Gemini Man (2019)

Gemini Man is a 2019 American science fiction action thriller film directed by Ang Lee. Starring Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, and Benedict Wong, the film follows a retiring Force Recon Marine Scout Sniper who is targeted by a much younger clone of himself while on the run from a corrupt private military company. Originally conceived in 1997 by screenwriter Darren Lemke, the film spent nearly twenty years. Several directors, including Tony Scott, Curtis Hanson, and Joe Carnahan, were attached at some point and numerous actors, including Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson and Sean Connery, were set to star. In 2016, Skydance Media purchased the rights to the screenplay (which had been through several rewrites) from Walt Disney Pictures and, in October 2017, Ang Lee signed on to direct for Skydance with Paramount Pictures handling distribution. Filming took place from February through May 2018. Gemini Man was released on October 1, 2019,

and was theatrically released in the United States by Paramount Pictures on October 11, 2019, in standard 3D, Dolby Cinema (2K Dolby Vision 120 fps), 4DX, IMAX 3D, and ScreenX Formats, as well as in 120 fps HFR (high frame rate) “3D+” on select screens (including 16 Dolby Cinema and 47 IMAX 3D with Laser screens worldwide and only one TCL cinema that presented film in 3D 4K 120 fps but without HDR). No one presented the native 4K Dolby Vision 120 fps. The film on UHD Blu-ray used 59.94 fps presentation in Dolby Vision. The film received generally negative reviews from critics for its script and plot, although the performances were praised. The de-aging of Smith and the high frame-rate of 120 fps also drew a mixed response, with some critics praising them as technical achievements, while others felt they were unconvincing. It was also a box office bomb, grossing $173.5 million against its $138 million budget and resulting in Paramount losing $111 million.

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Plot.

Henry Brogan, a 51-year-old former Force Recon Marine Scout Sniper working as an assassin for the Defense Intelligence Agency, is sent to assassinate a bio-terrorist aboard a train in Belgium. Henry’s spotter warns him of a young girl approaching the target, causing Henry to delay his shot until the last second, shooting the man in the neck despite aiming for his head. Disillusioned with killing, Henry retires. In Buttermilk Sound, Georgia, Henry meets boat rental manager Danny and reconnects with his old friend Jack, who reveals that an informant named Yuri claims that the target on the train was innocent. Demanding proof, Henry has Jack arrange a meeting with Yuri. In retaliation, agency director Lassiter plans to kill Henry;

Clay Verris, director of a rogue private military company codenamed “GEMINI”, is denied permission to eliminate him. Deducing that Danny is a fellow agent sent to monitor him, Henry befriends her. After his home is broken into by government agents, Henry calls his spotter, who is killed along with Jack and his mistress. Henry warns Danny, and they kill the assassins sent after them, realizing the agency wants them both dead. Henry and Danny escape to Colombia with Baron, Henry’s former colleague, hiding at Baron’s home and planning to meet with Yuri. Clay dispatches his top assassin to kill Henry. Fighting him off, Henry realizes the assassin bears an uncanny resemblance to himself as a young man.

Arriving at a safe house, the assassin is revealed to be Clay’s adopted “son” Junior. Curious about his similarities to Henry, Junior is ordered to finish the job. Danny suggests the assassin might be Henry’s child, despite his denials. Desperate for answers, Henry has Baron obtain a Gulfstream and transport them to Hungary. Testing DNA recovered from Junior, Danny discovers that his and Henry’s DNA are identical – Junior is Henry’s clone. Henry meets Yuri and learns of GEMINI’s cloning project; the man he killed on the train was a scientist who tried to leave the project, having designed a method to produce clones devoid of pain or emotion.

Filming.

Principal production commenced on February 27, 2018, in Glennville, Georgia, and included locations in Cartagena, Colombia. Filming continued in May 2018 at Széchenyi Thermal Bath in Budapest, Hungary. Like Lee’s previous film Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, the film was shot digitally at an extra-high frame rate of 120 fps, modified for 3D, this time, on modified ARRI Alexa cameras and were mounted on STEREOTEC 3D Rigs.

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Release.

Gemini Man was released in the United States on October 11, 2019 by Paramount Pictures. It was originally scheduled to be released on October 4, but Paramount pushed the film back for release a week later. It premiered at the Zurich Film Festival on October 1, 2019 in 3D, RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX 3D, IMAX, 4DX, and ScreenX Formats.

Box office.

Gemini Man grossed $48.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $124.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $173.2 million. It was estimated the film needed to gross around $275 million worldwide in order to break even; Deadline Hollywood calculated its net loss to be $111.1 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues. In the United States and Canada, Gemini Man was released alongside The Addams Family and Jexi, and was originally projected to gross $24–29 million from 3,642 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $7.5 million on its first day, including $1.6 million from Thursday night previews, lowering weekend estimates to $20 million. It went on to debut to $20.5 million, finishing third at the box office. The low opening was blamed on poor critical response, the familiar premise and the over-performance of Joker. In its second weekend Gemini Man fell 58.6% to $8.9 million, finishing fifth.

Gemini Man (2019) Biography, Plot, Filming, Box office, Trailer