Send in the Clones

For some reason, we had two clone movies for this weekend: Replicas (2019) and Gemini Man (2019). Neither was very good, so I figured I'd review them together.

Replicas stars Keanu Reeves, pretty much the only reason we watched it. He plays a scientist working to transfer the mind of a dead man into a robot. He succeeds, only to see the robot go mad and try to tear its own face off. He is assisted by a dubious and sarcastic Thomas Middleditch.

Reeves, his wife Alice Eve, and their three children go on a vacation, and because Reeves is a terrible driver, they all get killed. Except him, of course. So he gets Middleditch to come out with the mind mapper - with the great catch-phrase: "Commence the mind-mapping process!" Actually, I might have that quote wrong, but who is going to watch Replicas and correct me?

Step two, Middleditch digs up some cloning pods - but he can only come up with 3, so one of the kids has to go. It's ok, though - he edits everyone's memory so they don't remember the little darling.

So it all goes according to plan - they clones wake up and do not try to tear their own faces off. In fact, they go about their business as if nothing happened. They remember going on vacation, but don't remember anything special happening. This was infuriating to me. So there aren't going to be any questions about the missing time, the extra bedrooms? No questions from friends and neighbors about the missing kid? No, Reeves is just going to go about his business as if nothing happened - he's just glad to have most of his family back.

The only trouble is that his company is beginning to look into his activities a little too closely.

This is not Keanu's best role. It isn't even Johnny Mnemonic level. Thomas Middleditch is much better as the buddy who constantly tells Keanu that what he's doing is not OK. But he goes along out of friendship and because it's cool science.

Speaking of something that's not someone best work, Gemini Man has director Ang Lee working with Will Smith. Smith is a crack assassin, wants to retire. Agent Mary Elizabeth Winstead is sent to track him, but he befriends her and heads to Caracas to see his pal Benedict Wong. He's attacked by the most advanced assassin he has ever met, who bears a strong resemblance to his younger self.

You see, Clive Owen has cloned him and raised the clone to be even deadlier than he is. And there you have it.

The parts seem to be there, but this movie just doesn't quite make it. However, I think that Ang Lee did a fine job of directing, particularly the fight scenes. There was a lot of CGI required, and not just to replicate and de-age Will Smith. He handles it as well as any, I'd say.

In conclusion, Upgrade was better than Replicas.