Projeto Gemini

Listen, 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.

This 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.

When 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.

I 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.

Given 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!