| Gemini is the astrological sign of duality, symbolized by twins. |
The catchy "high concept" of Gemini is that it would cast an older A-list male star to play two roles: the protagonist at the star's current age and then, using CGI wizardry, his digitally de-aged younger evil clone. These special effects will push the budget for Gemini north of $100 million dollars. I think Wall Street Journal reporter Bruce Orwall nicely summed up this project as being like "a violent version of Disney's The Kid." Still, Touchstone may be onto something here.
A few months ago, the online movie news & rumor community was buzzing with word that Harrison Ford was considering starring in Gemini. After weeks of intense speculation, Ford debunked these bogus rumors himself while doing press for What Lies Beneath, flatly stating that he'd never even heard of this project. There was, however, a bit more truth to the subsequent rumor that Mel Gibson was up for the main role. The Hollywood Reporter ran a story this past May that a special effects house, The Secret Lab (M2M), had created CGI test footage combining imagery from a recent Gibson vehicle, Payback, with shots of a younger Mel in The Year of Living Dangerously. The Gibson casting rumors, however, also seem to have fallen by the wayside; 4Filmmakers.com now lists Bruckheimer's Gone in 60 Seconds leading man Nicolas Cage as being attached to star. Bear in mind, though, that no official casting announcements have yet been made.
Gemini is a futuristic thriller about an aging government assassin named Alexander Kane who is pitted against Rye, a rival half his age. Rye, it turns out, is a clone of Alex, a living reminder of his vicious heyday. Rye can anticipate and counteract Alex's every maneuver, thus making him the perfect adversary. Alex, a loyal super-soldier for the Orwellian "Administration" and their nefarious Intelligence Office, is put on the defensive because of Rye's relentless manhunt. Alex must find out why Rye was created and why his patrons have turned on him. On the run from those who would destroy him, Alex lays low in a rented apartment belonging to the battered Rebecca and her young son Zach. Needless to say, Alex begins to develop feelings for them.
Mr. Lemke's fast-paced draft has a neat gimmick driving it forward but it lacked a stronger plot and fresher characters and dialogue. I like the idea of an aging killer being faced with the sins of his past and confronting a young turk who reminds him of himself back when he wasn't so wise or humane. It's a theme that's been well explored by westerns and gangster films alike and it always appeals to me. But many of those similarly-themed genre films had either more complex plots or characters with greater dimension. Lemke's draft of Gemini is a decent starting point for an eventual feature film but I look forward to what Rivele & Wilkinson can do to improve it.
| Gemini Men: Ford, Gibson, or Cage? | |||
Alex has reached a point where he makes moral judgments about what he does for a living. Early in this draft, we see him spare the life of a target because he's cradling his young son in his arms. Rye, essentially Alex's past self, wouldn't have been swayed by such overt sentimentality. At what point in his life did Alex change and why? I think a writer runs the risk of failure in how they answer that (and maybe by even trying to answer it at all?). I don't believe a hitman can be changed by just peering into a baby's eyes (like the sort of trick used in The Killer or Grosse Point Blank). And leaving things as a sort of "One day I woke up and felt bad about my life" explanation is far too vague. Frankly, I'm stymied here as to what might work but there's definitely something off regarding Alex's (unseen) change in character. (If you have any ideas on what might work then please e-mail me.)
The best "character moments" in this draft were the scenes between Rebecca and Alex. Rebecca was a surprisingly effective supporting character. Her dialogue was better than I'd expected, save for one scene where she explains to Alex about her phobias of large groups and open spaces. Zach is a wide-eyed little boy in search of a father figure but he's so sketchy that I didn't become as emotionally invested in him as I did in Rebecca. For better or worse, the story's condensed timeline (it takes place over about 3 days) prevents much of anything being developed between Alex, Rebecca, and Zach. If the final film remains the same way, then some will be glad the story didn't detour into Schmaltzville while others might find this subplot under-developed and arbitrary.
Rye is a relentless killing machine, pure and simple. He's a one-note character and his dialogue is mostly the same kind of Travolta-esque flippant prodding of the protagonist we've come to expect in big action films. Rye might work better with a "less is more" approach. He'd be more professional and intimidating if he spoke less, and it would also play up his machine-like nature even more.
Holland, the head of the Intelligence Office and Alex's father-figure/mentor, is a straightforward villain as well. From the moment we meet him, we know what Holland's purpose is. Because both Rye and Holland are such conventional heavies, the plot of Gemini was often quite predictable. The larger mystery behind the creation of Rye is really no mystery at all; Kane's been informed almost from the start that he's yesterday's news so why should I be shocked to find out that he's being replaced with a new and improved model?
There were not as many surprises or twists in this draft as I was hoping for. It's a chase picture and the chases themselves have been seen in countless derivatives of The Fugitive. The story's most genuinely surprising moment is saved until the end. I'll not give anything away here but I commend Mr. Lemke for being audacious enough to wrap things up the way he did. There's also an effectively creepy coda included. So why do I feel the final film's ending will be completely unlike what Lemke wrote? Am I being cynical about this or merely realistic?
| Jerry Bruckheimer |
As for who should play Alex/Rye, I'd go for someone older than Nic Cage. Cage is simply too young for this role unless, of course, the filmmakers scrap the expensive "de-aging" FX in favor of a good make-up job on a younger actor to play older. I think Kane would be an ideal part for old killers like Eastwood, Connery, De Niro, or Tommy Lee Jones but I seriously doubt if they'd star in this. Bruce Willis might work. Imagine a bald, weathered-looking Bruce fighting his spiky-haired, smirking Die Hard alter ego. Or maybe Richard Gere as Alex; his cold, vain, and corrupt Julian Kay from American Gigolo is reminiscent of Rye.
Or, if you really want to see how poorly a star has aged, cast John Travolta. Chubby, hairline-receding leading man vs. his svelte, pompadour-spouting, "Jive Talkin'" younger self. Now that'd be quite a CGI feat indeed! My gut tells me, though, that this CGI effect might wear thin pretty fast. I'm as curious as anyone else to see if it can really be pulled off. Without a more well-developed story, though, Gemini runs the risk of becoming yet another exercise in style over substance.
Gemini certainly has the potential of being a cool summer flick provided the filmmakers add more meat to the story's bones. Make the "chase" plot and the villains as fresh as the story's gimmick and then holdouts like myself will be fully won over. Fortunately, Gemini has enough time to realize its full story potential. ¿ STAX
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