379. Gemini Man; movie review

GEMINI MAN
Cert 12A
117 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence, infrequent strong language

It's been a box office bomb and has taken a panning from critics and yet I found myself pretty engaged by Ang Lee's Gemini Man.
Was this down to its very impressive special effects or the acting of Will Smith for whom I've developed a bit of a soft spot over the years?
Maybe - but, out of left field, I reckon it is the deep effect the movie The Man Who Haunted Himself has had on me.
What do you mean, you have never heard of it?
Allow me to enlighten - it stars Roger Moore who encounters a duplicate of himself in the aftermath of a car crash.
He then discovers that this interloper has taken over every part of his life and the thrust of the movie surrounds his attempt to reimpose himself.
Gemini Man is a different take on a similar theme. This time, Smith plays the world's greatest assassin, who can not only kill a target on a moving train from two kilometres but is pretty deadly with his bare hands.
He then finds himself being pursued by a younger faster version of... himself.
Pulling the strings of both Smith and Junior is a ruthless American government agent (Clive Owen).
The older Smith character has clearly become expendable and attempts to outrun the younger sharpshooter, accompanied by another, more glamorous agent (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).
There is a dab of pathos through what the younger and old self teach each other but let's not forget this is an Ang Lee action film.
Indeed, much has been made at the number of frames per second the famous director uses in an attempt to bring the audiences even closer to the many chases.
The scenes are fast-flowing and exciting but I can't say I spotted the difference.
Nevertheless, Gemini Man will be best remembered for the very special effects in which Will Smith fought himself.
Because of that alone, it works.

Reasons to watch: Slightly unusual thriller
Reasons to avoid: Takes too long to reach its focus

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know? JBS Haldane was the first to introduce the idea of human cloning, using the terms "clone" and "cloning" (which had been used in agriculture since the early 20th century) during his speech on "Biological Possibilities for the Human Species of the Next Ten Thousand Years" in 1963.

Final word. Ang Lee: "Making a digital human you have the freedom to create a young Will Smith, but the process is very rigid. You have to shoot the same thing over and over. The skin and everything, they put it together and examine it. It’s very rigid." Slash Film

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