Ang Lee‘s “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” was an underwhelming war movie which, despite a fair amount of ambition and scope, failed to truly ignite dramatically. You couldn’t fault Lee for lack of ambition. He tried to not only showcase the arduous violence of war, especially with a tense, terrific action sequence in Iraq, but also the post-traumatic anxiety soldiers face when returning home. The film was shot in a higher frame rate per second than we were accustomed to, but instead of intensifying the reality of the drama being portrayed onscreen, it did the film a disservice, making it feel numbingly inauthentic.
Lee will try to break his losing streak with the upcoming “Gemini Man,” which already has Will Smith signed on to star. Now, Variety is reporting that Clive Owen is in talks to join Smith in an as of yet undetermined role. Lee is expected to also meet with Tatiana Maslany, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Elizabeth Debicki for the female lead next week. The film’s official synopsis has not fully been revealed yet, but we do know that it will follow a has-been hitman that is, much to his surprise, force to fend-off against a younger cloned version of himself.
Sounds like an interesting project, but it also doesn’t seem to be playing, in any way shape or form, with Lee’s strengths as a filmmaker. Did we ever think, just a decade ago, that Ang Lee would be making a sci-fi movie starring Will Smith? What I loved about Lee’s previous films (especially “The Ice Storm“) was how subtle and nuanced they were. It seems like in his last three pictures (“Taking Woodstock,” “Life of Pi” and “Billy Lynn“) Lee opted for a more conventional approach in telling his story. The question we must now ask ourselves is has he lost his ability to circumvent his way around formula to find deeper meaning in the smallest of details? Because that’s what made him so great, but lately there’s nothing truly sensual or atmospheric in his frames. Sure, I liked “Life of Pi,” but subtlety was not its strength, instead that film relied on wildly groundbreaking imagery.
“Gemini Man” is set for release on October 4, 2019.