“Gemini Man” is well worth seeing. It combines excellent acting by Will Smith, superb action sequences, beautiful cinematography, and an interesting science-fiction premise into a cohesive whole.

The film begins with government assassin Henry Brogan (Will Smith) completing a hit that involves shooting a man on a moving bullet train out of Liege, Belgium. After he pulls off this job, he decides that it is time to retire to Georgia. Henry has over 70 kills to his credit, and is now just weary.

Back home, he boards a boat and goes out to meet an old friend on his boat on the water. They are meeting this way because his friend Jack has some secret info to give Henry. Jack claims that the file Henry was given about his target was “spiked” with false information. He encourages Henry to seek a man in Hungary who can tell him the truth.

Of course the conversation did not go unnoticed by the powers-to-be. Clay Verris (Clive Owen), the head of a company called Gemini, and the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Janet Lassiter (Linda Emond), realize that Henry is now a liability. Verris used to be Henry’s superior in the Marines. Verris wants to send in Gemini to off Henry to make it look like a Russian hit, but Lassiter insists on her agency handling the killing.

When Henry returns from seeing Jack, he confronts the new dock cashier, Danny (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), with a bug he found on his boat. She denies that she is DIA but later at dinner is outed by Henry and confesses to being exposed.

Soon we see Jack being killed on his boat. Henry’s alarms at his place go off and he almost is executed but escapes to Danny’s place. He suspects that she is targeted as well, and the two drive away in a boat. From a remote island refuge, Henry’s old fellow Marine Baron (Benedict Wong) flies them in his plane to Cartagena.

After the failure of the DIA to kill Henry, Verris decides to send in his own operative. In Colombia, Henry is confronted by someone who looks remarkably like a younger version of himself. The two go house-to-house shooting at each other before engaging in a spectacular motorcycle chase. The result is inconclusive but Henry decides afterwards to go to Hungary.

Baron pulls some strings and gets a Learjet to fly them to Europe. In Hungary Danny matches the DNA from Henry’s attacker to Henry. The assassin is a clone of Henry. The Hungarian who Henry meets confirms that there is a secret project to create gene-edited clones to create pain-free, soulless soldiers. Of course this is headed by Gemini, which must be brought down by the team before things get worse.

For me, a negative for this movie is the fact that Jerry Bruckheimer is the major producer. Known for creating mindless films that feature action and explosions at the expense of plot and character development, his name on the marquee is not exactly a positive recommendation.

But the film is directed by Ang Lee. It is true that he directed “The Incredible Hulk” long ago with the laughable giant standard poodle. But he also has directed masterpieces such as “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Brokeback Mountain,” and “The Life of Pi.” For this movie, he is able to provide a concise edit that does not meander too far into extraneous subplots.

The visual effects are a highlight of this picture. The staging of the motorcycle scene is absolutely stunning. Likewise, the sequences involving weaponry of whatever kind are well-staged. The one drawback is the personal fight sequence in Hungary between Junior (the clone, also Will Smith) and Henry. This degenerates into the usual overlong and unbelievable (in that no human, clone or not, could take that kind of beating) brawl.

Will Smith does indeed play both the older Henry and the younger Junior. From what I have read, technology was used to place the face of a younger Will Smith onto the Junior character, who is played by the current Will Smith. It is startlingly realistic and uncanny.

Smith has proven himself as an actor before in such films as “Ali.” Further, he has science-fiction cred with “I, Robot” and “I Am Legend” in his repertoire. So it is no surprise that he is up to the task of playing two versions of himself. The world-weariness of Henry is contrasted nicely with the unhappiness and confusion in Junior.

As for the other actors, their performances are serviceable but not noteworthy. Even the venerable Clive Owen does not get much to work with. He is pretty much the typecast heavy and fails to portray himself as a loving parent in a crucial plot point.

The cinematography is first-rate, whether in the colorful city of Cartagena, the night sequences in Budapest, or the sea shots. I also include the deft work in the action sequences in this category as well.

As to the plot, I found the premise of confronting another version, albeit younger, of yourself quite intriguing. Would a clone be precisely like you psychologically? How much would different life events have altered your two versions from each other?

The other issue raised is the cost of international conflict in terms of human suffering. Is it better to create a clone army of sub-humans to fight wars than use so-called “real” humans?

The film is far too brief to do any justice to either of these discussions. Ultimately the picture rises or falls on the personal relationship between Henry and Junior. I felt that this story was successfully handled.

I have noticed that “Gemini Man” is generally getting mediocre to poor reviews by other critics. In my case, however, I think that the film is saved by the extraordinarily believable performance of Will Smith, the taut direction by Lee, and the generally well-done action sequences. It is an engaging, thoughtful popcorn movie.

Three and a half out of five stars

GEMINI MAN is an innovative action-thriller starring Will Smith as Henry Brogan, an elite assassin who is suddenly targeted and pursued by a mysterious young operative that seemingly can predict his every move.

CAST: Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen and Benedict Wong
Directed by Ang Lee
Screenplay by David Benioff and Billy Ray and Darren Lemke
Story by Darren Lemke and David Benioff