One of the most impressive features of Gemini Man is its cutting edge technology, but, unfortunately, very few American moviegoers will get to see the film as it was meant to be seen. The ambitious movie stars Will Smith as Henry Brogan, a retiring government assassin who finds himself pursued by a younger cloned version of himself who knows his every move. It's up to Henry to discover why he's a target, as well as find out who created the clone.
What makes Gemini Man so remarkable, though, is its use of groundbreaking visual effects. Rather than using de-aging technology with CGI on Smith, director Ang Lee chose a different route. Instead, the younger clone of Smith is fully-realized by motion capture, with Smith acting out the role. Gemini Man also uses a whopping 120 frames-per-second 4K 3D to make Smith and his clone nearly jump off the screen and into the audience's face with the film's realism. Although early reviews don't seem fond of the film's story, almost every critic praised the technology that brought the movie to life in an entirely new way.
Unfortunately, most American audiences will not get the opportunity to watch the movie in the way Lee intended for it to be seen. According to Polygon, only 14 theaters in the U.S. can screen the film in 120 fps 3D. About the best most audiences will get for HFR 3D screenings, including IMAX, is 60 fps. And even among the 14 theaters that can run the film at 120 fps, none are capable of showing it in 4K. Regardless, here is the list of theaters that will run the movie at 120 fps 2K 3D:
AMC Aventura Mall 24 – Miami, FL
AMC Century City 15 – Los Angeles, CA
AMC Del Amo 18 – Los Angeles, CA
AMC Disney Springs 24 – Orlando, FL
AMC Elmwood Palace 20 – New Orleans, LA
AMC Flatiron Crossing 14 – Denver, CO
AMC Hawthorn 12 – Chicago, IL
AMC Lincoln Square 13 – New York, NY
AMC Metreon 16 – San Francisco, CA
AMC North Point 12 – Atlanta, GA
AMC River East 21 – Chicago, IL
AMC Town Square 18 – Las Vegas, NV
AMC White Marsh 16 – Baltimore, MD
AMC Willowbrook 24 – Houston, TX
Those lucky enough to attend the premiere of Gemini Man at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles might be the only people to see the film as it was intended. Paramount added a special projection system to that theater that allowed it to show the movie at its maximum frame rate and resolution. Worldwide, only a handful of theaters will have the kind of setup needed for viewers to get the full Gemini Man experience.
For moviegoers, this slight could feel unacceptable, especially considering the amount of time and money used to create the incredible technology in Gemini Man. Filmmakers need to push the boundaries of what's possible in movie technology. Still, when television sets have better capabilities than theaters, it's going to continue to create an industry where moviegoers prefer to stay at home and watch films on TV.
Source: Polygon
