Will Smith’s Divisive Sci-Fi Action Movie Becomes a Major Streaming Hit

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The action thriller Gemini Man is suddenly becoming popular again! Seven years after its original release in cinemas, it’s now climbing the viewing charts on two different streaming services.

Will Smith’s 2019 action film, Gemini Man, is gaining popularity on both Tubi and Starz, according to FlixPatrol. It’s currently the fourth most-watched movie on Starz, having been added to the platform just four days ago. It’s also ninth on Tubi, where you can watch it even without a subscription, and became available on Tubi only yesterday.

Gemini Man Divided Audiences and Critics in 2019

While Gemini Man is currently finding success on streaming platforms, its initial theatrical release in 2019 wasn’t so straightforward. The film, directed by renowned action director Ang Lee, stars Will Smith as Henry Brogan, an aging assassin, and his younger, cloned counterpart known as Junior.

The science fiction action movie received largely negative reviews, with critics finding the story uninspired despite an interesting initial idea. It earned a low 27% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and only made $173 million at the box office – far short of what it needed to be profitable. As a result, the film is considered a box office failure.

Gemini Man Would Have Worked Better In Its Original Form

As a big action movie fan, I was really let down by Gemini Man. It had such a cool premise – Will Smith playing both the hero and a younger clone of himself – and it could have been amazing. Apparently, the idea was around for ages, but they kept running into problems with the technology. They just couldn’t make the de-aging effects look realistic enough back then to pull off the story properly, so it ended up stuck in development for years before they finally gave it a try.

If Gemini Man had been released twenty years ago, it likely would have blended in with the wave of action thrillers from that era. Those movies, though often imperfect, frequently gained dedicated cult followings, which helped people overlook their flaws. However, Gemini Man faced higher expectations, making its shortcomings more noticeable and disappointing.

Ang Lee filmed Gemini Man with a very high frame rate – 120 frames per second – but most cinemas weren’t equipped to show it properly. This meant audiences couldn’t see the film as the director envisioned. Ultimately, Gemini Man didn’t live up to the expectations of either its creators or viewers.

Gemini Man is available to stream on Tubi and Starz.

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2026-04-07 01:05