GEMINI MAN (2019) – My rating: 8/10

Gemini Man is an action thriller directed by Ang Lee and written by David Benioff, Billy Ray, and Darren Lemke. Gemini Man follows a hitman who is targeted by a younger clone of himself while on the run from the government. I waited with bated breath for this movie, it didn’t let me down.

**** SOME SPOILERS ****

Henry Brogan /Jackson Brogan (codenamed “Junior”),   (Will Smith), is a government-paid assassin with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and regarded as the best killer of his generation. Gemini Man opens with Henry, who has eyes on an anonymous terrorist aboard a bullet train that he has been commissioned to assassinate. Once in position, Henry’s spotter alerts him of a young girl approaching the target, causing Henry to delay his shot until the last second. He shoots the man in the neck but was aiming for his head. Disillusioned by his aging skills, Henry retires from government service. While adjusting to retirement, Henry meets boat rental manager Dani Zakarweskiand (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and reconnects with an old friend, Jack Willis (Douglas Hodge), who reveals that an informant named Yuri Kovacs (Ilia Volok) told him that the terrorist Henry killed was an innocent man. Demanding proof, Henry has Jack arrange a meeting with Yuri. In retaliation for Henry knowing their deception, agency director, Janet Lassiter (Linda Emond) plans to kill Henry. Clay Varris (Clive Owen), head of a top-secret black ops unit codenamed “GEMINI“, request permission to do the job of getting rid of Henry but is denied.

Meanwhile, realizing Dani 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 Dani about the attack. Together they manage to kill the assassins sent after them, learning the agency wants them both dead. Escaping to Colombia, Henry and Dani go to the home of Henry’s former colleague and friend, Baron (Benedict Wong) and plan to meet with Yuri for further options. Meanwhile, Clay gets his chance to dispatch his top assassin to kill Henry. While they are fighting, Henry realizes the assassin bears an uncanny resemblance to himself as a young man, with a similar skill set.

Gemini Man turned out to be a pretty good movie despite Will Smith’s rather large ego.  It’s probably no coincidence that Will’s character is considered the best in his particular field and because he’s the best, only the best (a clone) could be considered for the job of assassinating “his best self”.  Fast-forwarding to the special effects, I think they were brilliant.  In the old days when one actor played two people that looked exactly alike, their faces couldn’t be shown together at the same time.  Oh, how times have changed, in my opinion, the special effects were fantastic.  The ending was a little cheesy but a nice idea.  So how does a younger you kill an older you, after all, one of you knows every move the other is going to make.  You’ll just have to see this one to get all the answers.  I recommend Gemini to all.  It was fun and enjoyable, as I was thoroughly entertained.  The film received generally negative reviews from critics, who complimented the performances but lamented the script and plot. The de-aging of Smith and the high frame-rate of 120 FPS drew a mixed response, with some critics praising them as technical achievements, while others felt they were unconvincing.  Gemini Man has earned $119.2 million and was produced on an estimated budget of $138 million. Check  It Out!

 

CAPTAIN MARVEL (2019) – My rating: 8.7/10

Captain Marvel is a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Carol Danvers. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the twenty-first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, with Geneva Robertson-Dworet also contributing to the screenplay. I was dying to see Captain Marvel but wasn’t sure I’d like Brie Larson in the lead role.  Good thing I saw the movie, she’s fantastic.

In 1995, on the Kree Empire’s capital planet of Hala, Starforce member Vers/Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) suffers from recurring nightmares involving an older woman, The Supreme Intelligence /Mar-Vell / Dr. Wendy Lawson (Annette Bening). Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), her mentor and commander, trains her to control her abilities while The Supreme Intelligence, an artificial intelligence and the ruler of the Kree, urges her to keep her emotions in check.

****  SPOILERS BELOW  ****

During a mission to rescue an undercover operative who is infiltrating a group of Skrulls, (alien shapeshifters with whom the Kree are at war) Vers is captured by Skrull commander Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) then taken aboard their Earth-bound vessel and subjected to a memory probe. Vers manages to escape in one of the Skrull mini vessels but crash lands in Los Angeles. Her odd attire attracts S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), whose interrogation is interrupted by a Skrull attack. In the ensuing chase, Vers recovers a crystal containing her extracted memories, while Fury kills a Skrull who is impersonating Agent Coulson, who is fairly new to S.H.I.E.L.D.  Talos, disguised as S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Keller, orders Fury to work with Vers on the condition he does it alone in the event of other Skrull imposters.  Fury takes Vers to a US Air Force base and discovers she was a pilot presumed to have died in 1989 while testing an experimental engine designed by a Dr. Wendy Lawson, whom Vers recognizes as the woman from her nightmares. A S.H.I.E.L.D. team led by Talos tries to capture Vers and Agent Fury but they manage to escape in a cargo jet, with Lawson’s cat Goose.  Based on Vers’ recovered memories, they fly to Louisiana to meet Vers’ best friend and former pilot, Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), the last person to see Vers and Lawson alive.  Talos arrives at Maria Rambeau’s house just as Vers discovers her real name is Carol Danvers. He reveals the Skrulls are refugees searching for a new home and Dr. Lawson was a renegade Kree scientist helping them. He then plays the recovered black box from Dr. Lawson’s crashed plane, prompting Carol Danvers to remember the 1989 plane crash.  Carol also remembers that Dr. Lawson died at the hands of Yon-Rogg before she could destroy the engine’s energy-core, forcing Danvers to do so at the cost of absorbing the energy from the ensuing explosion and losing her memories.

This is a good point to stop because I wouldn’t want to give away everything.  Captain Marvel goes into deeper accounts of how Carol Danvers becomes Captain Marvel.  I found the movie exciting, fun and quite interesting.  Considering the above information, one will have to determine if Talos is telling the truth or setting up the entire team.  I learned that Brie Larson worked out for nine months preparing for this movie. She took Judo, boxing, wrestling and sharpened her knowledge by visiting Nellis AFB and meeting with active airmen before taking on the role of Captain Marvel. This is a remake of the character as Captain Marvel was introduced in 1940 by Fawcett Comics.  His (Captain Marvel was originally a male) reign lasted through 1953 until a 1951 copyright infringement suit appeared from DC Comics and Fawcett’s trademark ostensibly lapsed. Marvel debuted its new Captain Marvel character in 1967 but it didn’t take off as expected. After many tries and undergoing many changes, it looks like a female Captain Marvel is here to stay. The movie has already taken in $215.9M. Captain Marvel is being cleverly reintroduced before the next sequel of “Avengers: Endgame” which is scheduled to be released on April 26, 2019. We now know the call that went out for help on Fury’s beacon in “Avengers: Infinity War” was to Captain Marvel. If you go to see Captain Marvel, stay beyond the credits. As I always say, Check It Out!