Four stars. Rated PG-13, for considerable action violence and brief profanity
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 10.11.19
Nature … or nurture?
That provocative question is at the heart of Gemini Man, thanks to an unexpectedly thoughtful script from David Benioff, Darren Lemke and Billy Ray.
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| No matter where our heroes go — from left, Danny (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Brogan (Will Smith) and Baron (Benedict Wong) — the bad guys always catch up with them ... and quickly. How is that possible? |
“Unexpected” in the sense that — during the lengthy initial act — nothing about this high-octane thriller suggests that it’ll become so philosophical.
Considerable credit also goes to director Ang Lee — an Academy Award winner for Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi — who, at first blush, seems an unusual choice for such pell-mell spyjinks. But Lee has long been fascinated by angst-laden decisions thrust upon characters forced to confront long-dormant facets of themselves.
(On top of which, Lee isn’t adverse to the occasional action-laden blockbuster, having also helmed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hulk.)
This updated Gemini Man has virtually nothing to do with the bone-stupid 1976 TV show of the same name, wherein Ben Murphy’s secret agent Sam Casey had the power to turn invisible, but only for 15 minutes at a time, lest his radiation-induced talent kill him. The series deservedly perished after only five episodes, leaving behind nothing but the intriguing title that Lee and his scripters have developed into a far superior premise.
We meet Will Smith’s Henry Brogan — an ex-Special Forces sniper turned assassin for a clandestine U.S. government agency — as he calmly prepares for his current mission: an assignment he completes successfully. Back at home in rural Savannah, Ga., Brogan tells his long-trusted handler, Del Patterson (Ralph Brown), that he’s had enough.
Too many kills have left Brogan unable to face his own reflection in a mirror. He simply wants to build bird houses and fish the local waterways from his tiny boat.
We’ve seen this preamble many times before; we know full well that black-ops agents — particularly assassins — never are allowed to go quietly into that good night. And that’s true here as well.
But not in the usual manner.
