The Big Picture · Review · Discussion
October 11, 2019/ 66 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins dig into Ang Lee's 120-frames-per-second experiment 'Gemini Man,' then each run down their own five favorite Will Smith performances.
38 films across 4 segments.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
'Gemini Man'Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
An aging government assassin (Will Smith) is hunted by a younger clone of himself. Both agree the plot and dialogue are weak, but Sean thinks the motorcycle chase is one of the best action sequences he's seen, shot in Ang Lee's 120fps 4K 3D format, which no theater in the U.S. can actually project at full spec.
Ang Lee, De-Aging, and Whether Actors Still Matterthe technology behind Gemini Man in context
Sean points to this as a turning point where Lee started treating filmmaking as a technical experiment.
Lee's earlier 120fps drama, which Sean saw in a nearly empty theater.
Sean's example of once-celebrated effects work that already looks dated on a TV screen.
Cited for its digitally recreated Grand Moff Tarkin (originally played by Peter Cushing, not Christopher Lee as Sean first says) and its de-aged young Carrie Fisher cameo in the closing scene. Both effects are in this one film, not split across two movies as Sean and Amanda's back-and-forth briefly suggests; they never land on the right answer on tape and just move on.
Named only because Amanda's attempted correction wrongly places Tarkin here; The Last Jedi doesn't actually feature either de-aging effect discussed. Fisher appears as herself, from footage shot before her death, not de-aged.
Referenced alongside Gollum as prior motion-capture benchmarks for Junior's digital face.
This year's other big de-aging showcase, on Sean and Amanda's minds heading into awards season.
Top Five Will Smith PerformancesSean and Amanda each run their own five, not a shared ranking
No. 5 on Sean's list, No. 4 on Amanda's. Both single out the Reggie interrogation scene as some of the funniest two minutes of Will Smith's career.
No. 5 on Amanda's list. Will Smith and Margot Robbie as con artists; a $160 million hit that Amanda thinks has already been forgotten.
No. 4 on Sean's list, paired in conversation with Focus as a 'Will Smith charm' movie. Amanda doesn't have it on her list at all.
No. 2 on Amanda's list, kept out of the top spot only because Will Smith isn't in enough of the movie. She calls it the event of the universe when she was 13.
No. 2 on Sean's list. He calls it the one time Will Smith really let a director, Michael Mann, challenge him. Amanda tried rewatching it for her list and left it off.
No. 1 on Amanda's list. Sean never states a No. 1 of his own on tape.
More Will Smith, for Better or Worsethe rest of the filmography
A small, notable role: Will Smith plays a gay character, which Sean says he's never repeated.
A fiasco, per both hosts.
Directed by Robert Redford, co-starring Matt Damon. Amanda remembers nothing about it, which she says is a mercy.
A massive hit Amanda calls completely forgettable; she was assigned it for a college science credit.
Written by Vince Gilligan before Breaking Bad, released the same year as Iron Man.
His Oscar-nominated turn as a father trying to provide for his son.
The one where he's alone with a dog, which Sean points to as the rare case of Will Smith carrying a movie solo.
He plays the devil. Amanda has never seen it.
Part of a stretch of serious, awards-minded roles.
His attempt at a superhero franchise, which didn't work out.
Sean wants to make it the first entry in a running 'disaster movie' segment.
One of the most-watched movies in Netflix history, per Sean, and not good.
His Genie sparked an ongoing disagreement: Amanda defends the character's flirtiness, Sean thinks it's wrong for a kids' movie.
Released without Will Smith this year, and Sean says it proved nobody else can sell the franchise.
His upcoming animated feature.
The upcoming third Bad Boys movie.
His then-upcoming role as Richard Williams, father of Serena and Venus Williams, which Sean and Amanda both peg as his best shot yet at an Oscar.
Also mentioned raised along the way
In passing Django UnchainedMatchstick MenOcean's Eleven10 Things I Hate About YouBringing Up BabyYou've Got MailThe Wizard of Oz
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (Sean's No. 3 pick, specifically the Ben Vereen father-returns episode)Red Table TalkWill Smith's Bucket List
Web Will Smith's Instagram videos (Amanda's No. 3 pick)The 'In My Feelings' challenge
Promo The Road Taken With CT and Bayo