ivo-cobra8
Disclaimer: If you are a viewer that mainly prefers art-house-type movies, then you might as well ignore this review. In addition, if you're not able to take an Van Damme underrated, bashed, hated solid action film, ignore this review, as well. We'll both be better off.Double Team (1997) alongside with Knock Off (1998) is very underrated, bashed and hated movie, mostly for Van Damme performance. This film has received a lot of negative reviews and was a box office fail. I understand why people does not like this movie, I understand and I like it! It is not one of my top 10 favorite Van Damme movies, but I like it, even more than Knock Off. I have always enjoyed this film more than Knock Off. Double Team was Van Damme's first time filming with Chinese film director Tsui Hark, because one year later, they both made together Knock Off another underrated action movie. In my opinion beside Van Damme, Mickey Rourke and Dennis Rodman both of the actors did a solid job and performance together playing their characters. There was a lot of explosions, a lot of action scenes, and a lot of martial arts shown from Van Damme and Mickey Rourke. I like the idea, When Jack Quinn (Jean-Claude Van Damme), a former counterterrorist agent fails to catch alive a terrorist leader Stavros (Mickey Rourke) and accidentally one of his Agent's kills Stavros 6.year old son, Jack Quinn is exiled to colony for dead agents on an empty deserted island and their is no escape from this island. Stavros plot's vengeance against Quinn and takes his wife Kathryn (Natacha Lindinger ) as a hostage and her unborn child now Quinn has to escape and team with Jaz (Dennis Rodman) to get his wife back and Stavros once and for all. I love the training sequences and the music score for the movie. I liked the performance from Van Damme and Rodman, I don't think they acted stupid in this movie, they did not! I bagged my aunt to tape me this movie on VHS, when I was a teen and she did. I like this movie a lot, I like the shoot outs. Double Team was also one of my favorite Van Damme movies. Dennis Rodman and Mickey Rourke co started in this movie. About an CIA agent who misses his target and finds him self on an island for a retired agents and he finds out that his target Stavros kidnapped his wife and his unborn baby and he plans to kill them both unless Quinn escapes. Training and action sequences are excellent and Double Team is also Van Damme's action movie that I like. It is an explosive, high-tech ride. Mickey Rourke was a good bad guy. I really had no idea Paul Freeman was in this movie, he was so awesome in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), I really had no idea he was in this movie as Quinn's guardian. I like when Van Damme fight's off the tiger in the coliseum, those scenes with the tiger where fantastic. I liked that Rodman helped Quinn saving his baby, when the baby case was standing on a mine filed and Rodman saved him. The fights between Mickey Rourke and Van Damme weren't that good, but they were not that bad either. Van Damme and Mickey Rourke both differently worked in The Expendables movies. Rourke in The Expendables and Van Damme in The Expendables 2. Double Team is a 1997 action film that marked the first American movie directed by Hong Kong director Tsui Hark (A Better Tomorrow III). The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Jack Quinn, a former counterterrorist agent who is exiled to a penal colony for disgraced operatives. Upon his escape, Quinn teams with an arms dealer to track down the terrorist who ruined his life. The film co-stars Dennis Rodman, Paul Freeman, and Mickey Rourke. Director Hark would later collaborate with Van Damme in 1998's Knock Off. This movie get's 6 by me, I wish I would have this movie on Blu-ray, I am probably the only one that just likes this movie. Much better than Knock Off! The training sequences from Van Damme where really kick ass and the action stunts from Van Damme where solid, so they weren't bad. Sorry Double Team is not your movie, that's okay I like it. 6/10 Grade: C- Studio: Columbia Pictures Corporation, Mandalay Entertainment Film Workshop Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dennis Rodman, Paul Freeman, Mickey Rourke, Natacha Lindinger Director: Tsui Hark Producers: Moshe Diamant, David Rodgers Screenplay: Don Jakoby, Paul Mones Rated: R Running Time: 1 Hr. 33 Mins. Budget: $30.000.000 Box Office: $11,438,337
cjubee
My first thought after I watched this movie was, that the cast were made before the storyline. It seems as if the focus is on showing the audience what a cool guy Rodman is and what a hard and powerful guy van Damme is. The story is therefor not so necessary. The main characters are even for a action-movie niggling. There are the supporting characters quit more interesting like a martial-arts fighter in the hotel with a knife between his toes or the character of Goldsmythe, awesome played by Paul Freeman. But as I said, this movie was made for van Damme and Rodman and not for actors.The action-scenes are moving between "already seen in other action-movies" and ridiculous. Especially the ending with a tiger and a product placement for a soft drink company appeals unwanted funny.
Deniz Ziya Toroslu
This is not a very good movie, but pretty good, stylish and enjoyable, so one of Van Damme's bests. I don't see Jean Claude Van Damme as a bad actor, may be because I like him, he was one of my childhood heroes. It seems that he did what people wanted from him. Some say that he is hopelessly untalented, but he has a pulling power, hasn't he? Otherwise, now there would not have been a lot of Van Damme fans, even if they have lessened day after day. I watched almost all his films except his first movie and a few of his recent movies and to me Double Team is from his golden period. By the way, I learned that Tsui Hark hates John Woo's The Killer. If you ask me, he is absolutely right. Because according to many people The Killer is a great action film, but to it was extremely slow paced except the final part and not stylish. Probably, like me, Hark had sat down to watch an action movie, but it was not. Double Team is non stop action. In comparison with some recent soap bubble and very slow paced action movies like The Sentinel or The Shooter, Double Team is not only very fast paced, but also pretty stylish. However, the most odd thing is that even the ratings of the awful movies of Van Damme such as Second in Command, Wake of Death, In Hell, The Order or Inferno are higher than Double Team. ??? The whole movie is fun owing to Hark, Van Damme and Rodman who adds color to the movie. Watching Rourke who brings a pessimistic tone to the movie is also interesting. The operation in the funfair part consists of very stylish action scenes. This colorful part is one of the best parts of the movie. As you know, all of the early Van Damme films include training scenes, they are famous for those scenes, too (to me) In Double Team, there is a training scene too. The only flawed point comes in the end, the end was unrealistic with bad CGI. And the images I have not forgotten since 1997. The face of Van Damme in the end of the hospital scene, the face of Mickey Rourke in the stadium, finger scene and Rodman's question: ''Did you open it?''
