Rated: M
Directed by: Ang Lee
Screenplay by: David Benioff, Billy Ray and Darren Lemke
Story by: Darren Lemke and David Benioff
Produced by: Jerry Bruckheimer, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger
Executive Produced by: Chad Oman, Mike Stenson, Guo Guangchang, Brian Bell, Don Murphy
Starring: Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen and Benedict Wong.
Viewed in 3D+ (120 FPS)
After 72 kills, Henry Brogen (Will Smith) feels like his soul hurts.
It’s time to retire from the DIA and find something else he’s good at. Something where he feels like he can look in the mirror again.
But when he finds there are complications to his last assignment, Clay Verris (Clive Owens), head of the shadow group who turn soldiers into killers, AKA Gemini, isn’t going to make retirement an option: soldiers who grow old and discover they have a conscience are no longer viable. Clay stating: ‘Mutts like Henry were born to be collateral damage.’
Clay had planned ahead, cloning the best in the business so when Henry outlasts his use, there will be someone to take his place: Junior.
With Agent Danny Zakarweski (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) by his side, Henry fights for his life against the only adversary good enough to stand a chance at beating him – his younger self.
From Belgium to Colombia to Hungry, director Ang Lee has set up some amazing shots featuring motor bike acrobatics, intense fight scenes and explosions, all good action while leaving the violence implied (hence the M rating rather than the MA15+).
But the real point of difference is the tech. Not only is Junior a computer-generated creation (by Weta Digital), the whole film is shot in 3D at 120 frames per second (instead of the usual 60).
That extra resolution isn’t a gimic either. I have never watched anything so clear, so pristine.
I was glad the bloody was kept to a minimum as it would have been too much.
Instead, Ang Lee uses the tech to show shots underwater, looking up, and spits of sparks off helmets as bullets ricotte, as kerosene tins blow and to see those fight scenes between Henry and his clone so you feel like you’re right there with them.
What surprised me was how that clarity left no room for discord or error in the acting. There is absolutely no where to hide so any false expression or off-key moment would have shouted through the screen.
Instead we get Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the very likeable side-kick, Agent Danny; and Clive Owens as the fierce villain, Verris.
And Will is at his finest here, his sincerity coming through clear, his skill as a killer shot coming through like his role as Deadshot in Suicide Squad.
The more I see this guy, the more I like him.
It has to be said some of the humour felt like filler for the dialogue. Just a bit – more, I’m-happy-go-lucky in a tight spot and that’s funny, rather than, jokey jokes. If you get what I mean. Which probably fit the tone of the film which gets borderline soft cheese with that added bit of drama.
But I enjoyed the film. And really got into the visual difference on screen.
Ang even goes so far as to include a scene that shows a set used as a military exercise, shooting and explosions, to show the difference between fake and his actual movie that looked more genuine and authentic. Tricky stuff!
The whole film is filled with tricky that successfully leads to an entertaining movie.