Gemini Man (Music from the Motion Picture) is the soundtrack to the 2019 film Gemini Man, directed by Ang Lee and starred Will Smith in dual roles: as Henry Brogan, and Jackson Brogan a.k.a. "Junior". Featuring the original score composed by Lorne Balfe, the album consisted of 17 tracks released by Paramount Music on the same date as the film, October 11, 2019.[1] A limited edition CD of 3,000 copies by La-La Land Records also accompanied the score.[2] The score received mixed critical response.
| Gemini Man (Music from the Motion Picture) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Film score by | ||||
| Released | October 11, 2019 | |||
| Recorded | July–September 2019 | |||
| Studio | Remote Control Productions | |||
| Genre | Film score | |||
| Length | 61:42 | |||
| Label | Paramount Music | |||
| Lorne Balfe chronology | ||||
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Development
edit"The first time watching the film, I had to help the story musically in that each of Will’s characters had their own theme but both were of the same DNA. So I wrote melodies for them both but they’d play on top of each other so that, no matter what, they were connected."
— Lorne Balfe, on the music of Gemini Man[3]
In February 2019, Marco Beltrami was recruited to score music for the film.[4] However, he was replaced by Lorne Balfe in June 2019.[5] Balfe was hired as he previously worked with the film's producer Jerry Bruckheimer on Geostorm (2017) and 12 Strong (2018), and through his contact, he met Ang Lee during the Christmas of 2018 and introduced him to the team.[6] During the musical discussions, Lee wanted to focus the emotion between Henry and Jackson ("Junior") which was the hardest one as he spent longer on thinking the themes and writing.[6][5] He then wrote two different pieces of music that work on top of each other, which became the separate themes for the characters.[3] He collaborated with cellist Tina Guo who played music for Gladiator (2000) and Wonder Woman (2017) and had two different cellos: the electric cello for Henry and acoustic for Junior,[3] as "because in one respect, even though Junior is a clone, the point I wanted to make is that he is more real than Henry". He also had to rewrite the music so as to match with the visuals and performances which was more real.[6]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Last Shot" | 3:56 |
| 2. | "Burning the Past" | 3:45 |
| 3. | "Are You Dia?" | 2:57 |
| 4. | "First Confrontation" | 3:38 |
| 5. | "Cartagena" | 2:33 |
| 6. | "Bike Fu" | 3:10 |
| 7. | "Catacombs" | 4:27 |
| 8. | "I Know You Inside and Out" | 5:02 |
| 9. | "Henry and Junior" | 2:32 |
| 10. | "Fighting Gemini" | 4:00 |
| 11. | "Teaming Up" | 2:27 |
| 12. | "Don't You Feel Pain?" | 3:17 |
| 13. | "Verris" | 3:38 |
| 14. | "A Perfect Version of You" | 3:52 |
| 15. | "Those Ghosts" | 2:26 |
| 16. | "Thanks, Brother" | 2:00 |
| 17. | "Gemini Man" | 8:02 |
| Total length: | 61:42 | |
Reception
editCalling it a "pretty solid score", Zanobard Reviews gave 6/10 to the music and called the main theme as "the star of the show, being quite memorable and very enjoyable to listen to".[7] Rob Hunter of Film School Rejects called it as a "rousing, propulsive score".[8] A review from Film Music Central commented "The soundtrack for Gemini Man is adequate and gets the job done, but it’s nothing that will blow you away."[9] In contrast, James Southall of Movie Wave called it as an "extremely dull and as far away as you could get from the sort of thoughtful, multi-layered music you usually hear in Ang Lee movies (which is perfectly understandable given the film itself is also a long way from his usual)".[10]
References
edit- ^ "Gemini Man". Paramount Music. Archived from the original on August 13, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ "GEMINI MAN: LIMITED EDITION". La-La Land Records. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Interview with multi-award nominated British composer Lorne Balfe on 'Gemini Man' and 'His Dark Materials'". The Hindu. October 17, 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on February 26, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ "Marco Beltrami to Score Ang Lee's 'Gemini Man'". Film Music Reporter. Archived from the original on October 12, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ a b "Double The Fun: An Interview With Gemini Man Composer Lorne Balfe". Score It Magazine. November 1, 2019. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Composer Lorne Balfe on Gemini Man, His Dark Materials and Bad Boys 3". Collider. October 24, 2019. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ Zanobard (October 11, 2019). "Gemini Man – Soundtrack Review". Zanobard Reviews. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ Hunter, Rob (October 4, 2019). "'Gemini Man' Review: Mr. and Mr. Smith Are Back Baby". Film School Rejects. Archived from the original on October 7, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ Central, Film Music (October 12, 2019). "Soundtrack Review: Gemini Man (2019)". Film Music Central. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ Southall, James (November 9, 2019). "Gemini Man soundtrack review". Movie Wave. Archived from the original on February 7, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2023.