Product Details

• Actors: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Geoffrey Lewis, Alicia Stevenson, Paul Aylett, Andy Armstrong
• Directors: Sheldon Lettich
• Producers: Moshe Diamant, Charles Layton
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Columbia Pictures
• DVD Release Date: February 6, 2001
• Run Time: 110 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000542CD
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,465 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Double Impact" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Jean-Claude Van Damme gets a kick out of himself in this clever if barely competent action thriller, in which the likable Muscles from Brussels plays twin brothers separated at birth by a murderous Hong Kong crime syndicate. While the genial Chad lives the posh life as a California aerobics instructor, his sibling Alex chews fat cigars back in China, running a mahjong parlor and making some extra bucks as a smuggler. A quarter-century after being sent to different corners of the globe, they reunite and decide to seek vengeance against the cartel that killed their parents. From there the story and action set pieces are fairly predictable, but that hardly matters since the film's real appeal is in the amusing way the two Van Dammes deal with sibling rivalry, especially where women are concerned. Van Damme, seeking his box-office breakthrough at the time, might have received more of a commercial boost had this movie simply been directed with greater professionalism. The lighting, editing, and shot selection are often ridiculously below the standard of low-budget features. But Double Impact does have its compensations, especially in the casting of leather-clad Cory Everson and exemplary villain Bolo Yeung as a pair of killers who cross the twins' path. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

What could be better than Jean-Claude Van Damme in an explosively entertaining action extravaganza?Two of him! There's twice the excitement, twice the mayhem and twice the fun in this turbo-charged adventure that pushes the thrills into overdrive. Van Damme leaps into the dual roles of Chad and Alex Wagner, twin brothers who were separated after their parents' brutal murder. Years later, the two couldn't be more different: Chad is a slick Beverly Hills fitness instructor while Alex isa 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 andshoot all the way to an electrifying final showdown aboard a gargantuan freighter in Hong Kong Harbor.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Cheese for the action junkie! November 20, 2003

By Greekfreak

Format:DVD

I remember this one like it was yesterday; one of the earliest Van Damme vehicles that actually involved something approaching a modest budget (well, they total two Mercedes in one scene) and a script!

What this film did right was the inclusion of multiple villains, necessary not only because there are two Van Dammes, but because all of the classic martial arts films involved many enemies as well. Recurring VD villains include Peter Malota (the Spanish fighter in later film "The Quest"), whose blue-lit kickboxing scene with Jean-Claude is one of the best in recent memory, and famed "Enter The Dragon" baddie (and longtime martial arts staple) Bolo Yeung.

It helps that Van Damme also has veteran character actor Geoffrey Lewis on board; that kind of gruff, Sam Elliott presence makes up for a lot of acting acumen that is lacking in the rest of the cast. Peter Scarfe stars as the embodiment of evil, and Alonna Shaw as the embodiment.

The pacing is good; the script has some howlers, and the shooting locations are to die for. Look for a very early cameo by Julie Strain!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Two Van Damme's make a great movie September 24, 2005

By Ronnie Clay

Format:DVD

Double Impact is one of Van Damme's finest moments on the action film-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, this is one of them you should get.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Two JCVD's on one Blu-Ray October 2, 2012

By Graham Swearingen

Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase

While I realize it may be hard for most people to stomach Jean-Claude Van Damme, in this movie you get two of him. Granted it's JCVD playing two different characters in the vein of Parent Trap or Multiplicity, but he somehow manages to play two different characters well enough to make me suspend my disbelief. The movie looks like it is from the 80's even though it was made in 1991, it has odd hair styles and costume design that was prominent in 1980's cinema. As expected, there are lots of hand to hand combat scenes which are well shot, as is most of the movie. This movie was primarily shot on location in Hong Kong and at times this movie looks brilliant. Some of the acting is cheese but the main actors do a solid job, particularly Geoffrey Lewis who plays out one of his best performances to date. This movie has an awesome sex scene with female nudity, great action with hand to hand combat and gun shoot outs, as well as a foot chase (something most films don't do enough of anymore) and really stands out as an amazing 1990's B grade action film. I realize this isn't classic cinema or art, but this movie is at the other end of the spectrum of film and is as equally important, it's pure escapism and entertainment. Seeing a naked hot chick, dudes get scissor kicked in the chest, and people shot in the face by TWO Jean-Claude Van Dammes in Hong Kong, is a great way to spend two hours forgetting about how much real life is a disappointment. On Blu-Ray this movie looks better than its previous iterations on VHS and DVD. Film grain is kept and the transfer is otherwise pretty clean. There are some muddy and soft edges here and there, but the detail is great and sharp and this is probably the best this film will ever look as I don't see Criterion adding this to their catalog or anyone re-mastering restoring the original negative at any point in time.