Will Smith’s Gemini Man Flunks at Box Office

Gemini Man  is an action-thriller starring Will Smith as Henry Brogan, an elite assassin, who is suddenly targeted and pursued by a mysterious young operative that seemingly can predict his every move. 

The Gemini Man faces off against a deadly computer-generated version of himself, who looks like the zombie double for Will Smith. Rumor has it, it was almost an impossible project to be made, passing through the hands of countless actors and falling apart many times because the technology was not there yet. At least, that was the excuse, although judging by the finished product, it was the script that never lived up to the promise of its premise. 

Some of the fight scenes are cool, and there’s a thrilling confrontation between the Smiths, young and old, involving some exciting leaping from roof to roof is reminiscent of director Lee’s cracking early film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The way the two characters contrast each other in the initial motorbike action scenes gives a Grand Theft Auto feel.  

However, the rest of the film is a very hard adventure to watch, with Smith in permanent danger of being upstaged by a handful of pixels. Winstead and Wong are sporting the slightly bemused-neutral expression of people having to react to a green screen, or perhaps that is the response Smith naturally elicits from his co-stars these days. In addition, this sadly alright film never really manifests in to something that could have made it superb to watch. 

Not even an Oscar-winning director and one of the world’s most popular actors could save Gemini Man from getting bumped off at the box office. During the opening weekend the movie only reeled in $21 million, it came behind Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (22.4) million dollars in a shocking upset.  

Ang Lee’s VFX-heavy film, starring Will Smith, faces losses of $75 million or more after the opening of $20.5 million domestically over the Oct. 11-13 frame and finishing Sunday with an anemic worldwide total of $118.7 million, according to box office analysts. The movie had a budget of $150 million plus.  

IDMb gave the movie a rating of 5.7 out of 10. Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a 25% out of 100. In addition, the website Metacritic gave the movie a 38% out of 100.