Double Impact
1991
Director: Sheldon Lettich
Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Geoffrey Lewis, Philip Chan, Bolo Yeung
What a classic of B-movie cheese this is. In the first of Van Damme's trilogy of twin movies (at least until he decides to use the idea yet again), our boy Jean-Claude plays brothers who are seperated when a Triad hit team takes out their parents. Twenty years later, the "bad" brother is a smuggler in HK, while the "good" one is an aerobics instructor in Los Angeles, and they team up to take revenge on the boss (Philip Chan) who took out their parents.
There's nothing really great about Double Impact, other than the immortal tagline of "double the Van Damme, double the Van Damage", but it is a solid low-budget actioner. The script and acting are average to say the least, and the movie looks like it was made for fifty cents and a case of returnable bottles, but when it comes to action, Double Impact delivers the goods. The fights are among some of Van Damme's best, with good choreography and tight filming and editing. Also of note are the gunfights; I might be wrong, but I believe that this was the first Western movie to have John Woo-style dual 9mms (complete with slow motion). If you have a high tolerance for cheeseball antics (or just like to make fun of them), there's some good times to be had with Double Impact. I'm kind of sorry to say this, but given the current anemic state of action films, even middling stuff like this is much better than the crap that has been getting cranked out lately.
RATING: 6.25