The Will Smith V. Will Smith Movie ‘Gemini Man’ Is Being Called A Must-See In 3D

In Gemini Man, Will Smith plays Henry Brogan, a middle-aged assassin who’s being hunted by another assassin, also played by Will Smith. Sort of. The second Will Smith, called “Junior” in the movie, is a digitally rendered version of his 20-something self.

“We do the whole body, not just the face,” director Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Life of Pi) said about CGI Smith on Wednesday, while also throwing shade (?) at The Irishman. “We do it from scratch – that’s why I don’t like to call it de-aging. It’s not just brush up. Age does more mysteries than just wrinkles. It’s kind of sad what life does to you. Every layer of skin, bones, it’s how you age, your eyes, the enamel on your teeth. Just the subtle changes.” Needless to say, it was a time-intensive process, made all the more rigorous with the film being shot in 120 frames per second, with one four-minute taking fight scene between the Smiths taking nine months to perfect:

To de-age Smith, Lee said the visual effects team drew on photos of the actor, as well as his work in films such as Bad Boys. However, there were reasons that some of Smith’s earlier performances weren’t as instructive, particularly his turn on the early ’90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. “He wasn’t playing this kind of part,” notes Lee. “He played a swaggering, happy-go-lucky guy and here he’s kind of a melancholy fellow.”

One of the most technologically-advanced movies ever owes a debut of gratitude to Bad Boys. What a world. Anyway, all Lee and his team’s effort paid off, because the early reactions to Gemini Man are overwhelmingly positive.

https://twitter.com/misterpatches/status/1174364004090822657

https://twitter.com/jordanzakarin/status/1174358214537822208

Even if Gemini Man turns out to be a stinker, at least it gave us this.

Paramount Pictures

Gemini Man comes out on October 11.

(Via Variety and IndieWire)