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.
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.