Will Smith’s latest film isn’t quite his best story, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t thrive in other areas. What fans have been most intrigued by is the fancy new movie technology featured in Gemini Man. The action movie starring the lovable Will Smith has all the potential to be a good feature but the plot fails to thrill. Smith plays an old, elite agent wanting to retire until a younger clone of himself is sent to kill him. In order to get a clone of Smith, they literally created a digital human. On top of this animation process, director Ang Lee shot the movie in such a way that no theater can even screen it in its full potential.
Instead of hiring a young man to play Will Smith’s younger self, Weta Digital decided to use Smith himself. Luckily, enough footage of young Will exists to create a digital mask that stretched over his face and body. The animation had breakthroughs in pore simulation, eye animation, and CG emotion and action. This resulted in a believable young Will. This technology paired with the crazy idea to shoot the film in 120 frames per second (24 frames per second is Hollywood default). The creators really wanted the audience to feel like they’re in the camera as the action unfolds, which is why it was filmed in high definition 4K 3D. This hyper-realistic format isn’t compatible with any theaters in the country, but fans can still feel like a part of the film in your typical 3D theater. Some critics have argued that these special effects are too much to handle for the eye.
The film does make a commentary on the future of technology and the dangers it could cause. You might even say the film is being hypocritical in that sense when it comes to thinking about Hollywood. With this technology, real actors could become obsolete. If you want to see for yourself what the future holds for technology in Hollywood, check out Gemini Man in theaters.
By Sonja Grunfeld
