I think that this film probably attracted as much negative attention to itself as it did for a variety of reasons and some of them I think are being a bit nitpicky.
Overall, while the overall story is completely impractical and over-the-top I found the film entertaining, and therefore believe it to be much better than it is generally presented as online.
This movie is kind of sci-fi, but in a way that isn't so far fetched that you need to love you some spaceships in order to enjoy it. It is set in the present day to a certain degree with elements that very well could be part of our society for all we know at the moment. The cars that are driven are cars that we have now (or in the recent past) and the buildings and everything else that is in the film is stuff that is conceivable and therefore a lot more relatable if we were to introduce flying cars or some crazy shit like that.
It's no real secret what is going on in this movie so i don't think that spoiling the fact that this movie stars Will Smith vs Will Smith with a bunch of CGI isn't going to surprise or offend anyone. It is fairly evident from the trailer after all.
I normally do not like these films where people have to act in the same scene as themselves and it almost always never works out well but since in Gemini Man we have limited camera sequences where 2 Will's are actually in the scene at the same time, it still kind of works.
There have been many films where a person was playing opposite themselves but they were never playing opposite a younger version of themselves that was as convincing at this. Sure we had old Biff and young Biff in Back to the Future 2 but that was all costumes and prosthetics. Gemini Man is a totally different kettle of wax, or whatever the statement is.
I don't understand the tech involved but I do know that for the most part, it looks about as real as you could expect and at no point did I think it looked "stupid." The action sequences are fantastic and if you are a fan of unusual weaponry via video games or real life, then this will excite you because they use a lot of them and it is one of the first film where realistic magazine capacity was (as far as I could tell) part of the film. As someone who enjoys shooting as a hobby, I appreciate it when people don't have pistols that just fire endlessly.
Should I watch it?
I think that depends on why you appreciate films and what you are potentially getting into this one for. If you are expecting some sort of mind-bending storyline that makes you think for days and encourages you to ponder the individual nuances of the entire film the way that LOTR and Star Wars people have for decades then no.... this is not that kind of film.
It does however, deliver very well in the action and cinematography department and even though the story is a foregone conclusion that in the end is an irrelevant sideshow to the CGI-showoff situation and badass action, I still think this is a good one to watch, especially if you are in the mood for something that would be considered extremely easy to follow.
Basically, I avoided this film for a long time because of the bad press and I should have known better. For what it is... an action film with some ground-breaking tech involved, it is actually quite good.
