Project Gemini (AKA Proekt ‘Gemini’) (2022)
Three years after a deadly virus destroyed life on Earth and rendered it unhabitable, humanity’s fate depends upon finding an entirely new home.
An international expedition is formed to find a suitable planet, and the future of humankind lies in the hands of one determined, courageous crew, Steve (Egor Koreshkov – Jetlag), David (Dmitriy Frid – The Balkan Line) and Leona (Martinez Lisa – Project Gemini). Sent to terraform a planet dubbed Tess, the interstellar squad embark on a mission to save the world… but there is something sinister waiting for them in the dark.
Recently Russian sci-fi has proven to offer a rewarding view with Alien-like SPUTNIK and action-based THE BLACKOUT both standouts. PROJECT GEMINI had most of its footage shot in 2016, in English, with a view to being an easier sell on the international markets. However, between then and its recent release there have been reshooting and redubs to tweak the finished product into shape and unfortunately, it’s a bit of a mess.
There’s very little character development and what there is gets lost in the awful dialogue. However, the effects work is respectable for a relatively lower budget sci-fi horror. Elsewhere, the film’s pacing is uneven, and the tension broken. Every time something gripping happens it is followed up by another dull dialogue scene which slows things back down to a grinding halt.
Story-wise we have a critical error occurring on a space mission, a monster that is very similar to the xenomorph from Ridley Scott’s classic 1979 movie, right down to the dripping slime, and ‘nods’ to everything of the same ilk from the aforementioned Sigourney Weaver starrer to 2012’s Prometheus. It’s not only a mess but one that can’t add anything new to its influences.