BUFFALO, N.Y. — This reviewer expected more from Director Ang Lee (Life of Pi). After all, Gemini Man has a great and stellar cast, led by Will Smith (Suicide Squad, Hancock) in a dual role with an interesting high-concept premise. It takes on a number of different themes that seem to be among his favorites. Gemini Man, what with its digital wizardry and high frame rate digital photography, pushes the technical envelope of filmmaking. For all of that, it just doesn’t tell that great a story.
Henry Brogan (Smith) is a government hit-man, perhaps the best ever. But when he executes a kill (a shot from two kilometers away into the window of a speeding bullet train) that was slightly less than perfect (Oh, the target died. He was just shot in the neck instead of the head. Imperfect.).
Brogan decides its time to retire. As he’s just starting to enjoy that retirement, he discovers a couple of things: his last victim may have been innocent and another federal operative in the person of Danny Zakarweski (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, 10 Cloverfield Lane, A Good Day to Die Hard) is watching him. Suddenly, death squads are trying to kill him, and Brogan must now use his skills to stay alive and find out why.
As far as techno-thrillers go, Gemini Man is ho-hum. Oh, there are plenty of chases and fight scenes. There is even a motorcycle chase that may be one of the best of its type, ever. To see one antagonist use a motorcycle to slap around another antagonist was pretty special. That points out the biggest problem with Gemini Man. The performances are pretty good, and it was nice to see Clive Owen (Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Intruders) show up.
In so many ways, the filmmaking is of the highest caliber. The action sequences are intriguing and exciting, yet coherent and followable. But all that directorial skill and technological wizardry are in service of a story that’s just, well, meh. Oh, and for a reason or reasons that this reviewer can consciously access, he found the digital de-aging of Smith so that he could play both Brogan, and his younger clone, to be somehow intensely irritating. Also, without indulging in spoilers, it’s important to point out that the ending was just easy, treacly and not worth the set-up.
Blessed with a normally phenomenal director in Ang Lee, a great cast led by Smith, Winstead, and Owen, and all the technological filmmaking wizardry the 21st Century can provide, one would expect greatness. All of this is brought to bear on a mediocre story that rattled around in development hell for two decades. So, the result is, sadly, mediocre as well. Gemini Man, even with Smith doing double-duty, is still only worth 3 out of 5 boxes of popcorn.
Directed by Ang Lee, Gemini Man stars Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, and Benedict Wong (Dr. Strange, The Martian.) It's rated PG-13 for violence and action throughout, and brief strong language and runs 117 Minutes
Okay, this reviewer is dating himself here, but back in the day, I loved The Addams Family on TV. The creepy and kooky premise has been visited and revisited time and again. In this latest version, the Addamses have to relocate to New Jersey (the actual home state of their creator, the great cartoonist Charles Addams). Once their neighbors get a look at the goings-on in that formerly fog-shrouded manse up on the hill, well let's just say there is a culture clash.
This animated version of The Addams Family closely matches the look of the original print cartoons drawn by Charles Addams for the New Yorker back in the day.
This latest re-imagining is cute and okay for the younger crowd and its got good messages about intolerance for them. There’s plenty of subtext and in-jokes for the older crowd. Fans of the original series will like it. With a few finger snaps, it summons 4 out of 5 boxes of popcorn.
The Addams Family stars the voices of Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina, Suburbicon), Charlize Theron (Monster, Tully), Chloë Grace Moretz (Greta, The Miseducation of Cameron Post), Finn Wolfhard (The Goldfinch, It), Nick Kroll (Operation Finale, Uncle Drew), Snoop Dogg (The Beach Bum, Dolemite is My Name), Bette Midler (For the Boys, The Women), and Allison Janney (Ma, The Girl on the Train). It's directed by Greg Tiernan, Conrad Vernon and is rated PG for macabre and suggestive humor, and some action. It runs 87 minutes.
Lucy in the Sky is the story of an astronaut who has some real trouble adjusting once she comes back to earth. The critics aren’t exactly in orbit over it. It’s rated R for language and some sexual content.
Also opening this weekend in Western New York, Lucy in the Sky and Jexi.
In Lucy in the Sky, Natalie Portman (Annihilation, Jackie) plays an astronaut who returns to Earth and ... well, let’s say has some trouble adjusting. It’s Rated R for language and some sexual content. It’s kinda-sorta based on a true story.
Jexi is about a phone app that supposed to help make a phone-obsessed loser’s life better but the software ends up becoming jealous and controlling. It’s Rated R for strong/crude sexual content and language throughout, some drug use and graphic nudity.
If you are looking for something else to see this weekend here are some of my other reviews (the films reviewed may no longer be in the theatres).
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I'm Larry Haneberg, and I'm taking you 2 the Movies.