'Gemini Man' Clip Has Will Smith Insulting Himself
If you've ever wanted to see Will Smith bicker with himself, it looks like Gemini Man is going to be the film for you. Ang Lee's special effects-driven action flick has old man Will Smith fighting young man Will Smith, which means the Will Smiths get to shout insults at each other in between bullets. A new Gemini Man clip has the Smiths engaged in a standoff. Things don't go well.
Gemini Man Clip
Every time I see new footage of Gemini Man, I can't help but remember Rian Johnson's Looper. That movie had a similar concept: an older version of a man battling his younger self. But it didn't rely on digital tech – it simply slapped some make-up on Joseph Gordon-Levitt and made him look like Bruce Willis. And it worked! And worked well!
But here, we get a digitally created young Will Smith dealing with a current-day Will Smith, and I have yet to be sold on the idea. And this clip doesn't exactly help – it's quick, and there's something off here about Smith talking with Smith. But maybe in the full context of the film itself all of this will coalesce. Will Smith is one of the last true movie stars, and he can be damn fun to watch with the right role. Here, he has two to work with. And he's working with Ang Lee, a wonderful filmmaker who loves to play around with technology. That's a lot of positive stuff wrapped-up in one project.
"The two Will Smith's coexisting, with one looking so much younger, in this medium the feeling is kind of existential," Ang Lee told /Film at a roundtable interview. "It really makes you wonder about your own existence and what would you tell your younger self. And also see your trajectory when you're young."
Lee and company have also stressed that this isn't just a digitally de-aged Will Smith we're seeing in the movie. It's a creation from scratch:
"We did it from scratch. That's why I don't like to call it de-aging, it's not just a brush-up. Age has more mysteries than just the wrinkles. When we started I was looking at him and thought, "Should he look older? Is he too young?" No. It's kind of sad what life does to you. Every layer of skin, every bone, it's just sad how much you age, even your enamel in your teeth, it's all the subtle changes. It's very inspiring, actually."
In Gemini Man, Smith plays Henry Brogan, "an elite assassin, who is suddenly targeted and pursued by a mysterious young operative that seemingly can predict his every move." The movie also stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, and Benedict Wong.
Gemini Man opens October 11.