Gemini Man – Blu-ray 4K Review

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Gemini Man – 2019

Paramount Pictures | 2019

PG13 | 1hrs 57 mins | Action | Adventure

HD | 1080P | Dolby Atmos | Dolby TrueHD 7.1

Native 4K | 2160P60 | HDR10 | Dolby Vision | Dolby Atmos | Dolby TrueHD 7.1

1.85:1 Aspect Ratio

Staring: Will Smith | Mary Elizabeth Winstead | Clive Owen | Benedict Wong | Ralph Brown | Linda Emond

Directed by: Ang Lee

Ratings & Reviews

Please see here for my comments on reviewing movies.

My ratings are simple being marked out of a maximum of 5+. My reviews are biased towards the technical production aspects of the film with brief comments about the story line. Extras, sorry, that’s just not my ‘bag’.

Not having immersive audio yet, what did the 7.1 soundtrack sound like? Excellent in all respects, and the 4K HDR10 video? Amazing.

Entertainment: 5

Video: 5+

Audio: 5

Technical Review – Native 4KP60 UHD HDR10

WARNING: During the opening slates and menu the video fades to black and the metadata apparently switches between HDR and SDR. This could be an issue for some projector owners, in particular JVC owners. If you have different iris settings for SDR and HDR the iris will try to move between them as the opening sequences ensue and you will hear the iris trying to open and close in a fairly rapid manner. Also for those projectors like the JVC that use a filter to achieve DCI-P3 you will hear it continually switching in and out. For JVC owners this can cause the iris system to fail if the opening and closing sequences gets out of step and are not completed before the next change is requested.  This is the ONLY movie I have ever seen/heard this happen with.

Gemini Man is one of only a couple of movies that has been produced natively at 4KP60. As such it has a significantly different visual style when compared to even a native 4KP24 movie. Some will find the smooth almost photographic imagery at odds to the HD P24 version but I found it a visually stunning feast that provided what appeared to be a window into a real world of images. Movement was as fluid as real life, images were photographic in nature and clarity was as good as I have ever seen in any movie. This change in presentation style could be a distraction to those of you who prefer the filmic style provided by P24. So the highly technically proficient HD P24 version may give you more viewing pleasure allowing you to get deeper into the characters rather than the imagery; and you get both in the 4K box. I however loved what I saw and could’t get enough.

Gemini Man was shot digitally in the ARRIRAW codec at 3.2KP120, using the Arri Alexa Mini and Phantom Flex cameras fitted with Leica Summicron-C & Summilux-C Lenses. It was finished as a 4K Digital Intermediate and graded for high dynamic range in both HDR10 and Dolby Vision.

The movie looks truly spectacular on the 4KP60 UHD format providing a terrific photographic quality of image; depth of colors, saturated hues, rendering detail, clarity and dynamic range. Closeup shots show excellent details in the building structures, street scenes, internal room designs, rocks & vegetation, faces and costumes.

The digitally produced movie images show first rate textural detail with compelling clarity, definition and sharpness. Terrain and sand, clothing, facial and building features are all razor-sharp. The level of detail in the costumes and props was outstanding bringing them to life and making them, well, palpable. I actually felt like I was part of the movie, the degree of fluidity and clarity put me in the action as if I was there with the actors and not watching it all play out on my screen. This effect did at times feel a little disconcerting and on occasion the sharpness of the actors outlines, clarity of the costumes and facial details against the ‘softer’ backgrounds made it feel a bit like a green screen shot (maybe some were!).

The production uses HDR to its utmost capabilities together with the DCI-P3 color space. The transfer reveals a boldly enchanced color palette that bombards the viewer with bright and impressive reds, greens, blues, yellows and purples as seen in several market and street shots. Every color of the rainbow is there, with all hues and saturations virtually leaping of the screen. There were a significant number of darker and night scenes that supported inky black levels, very impressive shadow detail with no crush, while the peak whites showed stellar high level detail with no clipping, resulting in excellent contrast levels for both luminance and chrominance.

This movie carries textural might and impact in bucketfuls. From its razor sharp images and detailed textures to the facial details, flying dust particles and scuffs and scratches on cars and furniture, it’s not short at any level. With high intensity bright and true hues and skins tones that looked all but perfect, these images, if just for absolute image quality, cannot be bettered by anything else that has been released to date.

There were no compression, banding or conversion artifacts of any kind, and grain, well on my system, Oppo 205 and ISF calibrated JVC RS640, there was none.

Audio – Dolby TrueHD 7.1

Gemini Man features a Dolby Atmos soundtrack that defaults to Dolby TrueHD 7.1 in my system and it is terrific. The movie provides a powerful high quality and impactful output particularly during the many high action scenes. From powerful explosions, car impacts and missiles to heavy machine gun and handheld fire that rips through you with seat vibrating punch, the low end provides an intense bottom end that literally moves you with the concussive blasts. These thunderous and directional effects being fully supported by the surrounds as they drag you right into the environmental chaos, yet also support the more gentle and detailed environments such as the streets, markets and room atmospherics. Overall a well balanced and integrated sound field with the fronts carrying a wide, deep, immersive and full soundscape with well positioned images. WOW!

Renowned composer Lorne Balfe, who also composed the soundtracks for; Mission: Impossible – Fallout, The LEGO Batman Movie, Genius, The Crown, Terminator Genisys, and Home creates a riveting and driving orchestral score that harnesses all the big-scale action and suspense in this movie, supporting both the high action and more relaxed moments equally well.

Dialogue is clear and well prioritized throughout the entire movie.

Story Overview

The story opens with Henry Brogan (Will Smith), an older NSA agent and renowned expert marksman, lining up his gun sites on a target on a fast moving train. After seventy-two kills, Henries’ job has taken an emotional tole on him, and he now seeks retirement. His successful shot at the trains’ target was not all that it seemed, did he kill a terrorist or an innocent man? Henry realizes that his actions have brought him under suspicion and that he is now under surveillance and can trust nobody. Teaming up with a Defense Intelligence Agency operative Dani Zakarewski (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), they unravel a conspiracy surrounding an agency called GEMINI. They become relentlessly perused by a mysterious killer that seems to be able to anticipate Henries’ every move, only to discover that the killer is a cloned younger version of himself known as “Junior”.

My 2 cents

Truly an outstanding looking and sounding movie. With solid entertainment value, good emotions and an interesting story. It fully utilizes both HDR and the DCI-P3 color gamut, providing sensational eye popping candy and many thunderous deep bass moments that gave my subs something to work on.

You have to own this movie and view it for what it is, a spectacular looking, good sounding and entertaining action movie. It is now heading up my reference movies from where I am sure it will be viewed numerous times.

If all 4K movies looked this good and had such a solid soundtrack there wouldn’t be much to point to any more technical reviews!

Purchase from Amazon.

Purchase from Best Buy.

See my other Blu-ray reviews here.