Double Impact isn’t top-shelf Jean-Claude Van Damme, though compared with his action-hero counterparts like Schwarzenegger and Stallone, had the briefest of careers, but his films are a lot of fun and this was no exception.
Double Impact
— MVD Rewind Collection —
(1991)
Genre(s): Action, Thriller
MVD Visual | R – 110 min. – $39.95 | May 28, 2019
Date Published: 06/24/2019 | Author: The Movieman
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MVD Entertainment Group provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3.25/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Jean-Claude Van Damme leaps into dual roles of Chad and Alex Wagner, twin brothers who were separated after their parents’ brutal murder. 25 years later, the two couldn’t be more different: Chad is a slick Beverly Hills fitness instructor, while Alex is a rough and tumble smuggler on the gritty streets of Hong Kong. But when fate throws them together again, Chad and Alex discover that there’s one thing they have in common: they’re both fighting machines. Determined to enact revenge on their parents’ killers, the martial-arts experts kick, chop and shoot all the way to an electrifying final showdown.
Quick Hit Review: Jean-Claude Van Damme really took off into Hollywood stardom in the 1990s (had a good stretch at the box office from 1992 to 1994) and he took off with Lionheart following up with Double Impact where he played two roles. I’m not entirely sure, but I think I had seen this movie before somewhere in the 90s on VHS. Seeing it many years later, I found it to be a lot of fun and entertaining but it’s not exactly a great film or well put together, in fact the plot feels unnecessarily messy. While the effects and camera work was impressive, utilizing the same techniques that made The Parent Trap work 30 years prior, making me feel like the two were in the same shot together, I couldn’t completely buy Van Damme’s performance as Chad, a meek, quiet personality as Alex goes to the other end of the spectrum; it would’ve been nice to see more about that dynamic, perhaps Chad teaching Alex to be more restrained and Alex teaching Chad to be more assertive. As it is, the fight scenes were fairly well done and the acting from the supporting players, including journeyman actor Geoffrey Lewis (has over 100 television credits and 75+ feature films to his credit), so nice to see him in a more leading capacity.
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SPECIAL FEATURES – 5.0/5 |
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This release comes with a matted slip cover and inside a poster. The Making of Double Impact Parts 1 & 2 (52:47 / 58:45) are extremely extensive retrospective documentaries on how the film came to be and includes interviews with Producer/Co-Writer/Actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, Co-Writer/Director Sheldon Lettich, Actress Corinna Everson amongst others. If only other studios would do something similar with their making-of featurettes… Deleted/Extended Scenes (53:57) – There are 23 scenes included here that were either cut or trimmed. Like the nearly two hour long retrospective, you don’t very often get this amount of footage. Surprised someone didn’t have the bright idea of using it to compile an “Extended Cut” (probably would’ve happened if this was distributed by Sony). Anatomy of a Scene (7:59) – This is a breakdown from Lettich of the chase sequence through the streets of Hong Kong. Behind-the-Scenes Featurette (6:58) is a promotional item from 1990/1991. B-Roll Selections (8:03) is just some extra behind-the-scenes footage. Film Clips (4:51) – Not sure what the point is, but some raw full frame footage from the movie. Cast & Crew Interview Clips (6:21) – Are interviews with Jean-Claude Van Damme, Charles Layton and Moshe Diamant from back in the day talking about various topics. MVD Rewind Collection Promo (0:24) with Jean-Claude Van Damme Trailers – Double Impact, Black Eagle, Lionheart, Double Dragon, Nemesis, Showdown, Walking Tall and Angel Town. |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| MVD Visual releases Double Impact onto Blu-ray and although there’s no mention of it, the 1080p presentation, shown in the film’s original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio, seemed to go through some sort of restoration be it either at MVD or Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, because it does look fantastic. Detail is amazingly sharp and well defined throughout and skin tones appear natural looking. I didn’t notice very much in the way of artifacting or aliasing so it also seems clean, which is impressive for a 25+ year old film. |
AUDIO – 3.75/5 |
| The included PCM Stereo track sounds more than adequate outputting clear dialogue and some okay depth during the action sequences where we get gunplay and explosions. This won’t know your socks off or give the sound equipment a workout, but it’s still efficient. |
OVERALL – 3.75/5 |
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Double Impact isn’t top-shelf Jean-Claude Van Damme, though compared with his action-hero counterparts like Schwarzenegger and Stallone, had the briefest of careers, but his films are a lot of fun and this was no exception. This is yet another wonderful release from MVD Visual with incredible selection of bonus features to go along with respectable video and audio transfers. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.