Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Gemini Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Dear Younger Me...

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 10, 2020

Gemini Man is Director Ang Lee's latest film to foray into the questionably effective and audience divisive world of 120 frames per second, following on the tepidly received Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. Gemini Man, another tepidly received hyper visual film, is more action oriented than character driven, despite its best efforts to find balance between the two. Lee's picture struggles not to tell a coherent story or assemble dazzling action scenes but rather to give audiences reason to care, putting together a predictable, though not entirely slapdash, story of high technology and human drama intermixed with gunplay and a ferociously frenzied and cooly choreographed motorcycle action sequence. It's a perfectly serviceable 21st century visual effects movie but feels empty at 24 frames per second (Blu-ray) and uncomfortably odd at 60 frames per second (UHD). There is currently no home option for the 120 frames per second 4K/3-D version Lee touts in interviews (and it wasn't shown theatrically in that configuration, either).

Henry Brogan (Will Smith) is a renowned, expert marksman who, as the film begins, takes aim at a target riding in a fast moving train from long distance. The shot hits its target but the job is getting to Henry. He’s not as young or precise as he once was, and the emotional toll of 72 kills is becoming too much for him to bear. He’s retiring from duty but learns that his last target was not a terrorist but rather a molecular biologist, an innocent man whose death now lays heavily on Henry’s conscience. He quickly falls under suspicion and begins to realize that he’s being surveyed and targeted and neither he nor anyone to whom he is close is safe. He teams with a Defense Intelligence Agency operative named Dani Zakarewski (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and unravels a conspiracy centered around GEMINI, a secretive agency known for “off book kidnappings and tortures” which has deployed its greatest weapon against Henry: a cloned younger version of himself, known as "Junior," played by a digitally de-aged Will Smith.

With Gemini Man, Ang Lee unquestionably pushes technical boundaries but does little to push emotional buttons. The film nobly attempts to look into the heart of an assassin from two differing perspectives: a man of soul and understanding, shaped by decades of death that have slowly killed him on the inside and a younger, but deliberately bred and naive, version of himself that knows little of the true heartbeat of humanity. There's opportunity for great character conflict, study, reflection, and depth, and the film gives an honest effort to uncover and explore those qualities in several powerfully charged scenes. But the center ultimately falls a bit too flat through predictable angles and tepid emotional currents, all of which ultimately plays second to the action and third to Lee's seemingly unnecessary hyperrealism. The film actually plays better at 24 frames per second, allowing the viewer to feel more fully engaged with the story and characters under less distracting parameters, even if the filmmaking feels stilted away from its intended presentation flow and flavor.

No matter one’s thoughts on the borderline engrossing drama and character arcs and moments and the various frame rates at which the movie may be viewed, there’s little wiggle room to argue that Gemini Man’s action scenes are anything but exceptionally well staged. Theres an incredible sequence partway through the film when Junior uses a Honda motorcycle as a weapon at the climax of his first encounter with his older self. Following a high speed pursuit, the elder Henry finds himself down while the younger version attempts to run him over and swing the bike up and down and from side to side to strike his opponent. Even the standard gunplay is quick and precise and dangerous, and even more so at 60fps (UHD). Lee blends broadly visible action with intimate close-ups that both effectively pull the viewer into the dangerous gun battles, shaping the environment and the characters’ place in and response to the violence. It works, to a point, but it's ultimately too much noise and visual peculiarity to allow the story to operate at full capacity.

Gemini Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Gemini Man Blu-ray features a vanilla 24 frames per second viewing experience, which delivers a highly proficient technical viewing experience. Detail is exceptionally clear. The 1080p resolution never struggles to present facial textures with incredible command, whether considering hairs, pores, blood, or other features. The digitally de-aged Will Smith has the appearance of textural completeness as well, showing off the fine-point features with impressive definition. Additional essentials such as clothes and environments are consistently sharp, particularly in the many lingering close-ups Lee uses to great effect throughout the film. Colors are perfectly refined. Contrast is dialed into a natural level and there's plenty of punch and depth to both essential tones and support hues alike. Assorted landscapes, clothes, explosions, and all variety of essentials present with perfect tonal command. Flesh tones appear true and black levels are resplendent. There's a hint, sometimes a little more, of noise here and there, even in a few relatively well lit scenes. It's never bothersome and viewers will be hard-pressed to find any other source issues or compression artifacts.

Gemini Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Gemini Man features a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, and it's terrific. The presentation yields a consistently high quality output, particularly in highlight action scenes. Strong concussive blasts define gunfire and grenade explosions in chapter seven when Henry first encounters his younger self. The track produces some incredible low end detail when a missile hits a van in chapter 14, which zooms towards its target with seat-rattling zip and efficiency. Moments later, heavy machine gun fire rips through with tremendous depth and full surround usage as the rounds power through with ferocious intensity. Every action scene is a delight with no obvious downturns in depth or range. Music finds favor in its clarity and stage spread alike. The fronts carry the load but every additional channel is incorporated to create a fuller, totally immersive soundscape. Environmental details melt into the background with perfect placement and position. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized from start to finish.

Gemini Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Gemini Man Blu-ray includes an alternate opening, deleted scenes, and several featurettes. A DVD copy of the film and a digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

• Alternate Opening (1080i, 59.94fps, 5:49).
• Deleted Scenes (1080i, 59.94fps): Included are I Found a Plane for Us (0:40) and Original Yuri Scene (3:54).
• The Genesis of Gemini Man (1080p, 2:54): Jerry Bruckheimer, Ang Lee, and Will Smith discuss the long history behind the project, story details, making the movie with modern technology, casting Will Smith in the lead role, and more.
• Facing Your Younger Self (1080p, 5:40): Will Smith, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Ang Lee dig into the philosophical and metaphysical questions the film poses while also exploring both the technology that made it possible and the acting challenges and rewards Smith experienced during the shoot.
• The Future Is Now (1080p, 18:32): This in-depth piece explores the technology used to de-age Will Smith, emphasizing a few of the highlight action scenes along the way.
• Setting the Action (1080p, 15:46): Exploring action construction and choreography, shooting locales, and more.
• Next Level Detail (1080p, 3:45): This supplement looks more closely at the catacombs set piece.
• The Vision of Ang Lee (1080p, 6:04): A discussion of the 4K, 3-D, 120 frames per second product and what the technology does for the audience, the film, and the story it tells.

Gemini Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Gemini Man is a would-be intelligent movie that falters under the burden of overzealous filmmaking and technology overload. It interestingly and sometimes engagingly challenges its characters with ethical dilemmas and metaphysical quandaries, but little of it really reverberates with any depth. Ang Lee does not wrench these qualities into the story -- they are the story -- but he cannot find a balance between the film's more interesting questions and its physical construction to give the drama the gravity it deserves. There's a fine movie within and a good watch as it is, though many might be left wanting something more and, at the same time, something less. The Blu-ray, presented at a traditional 24p (23.976 to be exactly precise) with Dolby Atmos audio, is a technical accomplishment. The extras are fine, neither too few in number nor needlessly exhaustive in count or depth. Recommended.