Author: Trafficblast

What’s better than a movie starring Will Smith? A movie starring two Will Smiths. At least, that’s what director Ang Lee is hoping audiences will think with his latest film, Gemini Man. The new thriller pits Will Smith against a completely CGI recreation of his younger self in a movie that features some truly impressive action scenes. Unfortunately, there isn’t much going on in Gemini Man beyond that.

Let’s get this out of the way first: Gemini Man is a technological marvel. Director Ang Lee and his team managed to construct a completely digital version of a young Will Smith to play against the older one, and the results are stunning, for the most part. Watching one of the biggest movie stars on the planet fight against himself in some awe-inspiring action sequences is a sight to behold.

The story fits well into the world of ’90s action movies, as retired assassin Henry Brogan (Smith) finds himself in the middle of a government conspiracy. Now, tracked by someone that knows every move he’s going to make before he does it, Brogan and the mysterious killer fight each other with fists, guns, and motorcycles around the world before it’s revealed the man in pursuit is, of course, a younger Brogan. This particular government conspiracy is about cloning and a genetically modified duplicate of the aging assassin, referred to as Junior, who has been trained to kill him.

It’s the kind of story that, if done correctly, could be very interesting to watch. Unfortunately, there’s no depth to any of the characters. The most significant insight into Brogan the audience will get is that he’s scared of drowning and a quick aside where the assassin hints that he’s a 51-year-old virgin–and that’s more than you’ll learn about any of the other characters.

That’s because Gemini Man isn’t concerned with story. Instead, for Lee, it’s all about the technology involved in making the film. Beyond the creation of the all-digital clone, the film was shot at a high frame rate with 3D viewing in mind. The screening I attended was in 120 frames per second, compared to the typical 24 FPS. The image was crisp, fast-moving, and in many instances, beautiful to look at. The visuals were so sharp that at one point goosebumps were visible on the back of a character’s neck.

However, there’s a drawback to this style of filmmaking. There are multiple times throughout the movie where the camera got uncomfortably close to whatever it was filming, be it a character monologuing or an intense action sequence. In those moments, it’s easy to get taken out of what’s happening on-screen because it just doesn’t look natural. Instead, you get that uncanny effect seen on newer TVs with “motion smoothing” turned on.

It’s also clear that video games inspired Lee in creating Gemini Man. There are numerous driving and action sequences that play out from a first-person perspective, while an entire scene of an army of mercenaries training feels as if it’s pulled from a Call of Duty game. It’s an interesting approach, and these are moments where the high frame rate works exceptionally well within the movie. After all, modern video games typically have a high FPS rate than films. If only the rest of the film would fit as naturally into what Lee was trying to accomplish.

At the end of the day, though, it’s the story and forgettable characters that keep Gemini Man from being something special. Supporting cast like Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Benedict Wong are mildly entertaining as Brogan’s sidekicks. But there’s no character development for either of them, just as there’s very little insight into what makes Clive Owen’s villainous Clay Varris tick.

Lee knew what he was making with Gemini Man, and it shows. It’s a movie-length technology sizzle reel. This is a film meant to show audiences just how far the medium has come. From filming at 120 FPS in 4K, to digitally building a clone of the movie’s star to make them fight in a series of over-the-top action sequences, there’s a lot to marvel at in Gemini Man. But the visuals can also border on uncanny, and Gemini Man just doesn’t have the story to back that action up.

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DC’s most famous villain has had some great (and not so great) Funko Pop figures.

John Wick is an orchestrator of death. He efficiently uses both the tools and space around him in a fight, delicately flowing between enemies and intelligently picking them off. John Wick Hex effortlessly replicates the slick violence of the films, allowing you to embody the feared assassin in combat scenarios that are both challenging and satisfying to overcome. It also introduces a fast-paced spin on traditional turn-based action, letting you think and act like the elusive Baba Yaga while also looking as refined and controlled as he is.

At the core of John Wick Hex is an overhead timeline, which records actions both you and enemies take. Each action takes a set amount of time, represented plainly in the timeline to give you a clear view of when you’re taking a shot versus when you have to dodge an incoming one, for example. After each turn, the action you’ve made plays out in real-time, only pausing if a new enemy enters your line of sight or if you take damage to let you adjust accordingly. You’re always aware of how the action is going to play out when it starts moving again, which lets you plan ahead and position yourself for your next turn.

The choices you make in combat are vital, though. Sometimes an enemy might be quicker on the draw than you, forcing you to decide between potentially taking a hit or throwing your gun to stun them in time. This has its own set of consequences. If the enemy is too far, you’ve now disarmed yourself with too much ground to cover for a close-quarters takedown, or left yourself vulnerable to the surprise appearance of another foe. Each turn is a new step in a moving puzzle, rewarding careful consideration of positioning, sight lines, and resource management with a graceful flow of murder.

Aside from health, you have to consider both ammunition and a resource called focus. John Wick is great with a gun, but Hex limits the number of bullets you can carry at a time to force you to experiment with new weapons that you find. Knowing how many bullets you have in the magazine before a fight helps you manage how many enemies you think you can dispatch before needing to find a new one, which in turn helps you move efficiently from one kill to the next, collecting dropped firearms in the process. It’s a satisfying balance; I constantly had to adapt to the firing speeds and effective ranges of new weapons, which in turn changed the way I advanced on or retreated from a fight.

Focus governs most of your actions outside basic movement and shooting. Everything from performing an instant melee takedown to reloading your weapon requires some focus points, making it the backbone to most of your available repertoire. Although it can be replenished easily enough, finding space in a fight to do so without taking too much damage is tough, encouraging you to only bite off as much as you can chew and space your enemies out to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Your successes and failures are governed but how well you’re able to manage both ammunition and your distribution of resources, with Hex focusing less on hit percentages and random rolls and more on the choices you make and your ability to anticipate how things will play out.

Levels are designed to challenge your understanding of movement and its inherent risks, too, stuffing you into long, cramped corridors laden with doors that enemies can spawn through at any point. Sight lines are obscured to keep you guessing about who’s just around the corner; a reckless roll could put you in the firing line of a group of previously hidden enemies. Each step you take towards the exit of each level has to be a calculated one, taking into account acute angles of doorways and the benefits of elevation from overhead balconies.

When you hit a stride with this balancing act, John Wick Hex feels like it’s almost moving in real time. Your decisions will start feeling instinctive, with moves playing out as if you’re beholden to a ticking clock. Hex is tuned to make you feel like you’re always one step ahead. Because you have a beat or two to react to new enemies before they make their moves, you’ll often feel like your reaction times are split seconds ahead of them–so long as you’re thinking carefully. But it’s equally unforgiving if you’re too bold. If you don’t learn how to break sight lines while moving, you’ll quickly find your timeline overwhelmed with enemy actions that you can’t address entirely. Hex is a power fantasy with the odds ever so slightly tilted in your favor, but it’s also a game that wants you to understand the fine margins that John Wick operates within during every fight.

With such dynamic and engrossing combat at its center, it’s disappointing that John Wick Hex’s original story fails to live up to the same standard. It takes place well before the events of the first film–when John was the most dangerous weapon the High Table had in their employ, and before he ever met his wife–with John searching for series stalwarts Winston and Charon, reprised by Ian McShane and Lance Reddick respectively (Keanu Reeves’ likeness is used in the game’s stylized cartoonish aesthetic, but John Wick has no dialogue to speak of). Hex, a new villain to the series, has kidnapped the pair in an attempt to dismantle the High Table in a fit of revenge, inviting the wrath of John Wick as he ruthlessly hunts him down over a variety of locales, like neon-soaked night clubs with harsh electronic music and silent, snow-slicked forests which quickly become drenched in bright pink streaks of blood from fallen foes.

While the narrative gives the game a reason to bounce from one location to the next, it never taps into the intriguing layer of lore that sits on top of the high-octane action from the films. You’ll learn nothing new about the High Table or their seedy, mysterious Continental hotels, and even less about John’s time before giving up his assassin lifestyle in pursuit of something quieter. Hex’s revenge tale also fails to establish any interesting backstory or lasting impression on the franchise, making the story feel meaningless in the grander scheme of things.

It’s a disappointing thread that ties together the exceptional gameplay, which faithfully captures the feeling of being John Wick in a strategic and pulsating formula. John Wick Hex has turn-based gameplay at a pace you’ve likely not experienced before, and it intricately balances its systems to give you a sense of being an expert hitman while also making it feel earned. It’s a slick and well-oiled game that succeeds in giving you a new, engrossing way to experience John Wick and its signature brand of chaotic action.

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Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds may find themselves singing up a storm on Apple very soon, as their A Christmas Carol musical could be landing on the service.

The final negotiations are underway, in the midst of a bidding war, for the musical reimagining of the classic tale, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Reynolds and Ferrell will star in the project that will be written and directed by John Morris and Sean Anders. The writer team previous penned Instant Family, the Daddy’s Home films, and Hot Tub Time Machine.

As of this writing, the final deal has not been made, but Apple has aggressively been building its original content library to pad its streaming service Apple TV+, which launches on November 1. This past September, there were reports that multiple studios were bidding on the project.

A Christmas Carol follows the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a curmudgeon and nasty older man who has a change of heart about life and Christmas after he’s visited by ghosts from his past, present, and future. The story has had multiple adaptations including The Muppet Christmas Carol, and animated feature starring Jim Carrey, and most notable, Scrooged, which starred Bill Murray.

If Apple lands the musical, it would be surrounded by other Apple TV+ original series. This includes the sci-fi anthology series, Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories, the fictionalized series The Morning Show, and the Jason Momoa-starring drama See.

After a long, long wait, Rick and Morty Season 4 is almost here! Well, half of it, at least–Adult Swim announced recently that the new season’s first five episodes will begin airing on Sunday, November 10. The second half will air sometime next year. As the trailer says, it’s “half the season you deserve, all the season we could handle.”

So while it seems production troubles may still plague everyone’s favorite animated show about a sociopathic dimension-hopping genius and his neurotic grandson going on sci-fi adventures together, at least new episodes are finally almost here. And this year at San Diego Comic-Con, the show’s creators promised shorter waits in between future seasons.

Check out the video above for our in-depth breakdown of the Rick and Morty Season 4 trailer, and stay tuned to GameSpot for all the Rick and Morty coverage you need.