Gemini Man (film)

Plot

Henry Brogan, a 51-year-old former Force Recon Marine Scout Sniper working for the Defense Clandestine Service, assassinates a bioterrorist aboard a train in Belgium but delays his shot, shooting the man in the neck. Disillusioned, he retires. In Georgia, Henry meets boat rental manager Danny and reconnects with friend Jack, who claims the target was innocent. Agency director Lassiter plans to kill Henry; Clay Verris, director of rogue private military company GEMINI, is denied permission.

Henry befriends Danny, a fellow agent, and after his home is broken into, his spotter and Jack are killed. Henry and Danny kill assassins and escape to Colombia with Baron, Henry's former colleague. Clay dispatches his top assassin, who fights Henry; Henry realizes the assassin resembles his younger self. The assassin, Junior, is Clay's adopted son.

Danny tests DNA and finds Junior is Henry's clone. Henry meets Yuri and learns of GEMINI's cloning project; the man he killed was a scientist who designed emotionless clones. Henry calls Lassiter, who agrees to send Junior to bring Danny back to the U.S.

Cast

Will Smith plays a dual role: Henry Brogan, a former Marine Scout Sniper and DIA operative, and Jackson Brogan (Junior), a cloned assassin raised as Clay Verris Jr. Smith was digitally de-aged using motion capture and CGI; Victor Hugo served as on-set reference for Junior. Benedict Wong plays Baron, a former Marine colleague and pilot. Ralph Brown plays Del Patterson, Henry's handler. Linda Emond plays Janet Lassiter, DIA director.

Douglas Hodge plays Jack Willis, a former Marine colleague. Ilia Volok plays Yuri Kovács, a Russian operative monitoring GEMINI. Other cast include E. J. Bonilla, Igor Szász, Björn Freiberg, and Justin James Boykin.

Production

Darren Lemke sold his pitch for Gemini Man in 1997. Walt Disney Pictures acquired the project, with Tony Scott attached to direct. Harrison Ford and Chris O'Donnell were considered for leads. Mel Gibson shot test footage before departing.

Disney's The Secret Lab created a test short, Human Face Project, for visual effects. Ali screenwriters Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson polished the script in July 2000. Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery were in the running for the dual role. In November 2000, the film was retitled Gemini.

Jonathan Hensleigh reconfigured the script in April 2001. By February 2009, Curtis Hanson entered talks to direct; David Benioff penned a draft. Joe Carnahan pitched and developed test footage with Clint Eastwood. The film stalled due to insufficient technology.

Later script revisions were done by Billy Ray, Andrew Niccol, and Brian Helgeland. In 2016, Skydance Media acquired the film from Disney, with Jerry Bruckheimer producing. Ang Lee was hired to direct in April 2017; Fosun Pictures co-financed.

Reception

Gemini Man grossed $48.6 million in the U.S. and Canada and $124.9 million elsewhere, totaling $173.5 million worldwide against a $138 million budget. Deadline Hollywood calculated a net loss of $111.1 million. It opened to $20.6 million, finishing third behind The Addams Family and Joker. The low opening was blamed on poor critical response and Joker's over-performance.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 27% approval rating; the critics consensus states: 'Gemini Mans impressive visuals are supported by some strong performances, but this sci-fi thriller is fatally undermined by a frustratingly subpar story.' On Metacritic, it has a score of 38 out of 100, indicating generally unfavorable reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it a B+ grade. The film was nominated for Best Science Fiction Film at the Saturn Awards.

Did You Know?

• The 4K Blu-ray release used a 60 fps presentation in Dolby Vision.
• The film was originally scheduled for release on October 4, 2019, but was pushed back a week.