Verdict:
There was a time when the movies were purer. Today’s action films follow the same basic set-up as they did in the past but they try to cover their generic stories with pricey CG effects, pricey acting and quick editing. Van Damme movies had no such pretensions and Double Impact is a staple of action movies from a simpler time, when heroes jumped away from big orange explosions and problems were solved with high kicks and Beretta pistols.
However, I’ve always felt that there was more to Double Impact than just that.
For one, it was one of the movies to bring the exotic Hong Kong to the West…Eeexcept that most of it was filmed in LA. Double Impact masterfully imitates a Hong Kong action movie, and brings it to Western audiences. For a kid in the West, watching this movie was like a little vacation.
Then there is the fact that you get two Van Dammes for the price of one. And you get Bolo Yeung, a great villain. Additionally, the technical side of the film is quite competent. The lighting is used to bring out the drama and the sexuality. With no CG to rely on, you get to enjoy real choreography and nice shots of the city, even if most of that city is LA.
Jean Claude Van Damme really put his back into this one, as he both co-wrote and co-produced this film, hoping that it would show his range by showing him play two different characters. At its heart, though, this is still a Van Damme martial arts movie with a bit more 90s shooting thrown in than usual.
The plot was not very clear when I watched it all those years ago, and I don’t blame my younger self. You will miss the exposition scene if you blink, because it is quite boring and seems rather irrelevant. Who cares why the bad guys are bad, anyway? They are bad. Go take them down, Van Dammes, both of you.
The one thing that seriously suffers is the acting. This is where it shows its true colours as a B-movie. Most of the actors either aren’t good actors or are poorly directed.
It’s a nice B-action movie for those who want to breath a bit of early 90s / late 80s culture and eat some popcorn on a rainy night.