ReelBob: ‘Gemini Man’ ★½

By Bob Bloom

A double dose of Will Smith leads to twice as much mediocrity in “Gemini Man,” a science fiction-action thriller, which seems more like a director’s excuse to use de-aging technology than to present an entertaining movie.

Smith stars as Henry Brogan, an elite assassin who, after his latest mission, decides to retire.

But a series of circumstances puts Brogan on the radar of a covert government agency, as well as the head of the Gemini Corp.

They would like to make Brogan’s retirement, well — let’s just say they don’t want him to ever be able to collect his Social Security or pension.

After a couple dozen operatives from the covert agency are killed trying to take out Brogan, the humorless head of Gemini, Clay Verris, a snarly Clive Owen, decides to send one of his specialists to do the job.

By the title of the film, you might guess who that hired gun is; yep, it’s Junior, a 20-something version of Brogan, cloned from the latter’s own blood.

The movie’s science is, unfortunately, as lame as its plot and dialogue.

Older and younger Smith expend hundreds of rounds of ammunition trying to kill each other, but since they are basically the same person and can predict each other’s moves, a stalemate ensues.

And, so does the ennui from having to sit through this mess.

Despite playing two roles, Smith cannot offer a scintilla of humanity to either of his characters; they may as well both be clones — of a has-been actor.

The movie just jumps from place to place, with Junior — a real, bad-ass name for a killer — trying to put an end to Brogan.

And every time he fails, Verris, who raised Junior and considers him his son, harangues him for his failures. Daddy is a proponent of tough love, I guess.

“Gemini Man’s” plot is ludicrous, its acting is pedestrian, and the pacing is sluggish.

The technological effects are fine, but even they begin to wear thin after the first couple encounters of Smith vs. Smith.

It’s as though Ang Lee, a respected and Academy Award-winning director, believed the high-tech wizardry would carry the movie and viewers would ignore the lame script by David Benioff, Billy Ray and Darren Lemke, which, reportedly, had been floating around Hollywood for more than 20 years and had had more star names attached to the project than Elizabeth Taylor had husbands.

At either age, Smith looks tired and a bit stiff. Owen looks constipated and as if he wishes he was on a different movie set.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who has performed so well in such movies as “The Spectacular Now” and “Smashed” is wasted as a young operative caught in the middle of all the mayhem and dragged along by Brogan.

Will Smith apparently is the M. Night Shyamalan of actors — every project he touches seems to turn to crap.

The sad aspect of all this is that Smith is talented, but he needs a more astute person to begin selecting his scripts.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

GEMINI MAN
1½ stars out of 4
(PG-13), violence, action, language