story, Clive Owen, cinematography

This sniper is really just shooting blanks here.