3 Short Paragraphs: Gemini Man

2019, Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) -- download

The retiring assassin, a trope that attracts me, and not for any reasons you should call the mental health authorities (if you know me well, there are already PLENTY of reasons to do that) but because I like that they always present as a moral-adjacent individual who knew they were an outlier but found something they were good at. I would like that, well not that particular skill set, but I would like to find out that thing that I am good at, and make some people pay money at it & find my place in the world. And retire in a warm climate.

Will Smith is Henry Brogan, with 70-odd kills under his belt, who is having trouble looking at himself in the mirror. Unlike most assassin organizations (unlike, say, the one in Polar), this one seems to be letting him retire. That is, until he is framed (aren't they always) for an unsanctioned kill. And off he goes, with Mary Elizabeth Winstead dragged along behind (because she was surveilling him, and now has to go) to find out who and why. While hiding out in Columbia with best-bud, already retired frat brother Baron (Benedict Wong; Doctor Strange) he bumps into the real reason for the movie -- himself. Or rather, a younger, faster cloned version of himself.

It wasn't until the end and the credits came up, that I saw (and remembered) that this was an Ang Lee movie, which explained why I kept on thinking, "this isn't half bad, in fact many things are quite good." The performances are top notch and the action set pieces are high quality, not John Wick (the new benchmark; sorry Jason Bourne) but very well done. And Brogan stands separate from his retiring assassin brethren in that he is actually personable, very self aware, and also very aware he is much older than Winstead, so he doesn't hit on her. The whole de-aging CGI stuff is weird and mostly works, but I kept on seeing The Fresh Prince of Bel Air with a gun, which took me out of the reverie.