View Poll Results: Gemini Man

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Thread: Gemini Man (Ang Lee)

  1. #1
    Moderator TGM's Avatar
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    Gemini Man (Ang Lee)

    GEMINI MAN

    Director: Ang Lee

    imdb

  2. #2
    Moderator TGM's Avatar
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    I enjoyed this quite a bit. The effects on the young Will Smith face are honestly pretty bad (like, Superman's CGI shave in Justice League bad), but if you can get past that, there's a pretty decent flick to be entertained by here. The action scenes especially are quite thrilling, and the cinematography may be among the best I've seen this year so far. It's worth checking out, I'd say.

  3. #3
    Second star to the right [ETM]'s Avatar
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    What effects? The young Smith is 100% CGI.

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  4. #4
    Moderator TGM's Avatar
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    I was under the impression they used a similar sort of de-aging technology on him that they often use in MCU movies.

  5. #5
    Replacing Luck Since 1984 Dukefrukem's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting TGM (view post)
    I was under the impression they used a similar sort of de-aging technology on him that they often use in MCU movies.
    Its a completely different actor with a CGI face. So in the same vein as Tarkin from Rogue One.

    edit: Check that. I just looked it up. It's 100% CGI. No idea how they did a stand in for him.
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  6. #6
    Screenwriter Lazlo's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Dukefrukem (view post)
    Its a completely different actor with a CGI face. So in the same vein as Tarkin from Rogue One.

    edit: Check that. I just looked it up. It's 100% CGI. No idea how they did a stand in for him.
    Smith performed both parts. Not sure who was standing in opposite old Smith, but in scenes where they interact physically often old Smith is 100% CGI too.

    I loved, loved, loved this movie. I thought it was a great throwback to a 90s action movie story with some mind-blowing effects, joyful performances, and some admittedly shaky but nevertheless moving stuff about aging and identity. HFR was so very cool and Junior was more than convincing for 98% of the movie.
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  8. #8
    White Tiger Field Stay Puft's Avatar
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    I saw this with Ang Lee in attendance to discuss the technology and such afterwards. Engaging as a tech showpiece but blah as a film (though Lazlo is spot on, it's a very 90's-era action thriller, and the film's fans tend to be those who can appreciate that kind of throwback and the typical emotional sincerity with which Lee approaches his material; gosh, tho, the script is a trainwreck).

    Lee does a really good job here planning and shooting action scenes with HFR in mind, and it's a big improvement on Billy Lyn's Long Halftime Walk in that regard (tho unfortunately only the 60fps version was showing here, so not quite the ideal screening; Lee insists that you have to hit 120fps to completely eliminate strobing). There are some slow-motion and visual effects sequences here that unlike anything I've seen, visceral not necessarily in a better way but certainly in a different way than other films, and that's compelling. I'd be curious to see how Cameron approaches it with the Avatar sequels, since he seems convinced that it's useful for 3D and action (eliminating the strobing, for example) but not convinced that HFR represents a new standard or format. I'm not sure where I fall in that argument, but I'm certainly not attached to the look of 24fps and at the very least it does offer some new terrain for action films (the bike chase in Gemini Man does some interesting things).

    W/R/T to the special effects, the big problem I think here is the animation. This is particularly noticeable during parts of the bike chase. I've been watching the VFX Artists React videos from Corridor Crew and they specifically point this out in the most recent episode: capturing a still frame from any moment of the bike chase actually looks convincing, but once it's in motion, your brain knows something is wrong.
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  9. #9
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    Bad, at times atrocious, script vs phenomenal action, some of the best in recent years, and the latter edges out a win, just barely. The Colombia chase *is* 2019's best action sequence, which is saying a lot in a year with a John Wick. 6/10
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  10. #10
    A Platypus Grouchy's Avatar
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    My first 30 minutes of Gemini Man I was supporting it for the reason you guys state - thrilling action sequences, '90s Van Damme flick throwbacks, just a goofy premise all around - but the writing here is so rote, the movie is just plain bad and becomes boring quick. At this point I think Will Smith just needs a better agent.

  11. #11
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    Yeesh. Uncanny valley city in this movie. The fight scenes, specifically the moped chase scene and the catacomb fight scenes looked like I was watching CGI-neo. The first 30 minutes, before young Will Smith is introduced was excellent. American Clive Owen is a huge bummer though.
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  12. #12
    What the hell attracted Ang Lee to this script? Calling it generic would be too high a compliment - it is aggressively boring, stuffed with cliches and abysmal dialogue.
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  13. #13
    Replacing Luck Since 1984 Dukefrukem's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting transmogrifier (view post)
    What the hell attracted Ang Lee to this script? Calling it generic would be too high a compliment - it is aggressively boring, stuffed with cliches and abysmal dialogue.
    Just guessing; he wanted to play around with the deaging technology
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    Quote Quoting D_Davis (view post)
    Uwe Boll movies > all Marvel U movies
    Quote Quoting TGM (view post)
    I work in grocery. I have not gotten sick. My fellow employees have not gotten sick. If the virus were even remotely as contagious as its being presented as, why haven’t entire store staffs who come into contact with hundreds of people per day, thousands per week, all falling ill in mass nationwide?

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