Many films spend a certain amount of time on hold. They are basically parked until technology advances to a level where they can be implemented. That was the case with Lord of the Rings and Avatar 1 as well. Another, long unfilmable project: Gemini Man with Will Smith. The science fiction film is on TV today. We look back at his interesting development – and analyze the ultimately disappointing result.
On TV today: Watch the trailer for Gemini Man with Will Smith
Gemini Man – Trailer 2 (German) HD
As an agent of the NSA, Henry Brogan (Will Smith) was once one of the greats of his trade. Now the government killer wants to retire. But when Henry quits his job, he ends up on a hit list and becomes the hunted. He’s amazed to find out that the one who’s stalking him as a stubborn pursuer is none other than a younger version of himself – his clone. In other roles you can see Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Benedict Wong as collaborators and Clive Owen as villains.
Special Sci-Fi Action: Why was Gemini Man so elaborate and expensive
Gemini Man is a typical one gimmick movie. The plot itself doesn’t offer much. More interesting is the technical challenge we’re allowed to partake in: Will Smith, one of action’s biggest stars, goes up against a younger copy of himself. Making this duel credible (!) was the task for the CGI specialists.
How did that work? Responsible for the implementation of the young Will Smith was Stuart Adock, who explained in the Moviepilot interview:
The biggest difference is that we didn’t rejuvenate faces captured on camera. We have the complete presentation computer generated from scratch.
Almost had to “a real person out of nowhere” be created. Actor Will Smith’s facial expressions were then added to the 3D model using proven motion capture technology. This is what it looked like on the set:
As mentioned at the beginning: This technology fusion was not yet available in 1997, when Disney wanted to film the script for the first time. The film was released in cinemas in 2019. The span of development hell becomes clear when we look at the various actors who would take the lead before Will Smith.
Among other things:
And even the old guard:
The script traveled from studio to studio and from director to director. Until at some point Paramount took hold and tackled the project with master director Ang Lee, who was keen to experiment.
Ang Lee took on another challenge: Gemini Man was shot with 120 frames per second and in 3D, the default is 24 fps (frames per second). All of this operates under the sonorous name 3D+. In any case, the result was that the animated young Will Smith had to withstand the scrutiny of the audience under particularly harsh conditions.
Was all the effort for Gemini Man worth it?
Gemini Man is by no means a bad movie. It’s quite fun to watch the double Will Smith manhunt. But it is too no visual revelation. No comparison to Avatar – Aufbruch nach Pandora, which went through a similarly complex genesis. You quickly get used to the two Will Smiths – and the astonishment disappears. That’s probably the reason why Gemini Man did not turn out to be the success that was hoped for.
The fun cost 138 million US dollars. The blockbuster only brought in 173 million again worldwide. Adding the marketing costs means that you are in the red. Allegedly Paramount lost $111 million on the project! A bitter defeat that does not want to fit at all with the great ambitions and the spectacular production history.
Gemini Man should definitely fulfill a value for posterity. He has shown that it is possible to synthesize even a feature-length main character in sharp images. The question is what the film industry will do with this knowledge.
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How did you like Gemini Man?