I wrote about MVD Rewind’s excellent blu-ray release of Double Impact a few years ago, but when they announced a 4K release (out this week), I knew I had to revisit it. And what better movie to double dip than Double Impact.
Before I get into the specifics of the release, I wanted to get into the movie itself. This is one of my favorite Van Damme movies of all time; it’s up there with Bloodsport and Kickboxer, and that’s the highest praise I can give a JCVD movie. I feel like it gets forgotten as “one of the twin movies” by fans, since he went back to the well two more times (Maximum Risk and Replicant), but this was the first and best effort (and Maximum Risk shouldn’t count as much since his twin dies at the beginning, and Replicant is technically a clone movie).
The twin aspect is a big selling point for me. I like good guy Van Damme well enough, but anti-hero or, better yet, evil Van Damme is even better. The darker twin in this, Alex, is not evil, but he’s pissed off most of the time, and he has some problematic tendencies like drinking, jealousy, and violence. It truly shows Van Damme’s range, and he would go on to give some of his best performances when allowed to be the bad guy (The Expendables 2, Replicant). Double Impact allowed him to have a bit of fun with his image.
Double Impact was also a chance to move beyond straight martial arts movies. Bloodsport, Kickboxer, and Lionheart are all great, but how many times can Van Damme simply fight in a tournament (a few more, it turns out, but oh well)? This was meant to be a blending of the martial arts genre and a straight action movie with plenty of gunplay and explosions. The poster promises as much: “One packs a punch. One packs a piece.” It turns out both twins pack both punches and pieces, but the intent was there. And the hand to hand fights are still the highlight of the film, but the bigger action set pieces do not disappoint.
Revisiting this new 4K release just confirmed how I’ve always felt about this movie: two Van Dammes are better than one.
The 4K Release
First off, MVD Rewind knocked it out of the park years ago with the blu-ray release for this film. It looked great, and the special features were abundant, with the stand out being the lengthy two-part documentary. All of that is still included here, along with the 4K disc.
This isn’t one of those night and day or at long last releases, but this is obviously the best this film has ever, and most likely will ever look. Any serious Van Damme fan should consider the upgrade. And if you don’t already have the blu-ray release, then going with the 4K is a no-brainer.
MVD Rewind knows their audience. Beyond the specific special features for the film, they cater to the nostalgia of the time. The disc begins with a faux-VHS intro, and the slipcover has an old poster look. (For those who prefer a crisp image, both sides of the reversible case cover are crisp.) It seems almost silly to have these VHS affectations for such a technologically advanced transfer of the film, but I like getting the best of both worlds. I’m not one of those people that embrace VHS (though I am more into vinyl than digital music, so what the fuck do I know?), but I do appreciate little nods to the world I grew up in while I enjoy the classics of my childhood in full modern glory.
Random Thoughts
Chad's clothes are hilarious. I know they were going for an opposite situation, but god damn!
Only Van Damme would take someone out “stealthily” by roundhouse kicking them in the face.
This was Van Damme’s attempt to move beyond just martial arts and into more gunplay, and it shows when he does the rolling-on-the-ground-while-shooting thing. Always happy to see that pulled off unironically.
You know you're evil if you party at a place called the Klimax Klub.
Van Damme even fucks in slow motion.
“Brother? Why, because he looks like me? I’m going to change that because I’m going to fuck up his face.”
That boat at the end had video game amounts of exploding barrels on it.
And who the fuck was the electrician on that boat? Just backing into a fuse box electrocutes you? Hong Kong was wild back then.
Say what you will about Griffith and Zhang, but at least they’re the type of villains to get their hands dirty and not leave things up to their minions. They want to be near the action. I mean, it’s stupid as shit on their part, but still, good for them.
Container ships are always a good choice for the ending of an action movie.
“What about my father?” What about your mother, too, Alex? You know, she did take a fucking shotgun blast to the face in front of her infant children.
As Zhang falls to his death, you see a regular worker watching. Dude must’ve been showing up early for day shift and walked into chaos. Imagine just showing up to work to run a crane or whatever and some random twins just fucked up your entire workplace seeking justice for royalties on a tunnel. Do you get royalties for tunnels? What were they entitled to, again?