What if we could create the perfect soldier? He would always follow orders, never question leaders, never feel pain nor feel tired and he would not age! A super-soldier! ‘Gemini Man’ raises this question in Will Smith’s latest movie.
I went there, on a date, not really expecting anything. I did have the general idea that the younger version of Henry Brogan was his clone. But I was intrigued. So, was my date!
The premise is essentially the kind of problems that contract elite snipers – mercenaries, for that fact – face when they are trying to leave the business or change career: They make enemies and for someone as elite as Henry Brogan – Will Smith’s character – that comes with the increased pressure posed by advanced technology, surveillance, and yes, the very fantastical notion of human cloning with all its ethical implications. Brogan wants out, but the government program, the DIA, will not let it happen so easily!
With the current climate, the movie raises the apt question of whether America’s military may one day grow too old, and whether we truly ought to form the super-soldier, or whether we already are. Can you imagine, a clone of yourself walking around the world out there and taking people’s lives in the name of America?
Did we really need ‘Gemini Man’? The movie seems tepid in some respects and eschews the type of bombastic entertainment that has been characteristic of Will Smith movies. It feels old and my favorite movie actor is getting old! Sigh…
The action pieces match the scope of the movie, which is that of a man on a quest to escape a government covert program. For the most part, they work since the scope appears smaller than it actually is. The stakes are not that high, though the issue of human cloning is one that lingers on during the movie. It feels a bit surreal to see Will Smith ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ version militarized and taking down his older ‘Willenium’ Will Smith version.
We get the sense, that maybe, age is beginning to catch up to Will Smith. He still has his characteristic charm but minus the swagger, though he still cracks jokes like he did in the well-received ‘I-Robot’.
Why the movie has underperformed may be due to a poorly developed character of Junior (Will Smith’s “Gemini Man”), uninspiring action sequences, very few explosions (don’t we just love explosions?), an all-too linear plot with no real sense of mystery or high stakes, and leads with no real chemistry (I am talking about Will Smith and Mary Winstead).
In the end, I think that my date may have enjoyed it less than I did. She found it boring. I ended up perplexed by the movie, and I personally think that it was a wasted opportunity. We need ‘Gemini Man 2’!
