Gemini Man (2019) review

An assassin (Will Smith) for the U.S. Government who wants to retire (ho hum), does "one last job" (yawn) and then finds himself hunted after by a duplicate of himself (Smith again with de-aging technology) and uncovers a secret project, run by Agent Clay Verris (Clive Owen), that clones assassins (Verris gives a reasonable explanation for this near the end, but also overlooks Mary Shelley's warning about science).  I've praised Smith in the past for elevating so-so material with his charisma, but this, based on a script by David Benioff, Billy Ray and Darren Lemke, is toned-down science fiction wrapped in a lame action movie blanket, complete with a Strong Willed Lady (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a side-kick (Benedict Wong) who's only necessary to the movie part of the time and can be disposed of when necessary and several flights around the world to engage in shootouts (that's America: click click bang bang).  Smith blasts his younger self for being "too much like a Millennial" while wearing his Phillies cap and all but telling everyone to get off his porch (is 51 considered "old" now?).  Oh, and trust an Italian: cilantro is just fine.