The Double arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday, January 31st. Richard Gere, Topher Grace, Martin Sheen, Odette Yustman, Stana Katic, Stephen Moyer, and Tamer Hassan star in the film directed by Michael Brandt. The story follows a retired CIA operative (Gere) who partners with a young FBI agent (Grace) to unravel the mystery of a senator's murder, with all signs pointing to a Soviet assassin. As time goes by, the lines between good and bad are blurred.
There is a decent mix of intrigue and suspense, but this film misses the mark on the pacing and action sequences, which are few and far between. One of the biggest problems was the lack of character build up in the story. If I can't get to know a character, there is no way I can decide if I like them and want to root for them. Character development does not have to happen with each character, but must at least be for the hero and villain. The main villian never really scared me or felt ominous enough. Grace's character was handled a bit better. Overall the character development was rushed. That rushed character development threw off the pacing of the entire movie. I found myself looking at my clock to see how much longer I had in this movie, which is never a good sign.
The action scenes in films like The Double break up the monotony, but as I mentioned they were very few of them in the film. I love when there is a old wise cop and a young cop forced together against one or the other's will and they end up becoming the best of friends during the course of the film. Grace and Gere's relationship is what the story had hoped to achieve in this film, but it missed the mark completely. He and Grace did not have enough chemistry. Gere is a much better actor than this material, but he has not been in anything good for so long. His losing streak was not broken with this movie. Neither of them are action stars, so the action sequences were lackluster.
The rest of the cast was truly forgettable. You would think that a veteran actor like Sheen would have been used more or better during the film, but that was not the case. If you were hoping to see more of True Blood's Stephen Moyer, you will be upset. You can basically count the minutes he is onscreen on your fingers. I guess that is not too bad because his attempt at a Russian accent was atrocious, but then, everyone's turned out horribly. One of the great things about this disc that I did like was the sound quality. The picture and sound on this Blu-ray are what you would expect for any disc. I liked the picture quality of the Blu-ray as well. This is not a film that you need to see in Blu-ray so a DVD will suffice. The special features are nothing special, and almost non-existent on The Double.
In Conclusion, this story has been done better in so many other films. I would highly recommend you see a film called No Way Out, which has great performances by Kevin Costner and Gene Hackman. Too few action sequences, pacing that can't quite get into gear, and the poorly-matched cast make this a forgettable film. I am glad that I skipped this film in theaters; The Double is a film that I can easily see on FX or AMC in a few years.