Will Smith’s Gemini Man is currently the third most-watched movie on Netflix worldwide. The film came out in October 2019. That’s not even five years ago, but it feels like a different epoch of human civilization. It’s also long enough that Smith is now in an entirely different phase of his career. The brutal box-office failure of Gemini Man barely impacted Smith’s worldwide star, but the bizarre story behind this film rose and fell in a hurry. As it rockets back into a spotlight of sorts, it’s well worth looking back.
Gemini Man Brings Two Will Smiths to Netflix’s Top Ten
Gemini Man pits action star Will Smith against a digitally de-aged clone of himself. If the premise and title sound a little old-fashioned, you’re correct. Darren Lemke, a screenwriter best known for his work on several children’s films, sold the idea to Touchstone in 1997. The studio considered Harrison Ford, Chris O’Donnell, Nic Cage, Sean Connery, and Jon Voight for the dual roles. Several directors signed on and eventually walked off the project. It was a nightmare development hell that could have easily left the idea in the dust before the new millennium. The eventual finished product truly started production with Ang Lee around 2017. When it finally hit theaters, it lost Paramount at least $100 million. Critics expressed mixed opinions on the project, but audiences weren’t interested in the tech demo-esque marketing ploy. The film’s technical gimmicks couldn’t fill in the gaps of a shoddy story.
Will Smith has had a weird couple of decades, though he still has enough clout to pull his films to Netflix success. His star was low in 2019, but he’ll always be a massive icon. When Gemini Man came out, the freshest memories of the fresh prince involved three of the worst blockbusters of modern memory. Guy Ritchie’s Aladdin isn’t the worst of Disney’s soulless live-action remakes, but Smith’s hilarious blue CGI appearance didn’t impress. David Ayer’s Suicide Squad was an unmitigated disaster, but Smith was actually half-decent in it. For my money, his true 2010s low point was Bright, a dismal waste of talent with no redeeming qualities. Gemini Man is a classic compared to Bright. The film was near the end of an era, preceding King Richard and the Oscars incident by only three years. Gemini Man disappears into a footnote in Smith’s career.
Will Smith is an almost quintessential celebrity. It’s hard to imagine a world without him, but he shifts position in the cultural zeitgeist every few years. Gemini Man was a rough moment, but he’s been through so much worse. Today, as Smith continues his return to the music scene and celebrates the incredible success of Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Gemini Man feels like a shared delusion. It’s a relic of a bygone era that probably should have stayed in the past. Will Smith, on the other hand, is very much still here. In some ways, Gemini Man wants to be about Will confronting his younger self. It doesn’t have much to say on the subject, so I’d recommend rewatching Men in Black instead.
