LAS VEGAS – Just two films after his groundbreaking and Academy Award-winning work in “Life of Pi” is it out of bounds to suggest director Ang Lee might need a career intervention? After the shockingly bad misfire “Billy Lynn’s Halftime Walk” two years ago (a movie that wasn’t good whether it was shot in 120 frame rate or not), Lee is set to return to the big screen with “Gemini Man,” a thriller starring Will Smith that was one of the centerpieces of Paramount Pictures 2019 CinemaCon presentation on Thursday. Having heard Lee speak about the film and show a good chunk of footage, we’re honestly not clear why he made it. And, frankly, a bit scared of what he’ll do next.
READ MORE: Linda Hamilton looks bad ass, but “Terminator: Dark Fate” doesn’t seem to be [CinemaCon]
“Gemini Man’s” premise is quite simple. Henry Brogen (Smith) is an assassin who discovers that 25 years earlier, his genes were used to create an exact close of himself. He must now fight a younger version of himself who has been instructed to kill him. Smith plays both roles with visual effects being used to de-age him for his 23-year-old clone. In the footage screened they chase each other on motorcycles and fight in an abandoned warehouse or building. The sizzle reel includes the moment the older Henry realizes his younger self is after him. It also suggests that Clay Varis (Clive Owen) is behind the decades-long strategy to take Henry down. Mary Elizabeth Winstead seemingly plays a sympathetic associate of the older Henry.
And that’s pretty much it.
Watching the reel, “Gemini Man” felt like a movie that would have been pitched to studios when “Face/Off” was a hit in theaters. It has a vibe that would have been seen as “cool” in the ’90s, but now feels dated and, for lack of a better word, reductive. It’s no surprise then, that the project has been in development since 1997. And, hey, 22 years ago this would have been a tentpole film. Now, in 2019, it feels like there isn’t really anything special there.
Perhaps there’s a secret twist Lee and the studio kept hidden. Maybe Lee’s instance that Smith really knocked it out of the park playing the same character at two different points in his life will elevate the material. Maybe Lee has finally figured out a way to make 120 frames per second and 3-D the next big thing. That’s a lot of maybes.
In theory, Lee’s next film could be the long-awaited “Thrilla in Manilla” which chronicles the legendary boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. If not, we’re considering starting our own search for a small, intimate drama for Lee to get his groove back. Because when you’ve arguably have three masterpieces on your resume (“The Ice Storm,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Brokeback Mountain”) this does not appear to be it.
“Gemini Man” opens nationwide on Oct. 11.
