Gemini Man

In the 10 years between 1991 and 2001 Jean Claude Van Damme starred in 3 films where he played multiple roles. In Double Impact and Maximum Risk he played twin brothers and in Replicant he played both a serial killer and the clone created to take him down. Had Gemini Man been released back then he would have no doubt been on double duty once again. Gemini Man is of course better than those 3 films but in one big way it's a lot worse.

Henry Brogan (Will Smith) has pulled his last trigger as a government hitman. Or at least he think's he has. His retirement in the Florida Keys starts off nice when he meets a woman called Danny (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) but soon enough both are on the run and things get decidedly dicey when Henry finds himself face to face with an assassin who not only has his exact skill set but who also looks exactly like him, only half his age. Just what on earth is going on?

Ang Lee's first foray into action and adventure in over 16 years is a let down. There's plenty of nicely choreographed and well shot action (that motorbike chase is a doozy) but it's all very conventional and at no point will you be surprised by anything that happens. Worse is it's all built around one thing that ultimately kills the film in it's tracks. The de-aging of Will Smith. Even an actor as charismatic and likable as the Fresh Prince can't cope with the onslaught of ropey CGI and the uncanny valley effect wrought by it. This film has been in development for years because the technology needed to de-age an actor wasn't available and judging by the results we see here they should have waited at least 10 years more. De-aging was effective in a couple of Marvel films when it was used sparingly but here Henry jr gets so much screentime that you can't get away from the fact that it's just horrid. God only knows what The Irishman will be like with 200+ minutes of it. Every time he appears the effect is both laughable and bad enough to totally take you out of the film. It eventually gets to the point where you're just watching to see the joins in the seams.

It's a pity because Will Smith actually does do good work here. Double duty as two men both going through pretty massive identity and existential crises. We all know Smith from his comedy and action parts but when he does get a chance to stretch the auld acting muscles the results are good. But any good work is eventually overshadowed by you know what. It's all very serious too. Foreboding music, moody nighttime tension and anxious looks. Had Lee and screenwriter David Benioff embraced the more absurd aspects of the story (a route the Mission Impossible franchise took with splendid results) this could have been a hell of a lot of fun and maybe even made the CGI easier to swallow. But nope, it's all played straight as hell and all we get are a couple of Benedict Wong (as Henry's spy bud Baron) smiles and the film's one solitary laugh where Mary Elizabeth Winstead explains what a profane piece of hitman jargon stands for. Both of these try their best but no-one can stand up to Will Smith, let alone two Will Smith's.

Ang Lee has always been a director who's future choices were unforeseeable. A look at his back catalogue tells us that much straight away. Big green monsters, banquets for daughters, cowboy lovers, Mr Darcy, a dash of wuxia magic, explicit espionage sex, 70's key parties, civil war bushwackers. You never knew what way he was going to turn. As such Gemini Man is another unpredictable turn in direction. It's just a pity it's all so predictable. Let's not mention the other thing again. You'll be horrified by it soon enough.

In cinemas now everywhere.