Double Impact

1991 "One packs a punch. One packs a piece. Together they deliver..."
5.6| 1h50m| R| en| More Info
Released: 10 August 1991 Released
Producted By: Columbia Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Jean Claude Van Damme plays a dual role as Alex and Chad, twins separated at the death of their parents. Chad is raised by a family retainer in Paris, Alex becomes a petty crook in Hong Kong. Seeing a picture of Alex, Chad rejoins him and convinces him that his rival in Hong Kong is also the man who killed their parents. Alex is suspicious of Chad, especially when it comes to his girlfriend.

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Leofwine_draca Yet another slice of Van Damme craziness, this one glossier and more B-movie-ish than the rest. The sheer unintentional humour value offered up by the fact that Van Damme plays twins make this film unmissable - the split screen work, where Van Damme converses with himself, is a must see. Aside from this unusual aspect, it's business as usual with Van Damme taking on a double quota of blonde bimbos and vicious enemies who die by the bucket load in various violent ways.This film achieves due to some very slick action sequences which don't scrimp on the violence. Baddies are kicked, punched, stabbed, smashed in the face with bottles, shot, burnt, just about every death imaginable. On top of this there are some gratuitous sex scenes, plenty of cheesy dialogue and more ham acting than you can shake a stick at. Van Damme is as wooden as ever, but he's actually not that bad in the dual role and creates a believable rapport between the two brothers - aided, of course, by some nifty special effects. Geoffrey Lewis, father of Juliette, who you may remember from countless westerns and thrillers of years past, enjoys himself as Van Damme's ageing sidekick. The other imposing presence comes from the mighty Bolo Yeung (BLOODSPORT), always a formidable opponent, who has a fantastically brutal fight with Van Damme at the end of the film! I loved this B-movie. Every aspect is enjoyable - dumb, yes, but eminently enjoyable. The showdown gives us a chance to watch the chief baddies die some very unpleasant - and fitting - deaths. This has to be one of my favourite Van Damme films because it achieves what it sets out to do - namely providing lots of hard-hitting action, some goofy plot twists, bad acting, and lots of big explosions. And what more could you possibly want?
BA_Harrison Twin baby brothers Alex and Chad (Jean-Claude Van Damme) are separated after their parents are killed by hit men acting on the orders of greedy businessman Nigel Griffith (Alan Scarfe) and local triad boss Raymond Zhang (Philip Chan). Alex is raised in a local orphanage by French nuns while Chad is taken abroad by loyal friend of the family Frank Avery (Geoffrey Lewis). 25 years later, Frank—now the owner of an LA dojo where Chad is an instructor (and where pastel coloured gis are mandatory!)—tracks down Alex, reunites the brothers in Hong Kong and helps them to avenge the murder of their parents.Some might argue that Jean Claude Van Damme struggles to play one character convincingly, and that having him play two is not exactly the greatest idea in the world. Those people are wrong. Double the 'Muscles from Brussels' kicking ass, including his own, is actually one of the greatest things to happen in a 90s action movie. That's double the explosive action, double the corny one-liners, double the gun-play (with double the ammo), double the fight scenes and, ultimately, double the fun.Despite its silly set-up, Double Impact is a genuinely tough film, with very little comedy ala Jackie Chan's Twin Dragons; the colourful Hong Kong location not only allows for plenty of authentic flavour, but also enables the use of local stunt-men for whom a hard whack in the head is all part of a day's work. The action comes thick and fast, feet and fists regularly meeting face, making for some really convincing karate smack-downs. On top of all the martial arts mayhem, viewers are also treated to lots of brutal ballistic action, each bullet hit resulting in a delightfully bloody squib eruption.Star Van Damme might not be the greatest thespian to ever grace the silver screen, but he does surprisingly well in his dual roles, convincingly creating two distinctly different characters; he is aided in his task by some well executed special effects and the careful use of body doubles. The rest of the main cast are also very impressive: Lewis is as marvellous as always (the guy is a legend in my eyes just for giving the world Juliette), busty blonde Alonna Shaw gives the film sex appeal as Alex's plucky girlfriend Danielle, Chan and Scarfe ooze malevolence, and Bolo Yeung and female bodybuilder Cory Everson make for superb hench-people (does anyone play an utterly ruthless killing machine as convincingly as Bolo?).
skullislandsurferdotcom If one Jean-Claude Van Damme was never enough, here's the movie for you: a decent action melodrama beginning with two infants separated during a bloody shootout in Hong Kong… Their father did a favor for a mobster who didn't need his services any longer. Thanks to Geoffrey Lewis as a bodyguard turned "uncle" who saves one of the brothers, winding up a pretty boy karate instructor to rich women in Los Angeles.But he's drawn back to cutthroat Hong Kong where he meets his shady twin, an arms dealer who couldn't be more different. Together, along with Geoffrey Lewis and of course a beautiful love interest, they take on the mob boss who killed their parents, and even with two Dammes, it won't be easy.The best scenes involve the milquetoast brother getting tougher through various fights, especially with the iconic ENTER THE DRAGON bulky tough guy Bolo Yeung (fitfully scarred-up from the opening scene, making him even more intimidating). But the crooked brother, who had so much promise as a rogue maverick in the beginning, becomes but a jealous whiner as his put-upon lady starts preferring Abel to Cain.It's a movie that doesn't take itself too seriously, and there's an abundance of insert/close-ups that lead one to believe the budget wasn't too high. But the characters are interesting enough to care about and it's the fights that matter, occurring enough to appease hardcore karate buffs.For More Reviews: www.cultfilmfreaks.com
jonathanruano "Double Impact" is the story about two babies Alex and Chad who are separated after their parents are murdered by business partners Raymond Zhange (Philip Chan) and Nigel Griffith (Alan Scarfe). Twenty-five years later, the twin babies become two sexy martial arts sensations with strong Belgian accents (both played by Jean Claude Van Damme) who vow to avenge the death of their parents.For the first thirty-five minutes, I really enjoyed "Double Impact." Jean-Claude Van Damme has this cool, confident and sometimes cocky persona that is often entertaining. Some of his martial arts sequences are fun to watch as well. Then the onslaught of shoot outs with machine guns and automatic guns and explosions came along and the movie tanked. I have not had any personal experiences where, armed with only two handguns, I had to kill several people who were firing automatic machine guns at me. But if I was in that situation, I suspect I would at the very least sustain several injuries, even if I was an action star. Yet there are several scenes in "Double Impact" where Jean-Claude Van Damme successfully takes on three Chinese criminals, armed with machine guns, and emerges unscathed. When the hero does that well in several gun fights, it sucks the excitement out of the movie. We no longer have any reason to be concerned for his safety, because we know he is invincible. As a result, the shootouts -- which presumably are meant to generate the most excitement -- are tedious and boring.The other problem with the movie are the explosions. When I saw my first explosion in an action movie at age ten, I admit I was impressed. But since then, I have grown tired of them. Watching explosions in movies, like "Double Impact," is like eating doughnuts, potato chips and drinking pop drinks all day long. At the end, I get this sick feeling inside. The problem with "Double Impact" is that there are so many explosions and so much property damage that it smothers the plot and the dialogue. I had so much more fun watching Jean-Claude Van Damme showcasing remnants of both his characters, Alex and Chad. Then the explosions, shooting and full sound came along and ruined it all. I was also hopeful in the beginning that this movie would have some kind of plot. But "Double Impact" has no plot after 30 minutes. Danielle Wilde (who is played by the stunning blonde model Alonna Shaw) has a bit part as Alex's girlfriend and secretary to Mr. Griffiths and she spends most of her on screen time rummaging through Griffiths' files to see if he was responsible for killing Alex's parents. Danielle's role, as far as I can tell, is to generate interest in a plot bereft of ideas (not even Alfred Hitchcock would pull this stunt). Danielle's investigative work is inconsequential because Alex and Chad have already made up their minds to wipe out Griffiths, Zhang and the Triads. The same has to be said for the female villain Kara (Corinna Everson) who combines violence with sexually assaulting Danielle. Kara's purpose, as a lesbian stereotype, is to help the producers of this film hedge their bets by adding some cheap thrills in a film that has run out of good ideas. A third source of cheap thrills is the sex scene involving Danielle and one of the Jean-Claude Van Damme characters, which really shows how low the producers were willing to go to sell this movie. Overall Double Impact was a big disappointment. 3.5/10