Clearly this movie is fighting itself, same as Will Smith fighting himself.
Action, pace, scenery, photography, fight sequences are above par, but why didn't anyone have a thorough look at the story...?
This could have been a great movie with a proper scenario that would engage into the characters and their conflict...but its not.
I suggest you watch the film. It is not a waste of time, but it will leave you with an "off" taste or feeling at the end when you realize all the lost potential.
5/10 because Ang Lee is a great director and could have done so much better with this.
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ThomDerd6 December 2019
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chayes-3424011 October 2019Listen, you saw the trailer, you know what this is. It's not winning any awards (maybe however they made Will Smith the fresh prince again)
If you take it for the campy action flick it is. You'll enjoy it. Decent fight scenes. Fun motorbike chase.
If you are looking for "high film" this isn't that. The plot has a few holes, but most action films do. -
nl-313038 December 2019Underrated, definitely flaws in script but overall far away from a disaster. I would say it's a 6.5-7, worth a see.
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masonsaul12 October 2019For the record, I didn't see Gemini Man in the high frame rate which critics said made the movie look cheap, which may affect why I liked it so much but Gemini Man is a flawed but fun action thriller. It's surprisingly funny in places and has some genuinely great action sequences and is more thought provoking than I expected. Will Smith gives two great performances. The supporting performances by Clive Owen, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Benedict Wong are all really good. Ang Lee's direction is fantastic and it's beautifully filmed. The music by Lorne Balfe is excellent. It's only brought down by a plot with subplots that are forgotten about and CG that dips in quality during the final 10 mins, despite being impressive up until that point.
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AliensReservoir18 November 2019This is not the kind of movie you will recall in 5 years, but it's very watchable, it is not boring, it's good for 2 hours to kill.
I regret the lack of getting deeper in Junior's character, it's a bit thrown in a face, but that's okey.
Over all i will not claim back my 2 hours watching it, the story is keeping you up, and if someone ask me about the movie, I'll just say, it's OK, don't expect the super movie, but that's okey. -
AmonStarrick3 October 2019When I saw the trailer I thought "Yea, I already know exactly how the story goes, but the deaging effects look nice"
So I went into it expecting not much, but at least some average entertainment. But oh boy, the movie is kinda hard to enjoy. The characters have no depth, the story is totaly bland and the action in it's best moments is super average.
I was right on both my predictions. The trailer already tells you the whole story and it does feel like you've already seen it before. And also, the creation of a young Will Smith totaly worked.
The script is horrible and you can easily notice the flaws. There are some super obvious setups that are so randomly thrown in that you know it's gotta be important later, just to then be disappointed that the payoff is even worse. Speaking of "Bees".
Sometimes it feels like scenes are missing. Some actually important stuff just happens off-screen.
The finale is disappointing and unspectacular and also the special effects are super whacky. People jump and run so fast that it looks like an early 2000s movie.
Conclusion: Will Smith keeps picking mediocre movies, I can't recommend you watching this, I was really bored. -
nickjo19981 October 2019I was lucky enough to be invited to a premiere screening of the film, in 60fps and in 3D (been a while since I've seen a film in 3D, and the framerate was distracting in very few scenes).
It's a technical feat. Young Will Smith is probably the best looking CGI de-aging effect I've seen in a film (until the last scene). The cinematography was also really well-done, there are some interesting shots, especially one panoramic shot of a train whizzing by. And shots hold for much longer than the typical action film, often showing impressive long-take shots. The action is tense, with hard-hitting fight choregoraphy, as opposed to the "cut away" style many modern action films go with.
Will Smith, both young and old, delivers a very good performance as assassins struggling with their identity & place in the world, albeit in very different circumstances. The plot takes a bit to kick in to full gear, but once it gets rolling, it's a thrilling ride some minor speed bumps.
All in all, a solid Hollywood action film, it's no masterpiece, but very enjoyable. -
I was excited to see a preview of this based off the trailers, it looked like it had such a promising premise, but that premise is wasted by poor writing and stilted dialogue. I didn't realize this was written by Beinoff until after I saw the movie but looking back on it it makes a lot of sense. This is exactly the kind of shlocky writing and stupid characters any fan of GOT has come to expect after season 8. I can feel the "Well, X character kind of forgot about Y." throughout the plot.
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matanavishai3 October 2019It's not perfect, and the plot could be deeper and better, but I had good two hours watching this movie. Good action and beautiful scenes - both thanks to the locations and the tech. Plus, young Will Smith is just insane.
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Gernot S.4 October 2019David Benioff.
...useful when adapting material, not able to write anything entertaining on his own.
Will Smith is Will Smith. I like him, but there's only so much one can do with Benioff's "work". -
myanie_9912 October 2019I understand wanting to come to imdb to get perspective on a film but when I steadily see low ratings on movies just for the fun of it with no real validity behind the rating, it's crazy! This was a good film that was entertaining and an original perspective. I'm also noticing that anytime Will Smith does anything immediately the haters come out the wood works on why his films aren't that great. But why sway, what's the real reason because it really was not that bad.
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buster-5414310 October 2019It's fun and entertaining, solid cast! Worth a watch
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gavril-seen-too-many-movies4 October 2019The idea of clones is very interesting by itself, but not in this film. The story line isn't that good and is very predictable. I did not like the CGI. It looks like someone else is wearing Will Smith's face and not in a good way. Does not look real. Many action sequences look too digitalized. You get out of the movie thinking, OK, that's it? Where's the story? What's the point? Seems like both of them are missing.
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swordsnare16 September 2020This film will be most notable for it's innovative achievements in the effects realm. Although, the scriptwriting/story in contrast to the effects were a little lacklustre.
I appreciate the effort with the involvement of Ang Lee and, of course Will Smith, but I was left wanting. -
mklarsen-518959 October 2019I watched this last night and wondered how it would play out. Personally the fight scenes were great but they were simply good because they increased the speed in which they were fighting and not because of quality. The motorbike scene is awesome but you couldn't help feeling bad for Jnr. It's worth watching, I am just not convinced it is worth paying to see at the movies.
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luckyallstar3 October 2019Perhaps my expectations were too high. But I felt the whole clone subplot and main theme of this movie was wasted on this flick. It was too bland with absolutely nothing standing out and it could've been wholly replaced.
It's hard to pinpoint the problems in the story other than being mediocre and unimaginative. The whole clone aspect was definitely wasted here. And I kept questioning the motifs of the characters involved.
Some of the action scenes were good and I enjoyed them. But overall I'm fairly certain I'll pass on rewatching this. -
DemianZorzi11 October 2019First of all, the movie was good... the bad reviews is probably from people who shouldn't actually be writing comment, you gotta be open to every type of movie in every genre... I'm a very picky person I honestly don't have movies rated a 10, cause no movie or series is gon be perfect (unless it's the FRIENDS Series) lol. This movie has a good amount of action, good enough story line, and they did pretty descent job on the AI graphics. To be honest no one should give this movie less than a 6, if you do then sorry but you don't know much about movies. Next time I won't listen to other people's judgment because I was close to not going to see this, but the money and time was well spent!
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juanpedropar19 October 2019Dialogues are painful, CGI is horrible and the writing is lazy at best. The "twists" are extremely predictable unless you're 10 years old, which is the only way I could imagine someone enjoying this movie.
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neil-47612 October 2019Government assassin Henry is looking to retire. Black ops freelance boos Clay Verris has other ideas, and Henry is soon on the run from an assassin who is as good as he is. Because it's him. Or, rather, his clone, 28 years younger.
Excuse the spoiler, but it's not really a spoiler as the trailer reveals it.
This is a fairly routine chase thriller with some pleasing bits. The action is OK if unexceptional. Smith plays 51 year old Henry and, with the help of digital de-ageing, 23 year old Junior, and I award credit for making the two different versions of the same person distinctly different people. And I spent some time thinking that the 20-something leading lady reminded me of Mary Elizabeth Winstead, only to discover that it was her! At 35, she didn't need de-ageing software.
This is a by-the-numbers romp with an interesting wrinkle. But check your brain at the door! -
kaschroe3 October 2019I'm really disappointed. The script is awful. Boring dialogues paired with flat characters. At no time I felt connected to the story or any of the characters. Besides that I also couldn't get used to look of the movie. There were many scenes that had the look & feel of a soap opera.
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g_cotterell11 October 2019Pros . Great acting by Will Smith, excellent action , engaging story, and interesting premise with some interesting moral discussions . What's not to like. ( no where near as bad as reviews made out)
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hitchcockthelegend10 July 2020Gemini Man is directed by Ang Lee and co-written by David Benioff and Darren Lemke. It stars Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen and Benedict Wong. Music is by Lorne Balfe and cinematography by Dione Beebe.
Henry Brogan (Will Smith) is an aging but elite assassin who's ready to call it quits. However, his plans are put on hold when he suddenly becomes the target of a mysterious operative who can seemingly predict his every move. The assassin who stalks him has a very familiar feel to him...
Lets not beat around the bush, Smith and Winstead deserve a better screenplay than this. The writing is weak and lazy, Lee is clearly the wrong director for such a high concept action film, while the action scenes are shoddy in effects. In fact the storyline, as trite as it is, is unfairly in a constant battle against the CGI on show.
However, film never sits still and refuses to let boredom take a hold. The lead actors are engaging enough to hold attention throughout, and even as the sugary coatings fill out the final throes, we at least can acknowledge there were earnest intentions to make an existential clone thriller here. But with Jerry Bruckheimer on production you can see there's a popcorn action film trying to break free of the literary treacle.
Hardly the worst clone sci-fier that some have called it, but it's not memorable either. Think of it more as a time filler for the curious about the subject to hand. 6/10. -
TheLittleSongbird19 December 2019Despite its negative critical reception, that didn't stop me from seeing 'Gemini Man'. The idea was really interesting and with the right execution could have been thrilling, inventive, thoughtful and emotional. Ang Lee has done some great work, 'Brokeback Mountain', 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', 'The Ice Storm' and 'Sense and Sensibility' being favourites ('Life of Pi' needs a re-watch but remember liking that too). Also don't consider Will Smith a bad actor, quite a likeable one in the right roles.
As much as it pains me to say it, 'Gemini Man' is as severely disappointing as has been said. Don't think it is that awful and there are far worse films out there, but it is a sad waste of a good idea and neither Lee or Smith are well served. Smith comes off better and compared to almost everything else he comes off reasonably well, he has been in and done worse than 'Gemini Man' ('After Earth' anyone?) but is a much better performer than this. This is a very strong contender for a career worst for Lee, actually found it more disappointing than 'Hulk' which left me in shock after watching that he was the one responsible for the four great (more than great actually) films cited.
'Gemini Man' is beautifully and atmospherically photographed and similarly boasts production and set design that had more imagination than what was everywhere else. While not much may unforgettably stand out in the music score, it at least fitted with the atmosphere, didn't over-bear that it swamped everything and sounded appealing on the ears.
Smith is a commanding and amiable presence and actually the cast did quite well with what they were given and considering what they were given, which would be beneath anybody. The ossuary brawl is spectacular.
Lee however is completely out of his depth, he fails to bring any energy or freshness to material that was in dire need of both and material too that his directing style, which has too much of a heavy hand here, is not particularly well suited for. There is an overuse of special effects and it is sad to say that it is agreed that the effects are not very good. Actually thought that they looked like they were made in a rush and on the too cheap side, like they were going for quantity and not quality. So much so that they looked fake amongst everything else, Junior was very cheap looking, and it is such a shame because the rest of the production values looked great.
David Benioff's script really sinks 'Gemini Man'. There is absolutely no substance to it, non-stop blandness more like, and quite a lot of it is very difficult to take seriously, so unnatural sounding and cheesy to the point of being juvenile. Instead of being deep in thought one is likely perhaps to be trying not to laugh, plus it can sound quite old-fashioned. The story had a cool idea but does nothing really new or imaginative with it, with some obvious and shoehorned in plot turns, only sporadically thrilling but mostly workmanlike at best (mostly lacking lustre) action (the ossuary brawl excepted) and the execution of an idea that sounded inventive on paper is too ordinary and familiar. The characters, despite the best efforts of the cast, are very sketchy in development and basically genre ciphers and not much more.
In conclusion, great potential but misses it by a mile. 3/10 -
Movie-Misfit13 October 2019Given the amount of recent Will Smith flops in recent years, I was a little apprehensive about watching Gemini Man on the big screen. Even with Ang Lee on board as director...
But alas, I was very pleasantly surprised!
Gemini Man plays like a 007 feature directed by John Woo. It just screams Hollywood action blockbuster from its big cast to its cliched dramatic moments, and its huge CGI filled action scenes to its international locations.
While not completely flawless, the CGI is very impressive and equals that seen in most Marvel movies today from its de-aging process to its intense fights and action sequences. That said, in the final scene I'm sure I saw young Will Smith's change about 3 or 4 times - but a minor gripe.
The action is huge of course in the scale of a Mission Impossible film, with plenty of one-shot scenes that make it all the more impressive! From motorbike chases to gun-play and plenty of hand-to-hand combat, any action fan should come away feeling more than pleased.
While note a masterpiece, Gemini Man is pretty damn good fun and a welcome return to form for Smith at this stage! -
I was surprised the movie was given such poor ratings at IMDB.
It's clear: it's by no means the greatest movie Will Smith starred in, but it's far to be that average you may want to give it a 5, when worse movies ( like X-Men Apocalypse, which is a mess ) got better ratings.
The plot is far to be original and seems a bit rehearsed. And if it's true it is even sometimes predictable, especially at the end, it's far enough for the kind of movie Gemini Man is. It's mainly an action flick, not the next generation Memento.
First, all the characters introduced are pretty charismatic. Will Smith is really great portraying Brogan and his younger self. For Brogan, you can really feel the old tortured assassin tired of killing and for Junior, the intrepid and a bit reckless new one in the starting blocks. Mary Elizabeth Winstead's character Danny has a developed enough story to not stay the mere supporting sidekick quickly annoying or easily forgotten.
The visuals are great, and for once, you can appreciate the style of the CQCs, pretty raw here, but nicely choreographed. The FX is really neat and the de-aged Will Smith is not that bad, even if he seems to suffer the "mustache removal issue" of Superman in Justice League.
To sum up, Gemini Man is largely worth the ticket's price; surely not the movie of the year, but one with flaws forgivable enough to enjoy it in a theater.