Gemini Man Review: Two Versions of Will Smith, One Wasted Opportunity

Clint Eastwood plays two versions of himself in Gemini Man, and the film spends nearly two hours proving that neither version can hold a scene. This is a movie about a government agent pursued by a younger clone of himself, and it should be fast, sleek, and thrilling. Instead it is slow, bloated, and often baffling.

The premise is simple enough. Will Smith plays Henry Brogan, a skilled agent who has spent decades working for the CIA. He is betrayed by his mentor, Dennis Haysbert, and framed for murder. As he tries to clear his name, he discovers that a younger version of himself, Clive Owens, has been sent to kill him. The twist is that Clive is not a clone in the usual sense. He is a perfect digital recreation of Henry, built from years of surveillance footage and psychological data. The film wants you to believe this is a fresh idea. It is not.

Trailer, via Paramount Pictures.

Two Versions of Will Smith

The film’s biggest trick is putting Smith opposite himself. That could work. In Deadpool or Fight Club, the doubling is a visual hook that drives the story. Here it is a gimmick that runs out of steam within ten minutes. The younger Smith looks exactly like the older Smith, and the film spends half an hour establishing that fact. Then it stops caring.

The problem is not the technology. The problem is the script. Clive is meant to be a terrifying predator, but he is written as a blank slate. He has no backstory, no motive beyond killing Henry, and no personality. The film keeps telling you how dangerous he is, but it never shows you why. The chase scenes are frantic, but they are frantic in the wrong way. They are frantic because the editing is cutting too fast, not because the action is tense.

Henry is supposed to be a veteran who can’t keep up. He is supposed to be desperate, clever, and outmatched. He is not. Smith plays him as calm and collected throughout, which makes the threat feel hollow. When Clive finally corners him, the moment should be chilling. It is not. It is a shrug.

Dennis Haysbert’s Betrayal

Dennis Haysbert plays Henry’s mentor, who betrays him. The betrayal is a plot device, not a character arc. Haysbert gets one scene where he explains his actions, and it is a rambling monologue about loyalty and duty that goes nowhere. The film wants you to hate him, but it never gives you a reason to care. The betrayal is a setup for the clone, not a story in itself.

The film also introduces a young girl, Mary Elizabeth Caster, who becomes involved in Henry’s escape. Her presence is meant to humanize the story. It does not. She exists to be threatened, rescued, and forgotten. The film keeps reminding you that she is in danger, but it never makes you feel that danger. She is a prop, not a person.

The Action Sequences

The action in Gemini Man is loud, fast, and mostly incomprehensible. The film is shot entirely in IMAX, and it uses that format to create a wall of motion. Cars crash, buildings explode, and bullets fly everywhere. The problem is that the camera is always moving. You are never sure who is firing at whom, or where anyone is standing. The action is not designed to be thrilling. It is designed to be overwhelming.

There is a sequence set on a bridge where Henry and Clive fight while cars drive past. It is a spectacular disaster. The film slows down to show you the carnage, but the carnage is so chaotic that you cannot follow what is happening. It is a great-looking mess.

The final act is a showdown in a hotel. It is better than the bridge sequence, but only because it is slower. You can actually see the two men fighting, which is a relief. The film has spent so long being blurry that clarity is a victory.

The Digital Cloning

The film is selling itself on a new digital cloning process that allows Smith to play both Henry and Clive. That process is real. It exists. It is used in Gemini Man. But the film does not use it to make the story better. It uses it to make the story longer.

The younger Smith is a computer-generated version of the actor. It is a convincing effect. It is also unnecessary. The film could have hired a young actor to play Clive, and the story would have been tighter. By using the digital double, the film commits to a premise it cannot sustain. The audience knows it is a trick. The film knows it is a trick. No one is pretending otherwise.

The Pace Problem

Gemini Man runs over two hours, and it feels much longer. The film is slow in its middle stretch, padding out the chase sequences with exposition and filler. There is a scene where Henry sits in a hotel room and talks to a mirror. It is meant to be philosophical. It is just boring. The film keeps telling you that Henry is tired, that he is outmatched, that the world is against him. It tells you this three times in one scene.

The film also spends a lot of time explaining how the cloning works. This is a science-fiction movie, and it should not need to explain its premise. The audience should be able to accept that a government can build a perfect replica of a person. Instead the film spends ten minutes on a lecture about surveillance and algorithms. It is a lecture that adds nothing to the story.

The Verdict

Gemini Man is a failure of ambition. It wants to be a stylish, modern action thriller. It wants to be a meditation on identity and memory. It wants to be a spectacle. It cannot be any of those things. The film is bloated, slow, and confusing. It is a disappointment for fans of Will Smith, for fans of action movies, and for fans of science fiction.

The performances are competent. Smith is always watchable, even when the script is not. Haysbert is solid, though underwritten. The young actors are fine. But none of them can save a story that does not know what it wants to say.

The film is also a missed opportunity. The cloning premise is interesting. It raises questions about memory, identity, and the self. Gemini Man does not ask any of those questions. It just puts two versions of the same man in a room and lets them fight.

What Went Wrong

• The younger version of Will Smith is a gimmick that runs out of steam
• The villain has no motive, no backstory, and no personality
• The action is frantic but incomprehensible
• The pacing is slow in the middle, padded with filler
• The film explains its own premise at length

Gemini Man is a film that should have been sharp and sleek. It is dull and exhausting. It is a disappointment, and it is not worth your time.

action thriller · Gemini Man · Imax · movie review · Will Smith