'Gemini Man' could be the dawn of a new Willennium for Will Smith
Who am I? I’m a Will Smith fan. And the past five years or so have been pretty frustrating.
Concussion, Suicide Squad, Collateral Beauty, Bright. Smith did his best in all of them, but none were worthy of his considerable talents. And the vast majority were essentially unwatchable.
If you’re being harsh, you’d need to go all the way back to 2012’s Men In Black 3 for the last decent film Smith headlined. And you’d have to time-travel to 2007 to find his last actual good film (I Am Legend). Uuhhh.
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The days of Bad Boys, Independence Day and Ali are no more. But that could be about to change, if the CinemaCon reactions to his first sci-fi blockbuster since After Earth are to be believed.
Gemini Man sounds like it could launch the dawn a brand-new Willennium for the actor – Will 2K, if you will – taking him back to his ‘90s peak.
Literally, actually, as the plot sees Smith star as an ageing assassin who is pursued by a younger clone of himself. The clone is a 23-year-old Smith, played by the actor using de-aging visual effects. Sounds like a next-level Looper, basically.
“There’s so much Will Smith in this movie. I’m almost close to figuring out the mystery of Will Smith,” director Ang Lee has said about the film.
Let’s hope he solves the puzzle – Smith’s due his own version of Matthew McConaughey’s McConaissance, and if it happens of the back of Gemini Man, we’ll be freakin it.
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The reactions to the Gemini Man CinemaCon footage were overwhelmingly positive.
GEMINI MAN trailer delivers on the hype. Very cool seeing the Will Smith of today fighting the Will Smith from the FRESH PRINCE says. Intense action with emotional stakes.
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) April 4, 2019
GEMINI MAN looks stunning!! #CinemaCon
— Jason Guerrasio (@JasonGuerrasio) April 4, 2019
“You made a person out of another person, and you sent me to kill him.”#GeminiMan looks DOPE. Young Will Smith fighting older Will Smith is wild. Effects are incredible and we watched in 3D#CinemaCon
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) April 4, 2019
Combined with the success of Smith’s YouTube channel (214,030,807 views and counting), and the fact that we’ll get new music from the star this year, and there’s plenty to be excited about.
Read more: Will Smith’s ‘nightmare fuel’ blue genie in ‘Aladdin’ splits critics
Sure, those new songs will exclusively be his contributions to the Aladdin soundtrack, and we know that looks like a horror show, but fresh tunes from the Fresh Prince will always be something to celebrate.
Got a look at the full musical number from #Aladdin when Aladdin first releases the Genie in the cave. Really energetic and full of visual flair. Looks fun! #CinemaCon
— JoBlo.com (@joblocom) April 3, 2019
The “Never Had A Friend Like Me” sequence was just shown from #Aladdin, which looked good. I am there for Will Smith’s Genie. #cinemacon
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) April 3, 2019
With 2020’s Bad Boys For Life also taking Smith back to the ‘90s, let’s hope Gemini Man really will be a fresh start for the Fresh Prince.