Gemini Man 3D Movie Review

Written By: Krista Strom

3D

Gemini Man is another enjoyable 3D film by Ang Lee. Ang Lee is a filmmaker who has been at the cutting edge of 3D technology, and this film is no different. Not only does this movie boast 120 fps high frame rate (120 FPS is only available in a few locations , most locations are 60 FPS) , but it also has an entirely digital human character in the role of younger Will Smith. So how well do these special effects pay off? I would say in terms of the 3D and the high frame rate, the result is a very crisp and clear image. At times, it even felt a bit too clean. Many shots in the movie look fantastic in 3D . Several under water shots really make you feel like you are in the water with the actor with multiple layers of bubbles in multiple layers of 3D . Many scenes with guns looked very impressive in 3D as they popped out of the screen and went far into negative space. The movie uses diagonal shots in fun ways and the curved train really looks nice in 3D. The action sequence in the empty store was especially strong in 3D. The 3D is bright, colorful, sharp and was never an issue even in scenes with low light. One moment in a close combat fight with a knife was very cool to watch in 3D. Overall, Ang Lee is an absolute master of 3D filmmaking and I would highly recommend seeing this film in 3D and in High Frame rate, just to get the full experience. This film didn’t quite live up to Life of Pi in my opinion but it’s clear that Ang Lee is basically just competing against himself at this point.

Final Verdict: Great 3D

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Movie

Gemini Man is about the sniper Henry, (Will Smith) who wants to retire from his job. Unfortunately for Henry, he ends up with a target on his back. The catch is, the person who's hunting him, (Junior) turns out to be a younger version of himself.

This is ostensibly an action movie, but it’s almost border lining on psychological horror. There are a lot of aspects to the plot that are deeply disturbing if you think about them. Though to be fair, this is not necessarily a story you’re supposed to think deeply about – it’s mostly just an excuse to watch Will Smith fight himself. For what it’s worth, the story does a good job of maintaining excitement and high stakes throughout the film, making it a fun watching experience despite the moral ambiguity. The story deals with complex topics such as human cloning, ptsd, the military industrial complex, abuse, and more, but it doesn’t delve too much into the nuance of these topics. The film keeps a somewhat morally simplistic view. It never comes off as being too preachy. The film allows the viewers to draw their own conclusions, but it also doesn’t leave a lot of room for grey area.

Visually I think this form of “heightened reality” might exist somewhere in the uncanny valley – incredibly realistic but not quite there, resulting in it feeling slightly unsettling. But in the context of the movie, this actually fits. Will Smith’s character himself feels unsettled by the things he’s experienced, so it makes sense that that feeling is reflected within the visuals. It does seem to add to the “real but unreal” feeling of the story. “Seeing a ghost” seems like an accurate description. As for the digital character of young Will Smith, I thought the effects were okay. He does at minimum look like a human, though whether he looks definitely like Will Smith or more like “Will Smith adjacent” kind of varies from shot to shot. This slight variation in quality was more distracting than anything else, though I expect this technology will rapidly improve in the coming years. Much like the visuals, the resolution to the story seems a bit “too clean” and ironically, lacking in realism. I have a feeling that if a similar thing were to take place in reality ( which scarily it very well could ) the ramifications would be a lot messier.

Ultimately I thought Gemini Man was a great cinematic experience and a well crafted emotional journey. Though the story does has its faults it’s still a great film.

Final Verdict: 8/10

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Official Website :

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Abominable 3D Movie Review

Written By: Jake Jarvis

3D

The 3D aspect of Abominable is enjoyable but it’s not wonderful. Sadly DreamWorks didn't place the same amount of care into this movie as they did in the How to Train your Dragon film franchise and it shows. The character designs are great, but the animation looks like a TV show. The 3D is effective, with several noteworthy scenes. One scene where the character of Yi is holding her violin really pops in 3D. Another scene with the blueberry tsunami looks especially strong in 3D. Finally the sequence with the northern lights looks spectacular in 3D. The 3D definitely has it moments but the subpar animation hamper this visual experience. Overall the 3D is very nice but it could have been better.

Final Verdict:Good 3D

Movie

Abominable is the third 3D animated Bigfoot/Yeti movie released in the last 12 months! It's charming, but it’s also the weakest of the three Bigfoot/Yeti films. FYI the other two Bigfoot/Yeti movies are Small Foot by Warner Brothers and Missing Link from Laika.

Abominable is the story of Yi (Chloe Bennet), a young woman living in "The City" (Hong Kong). This movie shows a unique side of Hong Kong, that you rarely see in American movies. Yi is dealing with a personal tragedy and has dreams of traveling. Yi finds an injured Bigfoot (which is later named Everest) and with the help of her friends, Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) and Peng (Albert Tsai) they decide to return the Bigfoot to its home on Mt. Everest. Burnish (Eddie Izzard) and Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson) are the main villains in this movie and they are the people who originally captured Everest. The movie has great character designs and great voice actors. Your typical animated antics occur in this movie. The film has a huge plot twist that comes totally out of the left field. I will not spoil this unexpected plot twist but I will say that it works very well in this movie. The film likes to do reoccurring gags, some of which eventually pay off in the end credits. Speaking of the end credits the runtime for this movie is 97 minutes long, but it feels like 3 hours long. The pacing is painfully slow in this movie. There are a few slapstick gags here and there to break things up, but this film could have used a more meaningful plot and less exposition. Abominable is a very good movie.

In closing Abominable is a heartfelt and delightful film. The story is enjoyable but it drags. The character models look great but the animation is weak. Abominable is the kind of movie that children will love, and adults can endure.