Duplo impacto

Egos run wild as Van Dammage is given the double dosage in this rampant, enjoyable thriller; hampered somewhat by the now two dreadful acting displays instead of the one. Yet credit where its due, this is one of his better outings, broadening his thespian ranges as well as stylishly kicking people in the head a lot. Revenge is on the cards again, playing both twin brothers separated at birth and reunited 25 years later (one's a US aerobics instructor who wears the silk underwear, the other a tough cigar-chomping gangster-type raised in the Hong Kong). Their parents, you see, were hopelessly slaughtered when they were babies, and summarily they vow vengeance. It's all laughable enough, as it should be: violent as hell with a Bolo villain and two Jean-Claude's causing complete bloody chaos - who could ask for more?

Double Impact is one of Van Damme`s finest moments on the actionfilm-arena. It delivers what it must to succeed, namely tons of great fighting scenes, which is what Van Damme-movies are all about(well, almost). If you want to rent an old action-flick, Double Impact is one of the best movies Van Damme has ever done! 9/10

The Muscles from Brussels takes a co-producer and co-writer credit on this routinely plotted but agreeable action picture. Van Damme plays twin boys, who were orphaned in the 1960s by thugs representing some greedy white collar criminals. One of them, Chad, ended up in L. A. where he got to live a fairly soft life. Alex, on the other hand, remained in Hong Kong where he became a street smart smuggler. 25 years later, their "uncle" Frank (Geoffrey Lewis) locates Alex and reunites the boys so they can have a classic bit of revenge - and reclaim what's theirs in the bargain.

All of the action is watchable if never truly inspired. There's a good deal of hard hitting violence (the naive Chad takes his lumps before the story is over), and plenty of effective squib action - not to mention a hearty helping of explosions. The exotic Hong Kong setting certainly helps a lot, as well. One sequence is particularly striking, and you can see bits of that in the trailer. And there's a fairly satisfying confrontation between Van Damme and martial arts icon Bolo Yeung, who plays Moon, a goon who ends up with a fake eye and a nasty scar due to Franks' intervention back in the 60s.

There's a certain degree of entertainment in watching Van Damme play two distinctly different characters. Thanks to some reasonably effective movie trickery - body doubles, special effects, and the like - we get to see the twins interacting regularly. Philip Chan, as crime kingpin Raymond Zhang, and Alan Scarfe, as the nefarious Nigel Griffith, are decent action movie baddies in the classic tradition. Both the blonde Alonna Shaw (as Alex's girlfriend Danielle) and the athletic brunette Corinna Everson (as henchwoman Kara) add much sex appeal. The eternally solid and reliable Lewis is a tremendous asset to the story, lending it an appropriate amount of respectability.

"Double Impact" may not be memorable in the end, but it sure provides a nice diversion for the better part of two hours.

Seven out of 10.

I remember seeing this movie on the premiere night that Saturday evening on HBO. It was indeed one of the best damn martial arts movies I've seen around that time because at that time range there were nothing but action flicks being released to theaters here and there. Double Impact is one of my most favorite Van Damme flicks not only because he plays twin brothers in the film but because there's plenty of action to look for. Most movies that were made with an actor playing twins it would usually be a disappointment since they could never get the other person to like the same actor.....O.K. I admit, I was a little disappointed when I spotted the fake Van Damme trying to kick at Alex but missed by kicking the wall. My 3 favorite scenes in the film are #1.When Alex gives Chad a good evening greeting from a head-butt. #2.The final showdown between Chad and Moon(Bolo Yeung)-a great villan. #3.The brawl-for-all between Chad and Alex. Double Impact will always be in my video/dvd collection. But anytime there's a Van Damme film hitting either the big screen or the little screen, you know what to expect, nothing but dodging fire balls, doing 360 degree spinning heel kicks, etc. you get the picture. But hey at least you didn't see one of the Van Dammes smearing/or trying to fade away from the image like it was cheaply done on a computer such as the 2 Jackie Chans did in "Twin Dragons".

This is joyously over the top and inane. This is classic Van Damme at his absolute best. In yet another (well in fact the first) of his duel role films, Jean Claude plays two twins separated at birth. They were separated when both their parents were killed by vicious gangsters, including the legend Bolo Yeung (Enter the Dragon).

What makes this film is the always-enjoyable combination of Van Damme and director Sheldon Lettich. Lettich knows how to get the best out of Claude in the fights sequences, with a liberal and entertainingly cheesy use of slo-mo while Van Damme grunts and poses and jumps kicks his way through countless foes. The fights are so entertaining, and they more than make up for the wooden or ham-fisted acting of the cast, not to mention the brainless plot and cheesy dialogue.

This was written by Van Damme and really seems at times like an ego trip, with some of the lines and actions that characters have. It is entertaining in that sense. What is also funny about this film is the constant posing and muscle flexing from Van Damme. This is one of his most enjoyable films, because it is so fun, it brings back the fun feeling from his earlier film Kickboxer.

Overall this is one to watch and the fight between Van Damme and Bolo is the stuff of legend. ***