Gemini Man

Gemini Man is a 2019 American action thriller film directed by Ang Lee. Starring Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, Benedict Wong and Ralph Brown, and written by David Benioff, Billy Ray and Darren Lemke, the film follows a retiring hitman who is targeted by a much younger clone of himself while on the run from the government.

Originally conceived in 1997 by screenwriter Lemke, the film went through development hell for nearly 20 years. Several directors, including Tony Scott, Curtis Hanson, and Joe Carnahan, were attached at some point and numerous actors, including Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson and Sean Connery, were set to star. In 2016, Skydance Media purchased the rights to the screenplay (which had been through several rewrites) from Disney and, in October 2017, Ang Lee signed on to direct for Skydance with Paramount handling the distribution rights. Filming took place from February through May 2018.

Gemini Man was released on October 1, 2019 and was theatrically released in the United States by Paramount Pictures on October 11, 2019. The film received generally negative reviews from critics for its script and plot, although the performances were praised. The de-aging of Smith and the high frame-rate of 120 FPS also drew a mixed response, with some critics praising them as technical achievements, while others felt they were unconvincing. It was also a box office bomb, grossing $173.5 million against its $138 million budget, with $111 million loss for Paramount.

Henry Brogan, a 51-year-old former Marine Scout Sniper who works as an exceptional assassin for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), is sent on a mission to assassinate an anonymous bio-terrorist aboard a train. During the mission, Henry's spotter warns him of a young girl approaching the target, causing Henry to delay his shot until the last second, shooting the man in the neck despite aiming for his head. Disillusioned with killing, Henry retires from government service.

While adjusting to retirement, Henry meets boat rental manager Danny and reconnects with an old friend, Jack, who reveals that an informant named Yuri told him that the man Henry killed was innocent. Demanding proof, Henry has Jack arrange a meeting with Yuri. In retaliation for Henry knowing their deception, agency director Lassiter plans to kill him; Clay Varris, head of an elite private military unit codenamed "GEMINI", requests permission to eliminate him but is denied.

Realizing Danny 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 Danny about the attack, and they manage to kill the assassins sent after them, learning the agency wants them both dead.

Henry and Danny escape to Colombia with Baron, a former colleague of Henry. The latter and Danny hide at Baron's home and plan to meet with Yuri for further options. Meanwhile, Clay dispatches his top assassin to kill Henry. Fighting him off, Henry realizes the assassin bears an uncanny resemblance to himself as a young man, with a similar skill set. When the injured assassin arrives at a safe house, he is revealed to be Clay's adopted "son" Junior. Although he is curious about his similarities to Henry, Junior is ordered to finish the job.

Henry is also troubled by his similarities to the assassin, whom Danny suggests might be his child despite Henry's denials. Desperate for answers, Henry has Baron obtain a Gulfstream and transport them to Hungary. Testing DNA samples recovered from Junior, Danny discovers that his and Henry's DNA are identical – Junior is Henry's clone. Henry then meets Jack's contact, Yuri, and learns of the cloning project and that the man he killed was one of the project's scientists. Having designed a method to produce clones devoid of pain or emotion, the scientist tried to leave the project and was killed upon being discovered.

To try to get Junior to turn away from Clay's intentions, Henry calls Lassiter, who agrees to send Junior to bring Danny safely back to the United States. Collecting Danny, Junior sets up a trap for Henry, but she warns him via a covert listening device hidden in her mouth. Ambushing the younger assassin, Henry explains to Junior that he is a clone, convincing him by revealing their similar traits that no one else could know. Escaping back to GEMINI, a heartbroken Junior confronts Clay, who claims that he must defeat Henry in order to surpass him.

Finding Henry after sneaking out of GEMINI, Junior allies with him to bring down Clay, while Henry urges Junior to quit in order to become someone better. Baron is killed in an ambush ordered by Clay, with Junior knocking Clay unconscious after a brief hand-to-hand fight.

After defeating a wave of GEMINI operatives, Henry, Danny, and Junior face another operative with special body armor who feels no pain or emotions. After shooting him repeatedly and along with several secondary explosions, they manage to mortally wound him. They remove his helmet, and he is discovered to be another youthful clone of Henry the same age as Junior, with all emotion and ability to feel pain removed. A defeated Clay tries to justify his actions to Junior: creating clones with Henry's skills would both spare the future lives of young soldiers while making operations incredibly successful. Disgusted, Junior plans to shoot Clay. Instead, Henry persuades Junior otherwise and kills Clay himself, having already lived with the heavy burden of killing.

Assured that there are no more clones that were produced and that they are finally free from harm's way, Henry later meets with Junior, who has enrolled in college under the assumed identity of "Jackson Brogan" after Henry's mother's surname. Together, Henry and Danny plan Jackson's future.

Casting

• Will Smith as Henry Brogan, a former Marine Scout Sniper who now works as an assassin for the DIA, regarded as the best killer of his generation. Smith was one of many actors considered for the role through the lengthy development process.
• Smith also portrays Jackson Brogan (codenamed "Junior"), a cloned assassin of Henry sent after him, and "Senior", another cloned assassin sent after him. Smith was "digitally de-aged" through the use of motion capture and computer generated imagery. Actor Victor Hugo served as the on-set reference for Junior.
• Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Danielle "Danny" Zakarewski, a Navy veteran and DIA OIG agent who helps Henry after he saves her from being assassinated. Winstead won the role over Tatiana Maslany.
• Clive Owen as Clayton "Clay" Varris, the ruthless director of GEMINI and former Force Recon Marine who creates Junior to "retire" Henry and take his place.
• Benedict Wong as Baron, a former Marine colleague of Henry's and skilled pilot who works as a tour operator.

Other cast members include Ralph Brown as Del Patterson, Henry's handler at the DIA; Linda Emond as Janet Lassiter, the director of the DIA; Douglas Hodge as Jack Willis, a former Marine colleague of Henry's; Ilia Volok as Yuri Kovács, a Russian operative who has been secretly monitoring GEMINI's history; E. J. Bonilla as Marino, a DIA agent killed for his association with Henry; Igor Szász as Dr. Valery Dormov, one of the doctors who cloned Henry; Björn Freiberg as Keller, a GEMINI operative; and Justin James Boykin as Connor.