There was a time when Will Smith was an effortless box office draw, but this reputation for easy success has fallen by the wayside somewhat in recent years. And not just because of the slap heard around the world. Now, one of the Oscar winner’s biggest ever box office bombs is being cut from streaming. Meaning you don’t have long to discover why the action thriller tanked, and whether it deserved to. And you can currently do both for free.
Will Smith’s Elite Assassin Faces an Enemy That’s a Little Too Familiar…
The incredibly ambitious 2019 sci-fi action thriller Gemini Man finds Will Smith starring as Henry Brogan, an elite 51-year-old assassin who’s ready to call it quits after completing his 72nd job. But his plans get turned upside down when he becomes the target of a mysterious operative who can seemingly predict his every move. To his horror, Brogan soon learns that he and his would-be killer are far more alike than he ever could have imagined.
Directed by Academy Award winner Ang Lee, and featuring an all-star cast that includes Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, and Benedict Wong alongside Smith, Gemini Man finds Brogan facing off against a younger, faster, cloned version of himself in an action thriller that, for critics, completely failed to live up to its potential thanks to a “frustratingly subpar story.” For audiences, however, there are plenty of action-packed thrills to enjoy, scoring it a solid 83% against critics’ woeful 26% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Paramount Pictures
Paramount PicturesSadly, this response from audiences didn’t translate into box office receipts, with Gemini Man now one of Will Smith’s biggest ever box office bombs after grossing $174 million against its $138 million budget and reportedly losing Paramount around $111 million. Ultimately, 2019 was a mixed bag for Smith, as he also starred as the Genie in Disney’s $1 billion grossing Aladdin live-action remake. After being in the works for years, and with Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sylvester Stallone in talks during that time, this was an incredibly disappointing result for legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
How Young Will Smith Was Created for ‘Gemini Man’
To create a version of Will Smith’s assassin more akin to his Fresh Prince days, Smith wore a performance capture suit on set, much like the motion-capture maestro Andy Serkis did in the Planet of the Apes franchise. Impressively, the character was completely digital, from face to clothing, rather than just de-aging, with VFX wizards Weta Digital using the motion-capture performance and performances in Independence Day, Bad Boys and the Fresh Prince of Bel Air as a basis to create the young assassin clone, Junior. Pixel by painstaking pixel.
The digital creation of human faces is a growing industry, with AI now being implemented as well. The effect has been something of a mixed bag, and sadly, Gemini Man is no exception. However, while the effects do sometimes stray into the uncanny valley (in part due to the peculiar use of 120 frames per second), at times Junior is a stunning creation thanks largely to Smith’s performance and what the VFX team achieves under certain lighting.
So, while it may be distracting at times, there are moments when watching Smith talk and fight a version of himself from decades ago is a truly incredible achievement. But it’s an achievement you’ll need to react quickly to see, as Gemini Man is officially being removed from the free streaming platform Tubi on Nov. 1, 2026.
