Is "Project Gemini" worth watching? | Review

In theaters since the beginning of the month, "Project Gemini" is a film in the genres of suspense and science fiction. In about 98 minutes, the spectators can follow a space colonization mission with the objective of saving the human species, which lives in a future Earth with its biomes destroyed by a virus.

Without much fanfare, the film has not had much publicity on Brazilian soil, and draws attention for being the only Russian production in theaters among Hollywood and national feature films. Directed by Serik Beyseu, the film brings futuristic elements, something that has already been explored by film productions such as "Avatar", however, it does not develop with the same excellence.

Despite several different proposals, we can still compare the Russian film with James Cameron's blockbuster. If in "Avatar" a Cyberpunk Earth was Jake Sully's (Sam Worthington) reality before his trip to Pandora, in "Gemini" little is explored of the water planet, taking the spectator in a rush to space and making him assimilate all the latest events of the world in less than a minute.

"Gemini" is not easy to understand, however, while in "Avatar" the elements of immersion go from a well worked CGI to a good structuring of the script, establishing step by step so that the audience understands the plot, Beyseu's film has several "dry" cuts and forgets to take the audience along in the construction of its story.

In dark photography and without any dynamism in the various scenes, the production, in general, is composed of cold colors that contribute to the suspenseful tone. With all the triggers inspired by the great Hollywood fictions, Serik Beyseu doesn't seem to have had the same success in uniting script, shooting, and acting into a single synergy.

Most of the characters are little explored, leaving a void for those seeking to understand who is who. The main character, Dr. Steven Ross (Egor Koreshkov) and his beloved Amy (Alyona Konstantinova), are the only ones to have a development that follows the script completely. While estranged from Amy, Steven must deal with his longing, his pride, and his ambition if he really wants to save the Earth.

IS "Project Gemini" WORTH WATCHING?

The film written by Natalia Lebedeva and Dmitry Zhigalov resembles the productions of Syfy, a television channel known for "Sharknado" and other sci-fi titles. In addition, the film throws away any chance it had to venture into a theme that, if well explored, entertains the viewer without ever being boring.

The lack of dynamics is perhaps the main barrier to the feature's success, after all, in addition to a confusing script, random cuts and lack of immersion, the cast fails to convey sympathy to those watching.

If you are a movie buff, it is more plausible to wait for the premiere of the feature on some streaming service, because the experience may not be worth it for those who want to enjoy 90 minutes or more inside a movie theater.

In addition to Egor Koreshkov, the cast features names like Alyona Konstantinova, Nikita Dyuvbanov, Dmitry Frid, Pyotr Romanov, Viktor Potapeshkin, Elizaveta Martinez Kardenaz, and Konstantin Samoukov. The film was released on January 6, 2022 in Russia, but arrived in Brazil only this year, on February 2.