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The
Double
is a new twist on an
old movie. It’s not
a remake, but we’ve
seen spy movies
before. Happily, I’m
just not so sure
that we’ve seen spy
movies like this
before. Oddly
enough,
The
Double
is one of the best
suspense/movies that
I’ve seen in a
while. It doesn’t
try too hard to be
something it’s not
and takes a new
approach to spy
movies. The acting
in this movie is
great with Richard
Gere, Martin Sheen,
and Topher Grace
leading the way.
Director Michael
Brandt did a great
job too. But while
Brandt’s direction
is terrific, the
writing of the
script that he did
with Derek Haas (who
also co-produced the
movie) is terrific.
Michael Brandt and
Derek Haas get major
points for their
work as writers
(they’ve written
3:10
to Yuma
and
Wanted
before this) and
Image Entertainment
gets some major
points for a solid
release.
The
Double
is set in Washington
D.C. and it talks
about there being
more tension than
ever between Russia
and the U.S.
Apparently there are
more Russian spies
in the U.S. than at
any other time in
history. The
suspicious death of
a U.S. senator who
routinely
communicated and did
business with
Russians is the peak
of the drama and at
the center of
The
Double.
The death of the
senator is
suspicious because
it’s done in a way
that suggests a
notorious Russian
hit man by the name
of Cassi us did it.
With Cassius out of
retirement, the CIA
and FBI get the man
who was in charge of
tracking him down in
the 80’s. That man
is Paul Shepherdson
and he’s played by
Richard Gere.
Shepherdson gets
teamed up with a
young FBI agent by
the name of Ben
Geary (Topher Grace)
and together they
set out to track
down Cassius and
find out why he’s
come out of hiding.
Again, the script
here is terrific.
It’s what makes this
movie so watchable
the first time
around and it makes
it worth watching
again the second
time to notice the
subtle tips to
what’s going on
through the entire
movie. On those
tips, there are nods
to what’s going on
but at the same time
Haas and Brandt
immediately give
some things away and
don’t try and hide
certain plot points
in the movie. They
give you something
shocking, make it
something obvious,
and then they add
some more shock once
the initial shock of
what’s going on sets
in… yes, I know
that’s a lot of
shock. That’s why
The
Double
is a great movie…
it’s because it was
wonderfully written.
There’s not a ton of
extra material on
this Blu-ray
release. There’s a
15-20 minute making
of feature that’s
worth a watch and
then a producer’s
commentary that’s
pretty insightful
too. That’s really
all there is on the
Blu-ray but it’s
worth checking out
after you watch this
awesome film.
I
didn’t go into
The
Double
with high
expectations. I
thought that it was
going to be a
typical
run-of-the-mill
thriller. There’s
nothing typical
about the movie’s
plotline. If
anything they made
it a tad too
confusing in a
couple of places.
The
Double
is something that
you should
definitely give a
chance, I know I’m
happy I did.
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