Mr. & Mr. Smith.
117 Mins. Starring: Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, Benedict Wong & Will Smith. Director: Ang Lee.
When there's a Will, there is also his way in Ang Lee's 'Gemini Man'. A visionary film from the 'Crouching Tiger', 'Life Of Pi' director that pits Will Smith vs...well what in creative, cinematic, classic CGI takes Will back to the high top fade, 'Fresh Prince' days like the show you grew up with didn't just celebrate its 30 year anniversary. Feel old yet? Well now Big Willie's younger self is trying to throw Smith senior (I mean really? He's from the Reeves lab of anti-ageing at 50 plus) out like Uncle Phil was Jazzy Jeff when he was wearing that same shirt. All in, in this Neo 'Matrix' age (Will almost played the Keanu one to Hugo Weaving's Mr. Smith back in the day and today on his Instagram you can see what that would have looked like) like movie from 'Brokeback's' Ang. Lee brought the seventies show soul back to his comic-book, cell structure creative 'Hulk' Marvel movie like only a "KAPOW" sixties, Adam West 'Batman' and he finds the heart and will of both young and old Smith's here. "You made a choice to do this to me", Fresh Smith tells great Brit villain Clive Owen who counters equally with an epic quote made for movies, "You have all of his gifts...without his pain!" Cutting deep. Cue the two Spider-Man's pointing at each other meme in the same Gemini month Paul Rudd is 'Living With Yourself' in the Netflix cloned series. For a trend like the govermently modified super soldier one with Vin Diesel's 'Bloodshot' comic hero coming soon on the live, die, repeat edge of tomorrow. And with Will Smith now duplicated too like "WOOH...HA, HA," just call this the attack of the clones like it was 1995 for Dollywood season...the sheep, not Parton...I beg your pardon. It's all in the ears.
Connery, Gibson, Harrison Ford. James Bond, a 'Lethal Weapon' and 'The Fugitive' that shoots first these were all hitman targets for the original 'Gemini Man' (you'd need a lot more CGI for them) that has been in developmental hell since 1997. That was only two years after they had any wool to clone that black sheep over our eyes. Now two decades plus later they have found a way with Will sniping at bullet trains in bullet time like he was taking aim at Daniel Craig's 007. But with there maybe not being enough CGI to de-age the aforementioned legends with all due respect, Smith is the right choice for this digital age, white dot face/off that will still WOW you the first time you see it in this de-ageing time for cinema that still needs these massive movie moments. Now just imagine if in this social media reveal, spoiler alert time you saw this twist of dark fate for the first time in theatres, no trailers like when Arnie's 'Terminator' with shotguns and roses told Jon Connor to "GET DOWN"! Because in this movie about being your own worst enemy, the only one in promotion here is not itself but modern movie cynicism and the over-sharing age of needing to know every detail, every second. But here's one for you, an older, wearier Will has a way with his killer with a conscience character. All whilst still having that (only slightly bruised and the better as an actor for it) charismatic screen presence that not only makes him a superstar still in season, but a Hall of Fame all-time great still stepping up to the plate, even if sometimes he doesn't knock it right out the park. A home run is still a home run and the 'Concussion' (his last groundbreaking classic) star switching sports is doing more than fielding grounders. Commanding a class cast featuring '10 Cloverfield Lane' and 'Bird Of Prey', Mary Elizabeth Winstead, wonderful as ever and Wong himself Benedict Wong appearing like he came out of one of 'Doctor Strange's' Catherine wheels in the middle of nowhere on a sea plane. Is that everyone? No! We need to give it up for Clive Owen in the 'Knick' of time a Thanos delusional villain trying to prove a point to his art of war. And then of course there is Will Smith too. Playing his younger self so perfectly beyond all those Paul Rudd cloning and Gyllenhaal and Eisenberg double features, so much so that there is much more than this man being beside himself. Capturing the youthful exuberance and essence of self and his character on the sharpest line point that it's not just the clever computer generated imagery that makes you forget your watching a young clone instead of say the 'Six Degrees Of Separation' of a movie twenty years ago, post-fresh before his 'Independence Day' or the coming of the 'Men In Black'. And to those who disagree...hey at least he didn't make it a double on those hit franchise sequels...although he would have made it all a lot better if he did. WOO...HA, HA!
Even if 'Gemini Man' has lost more money than Will Smith in the 80's, it doesn't mean it's a bad film. Remember most who join the trolling party have never got off social media long enough to go out and actually watch. Clone wars have never hit this hard with a dirt bike-fu roundhouse kick to the face. Leaving a nice tyre tread mark, charred and scabbed skin beard for the rest of the movie...SLAP! 'Gemini' may have attracted some opposition, but you should go see it on the double. Take your partner, or the Jekyll to your Hyde side. Because like Jake Gyllenhaal's 'Enemy' or Jesse Eisenberg's 'Double', this is another reflection on the split screen canon that holds up the mirror to more than just ourselves. But the cracking under pressure societal breaking point of searching for our more filtered black mirror side for better or hearse as even Will gets the Marvel anti-ageing treatment like Michael Douglas. A theme also taken to the woods task in Paul Rudd's 'Living With Yourself' spa retreat treatment. Don't listen to the critics or the tomato's that have gone rotten. They're probably the same sort of people who would tell you there's something wrong with you when things sometimes are fine just as they are. And this Will Smith sci-fi vehicle in the mould of his 'I Am Legend' or 'I. Robot' future, apocalyptical, cult paranoid pieces would like those have been one of the biggest blockbusters of the year a decade ago with lines out the door like literally this writers small seaside towns local cinema on Boxing Day of all 24 hours for his 'Legend'. But with B movie brilliance you'll look back on in years with surprise it was made now, from the McConaughey 'Serenity' (another cruelly, critically underrated gem) of a small port town 'Out Of Time' like a Denzel Washington by the sea calm, crime classic at a Floridan pace called Buttermilk this looks as satisfying as that tastes. As the action moves postcard to postcard to the picturesque and what on the surface looks like the stars latest Instagram post for his Harlem like Globetrotting, West Philadelphia born and raised. For Ang ever the auteur for the aesthetic, from the comic feeling 'Hulk' to the Coldplay 'Mylo Xyloto' pastel 'Paradise' of 'Pi', captures the creative colours of Colombia on the back of two 'Knight and Day' gas horses galloping and kicking each other following the most tense, look around, stairway shootout, the bone yard fighting catacombs of Hungary with the hunger of a young director starting out in this legend veterans signature style. All for three acts of action that bring this all back home, bookended by meaning of life dialogue that keeps it simple and away from the pretension of existentialism. All whilst taking more depth from the hallow waters of a Liam Neeson franchise, even taking it to the 'Parabellum' chapters of John Wick, clip to clip. One vibrant scene cycled in the canvas of Colombia's vibrancy featuring two mopeds giving each other what for truly mops the floor with everything else out there right now in this hot Summer. Sure, Smith from 'Men In Black 3' meaning he couldn't do 'Django' for Tarantino and the return of 'Bad Boys For Life' next season in this 'After Earth' age that sees him as a cult comic 'Bright' and 'Suicide Squad' or even bigger YouTube star needs that big blockbuster or even the 'Seven Pounds' of an 'Ali' knockout Oscar bait to give him the title back of the man of movies like when he used to rule rap. But between this and being the Robin Williams next rubbed the right way Genie for 'Aladdin' it's been quite the year of twin ambitions for the 'Gemini Man'. And for this prince still fresh like it used to be, one day it will look the same again like the fade. That's if you believe in star signs. TIM. DAVID HARVEY.
Further Filming: 'I. Robot', 'Hulk', 'Living With Yourself'.
i was watching this film on indoxxi and i love it
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