Double Team [1997]

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Primary Contributor : Jean-Claude Van Damme
Primary Contributor : Dennis Rodman

Product Details

Director : Hark Tsui
Actor : Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dennis Rodman, Mickey Rourke, Paul Freeman, Natacha Lindinger
Format : Closed-captioned, Dolby, PAL, Surround Sound
Binding : VHS Tape
EAN : 5024165786390
Number of Discs : 1
Product Group : Video
Release Date : 2002-07-01
Running Time : 89minutes
Studio : 4 Front Video

ASIN : B00004CWW8

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

Look ma, no script! As expected from a movie by Hong Kong action director Hark Tsui, there are many explosive, fast-paced sequences in this Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle. Some are thrilling, others inconsequential. There is also another mumbling, overdone performance by Mickey Rourke, who looks as if he performed his own plastic surgery. Except for an unintentionally humorous ending, the only surprise is Dennis Rodman as Van Damme's partner in exploitation. Rodman has plenty of charisma, but needs someone to weed out those inferior scripts. He plays an eccentric arms dealer coerced by an avenging Van Damme into tracking down the evil and sadistically weird character played by a well-muscled Rourke. It says little for the production that the best sequence of the movie occurs a quarter of the way into the action. It concerns an escape by Van Damme from an island think tank for forcibly retired covert agents. After that, everyone should have gone home. --Rochelle O'Gorman, Amazon.com

Customer Reviews

Modern cinema's defining moment, a classic (2008-05-24)

I don't know what the deal is with the other user reviews of this Tsui Hark/Van Damme masterpiece - Double Team is perhaps one of the best films to have been released during the whole of the 90s and should be considered a classic movie, definitely not as the 'worst film of 1997' as one ill-informed critic stated. The strengths and innovations of Double Team are nearly too many to list but amongst the most significant achievements that seem to have been overlooked by the other reviewers are -* Acting - We all know Van Damme is an unimpeachable actor but who would have known Dennis Rodman could have made the transition from athlete to film star? I'm surprised he wasn't nominated for an Oscar for his excellent, moving performance* Script - The writing in Double Team finally surpassed that of Casablanca as the benchmark against which all future films are judged* Direction - Hark knows how to make the most of his actors and locations. The film is beautifully shot and I for one am looking forward to the Blu Ray edition of this film as whilst DVD is ok, I can't help but feel we're loosing something of the original by viewing it in any less resolution than this classic merits. So, there we have it - Double Team is an awesome, important film and deserves every one of the five stars I've awarded it. Buy it now! With money!

A SILLY BUT ENTERTAINING VAN DAMME FILM (2007-08-07)

The script for Double Team was originally called "The Colony" and by several accounts, it was actually quite good. Apparently, it went through many major alterations on its way to production until the final product bore little resemblance in tone and quality to the original script. Does this mean Double Team is a disaster? Not really, but its clear all the changes created some problems.On the one hand, you have the participation of famed Hong Kong director Tsui Hark and world-class cinematographer Peter Pau. They manage to create some of the coolest, trippiest, most fantastical visuals this side of a MTV video and better still, do so without the excessively choppy editing that usually accompanies "MTV-style" films. You actually get to appreciate the luxuriously-shot images, though the film is by no means slow-paced. Better still, it's one of the few Van Damme movies that realizes the best Van Damme movies are the ones which absolutely never rely on Van Damme's acting (or anyone else's for that matter) to carry the film along. It's all action, goofily entertaining plot twists, and sweet visuals. As an action-packed, overblown, eye-candy fantasy, Double Team works very well.On the other hand, it's painfully obvious that Double Team used to have a smarter script which called for a far more subtle and serious approach. Had these "intelligent" elements been completely erased or dumbed-down for the final product, this wouldn't have been a problem. However, it seems that some of the more subtle plot developments were left in and they do NOT mesh well with Tsui's and the rest of the final script's "jackhammer" approach to the story. For example, at one point a prescription label left on the wall is supposed to be noticed by Van Damme's character who then uses the name of the doctor on the label as a clue. However, unless you're paying very very close attention you'd never know that. It's so small on screen, the label may as well have been blank. And the shot where the label is taken off the prescription bottle is far too quick and unclear. A single extra shot showing a closeup of the label would've cleared things up immensely. But it never happens. The film contains several instances like this where a single clarifying shot or an extra line of explanatory dialogue would've made things much clearer. The result is that what seem like glaring plot holes (even for this kind of movie) are in fact due to badly explained plot points. Such an obscure presentation might have worked on a quieter, more "intelligent" spy film where the audience knows they aren't going to be spoon-fed the plot. But after 40 minutes of terrible one-liners and ridiculous action, the last thing that should be required of Double Team's audience is to suddenly pay close attention to what's happening.I don't know whether Tsui Hark was trying to keep in some subtle elements while reconciling it with the rapid-fire approach, or whether he just didn't care about such details and wanted to keep things moving (Probably the latter, as his subsequent movie, Knock Off, experimented with this abstract, to-hell-with-storytelling visual approach to the nth degree). Whatever the case, the result is a pretty wild but somewhat confusing action movie that could've been much better with minor changes.

poor from the great van damme (2006-09-14)

Van Damme in double team almost looks embarrassed,he knows he is reading from a poor script,he knows that the film looks like its made on a shoestring despite having a good budget and he knows that the film is pretty much a vechile for the annoying dennis rodman,who is so bad his film career ended with this more or less,and as a result of that and mickey rourke who seems to have forgotten how to act this film is lost in its own vomit.The film redeems itself as van damme kicks major ass in parts and the stand off behind van damme and rourke in a landmine filled area is decent.The crappiest of all scenes is found here involving van damme hiding behind a coke machine when a massive bomb goes off and all is destroyed except van damme and the coke machine,and they say too much coke is bad for you hey!

Double Teamed with Van Damme & Rodman (2004-05-07)

I can't see how people can hate this film so much, OK it's not a big budget actioner with storming special and visual effects like T2, but it manages to keep an exciting and interesting pace throughout. Van Damme doesn't do anything different in this movie, he just does what he does best, beating up bad guys.

Jack Quinn (Van Damme) is a top counter terrorist who is assigned to the colony after he freezes on shooting ruthless and savage terrorist Stavros (played to perfection by Mickey Rourke). On his way to taking down Stavros, Quinn meets up with flamboyant but deadly gun dealer Yaz ( Basketball Star Dennis Rodman). Quinn was just looking for a second chance at getting his target, but when his pregnant wife is kidnapped by Stavros, it becomes personal.

Throwaway fun that passes the time (2001-05-08)

A fairly inane adventure story with a pinch of sci-fi that's quite enjoyable if not taken too seriously.Van Damme plays one half of the double team in his usual auto-pilot mode but delivers on the action front as only Van Damme can.Basketball star Rodman does a reasonable enough job as a first-time actor and adds a touch of fun to the proceedings.There are a number of thrills and spills to be had along the way and director Tsui Hark keeps the attention from flagging with some expertly shot fight sequences.Nice to see Mickey Rourke in no-nonsense muscle bound guise as baddie Stavros whose presence helps elevate the film above the mediocre.Despite a few unintentionaly funny moments this is saturday night popcorn fun that should keep you entertained.

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