Double Team Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Double Team Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 21, 2021

Tsui Hark's "Double Team" (1997) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors 88 Films. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critic Audi Sorlie and sports writer Chris Ling as well as vintage trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Let's go get Stavros

My impression is that very few mainstream critics that produced negative reviews of Double Team understood what type of film it was conceived to be. I always thought that this was very, very odd, but at the same time not unexpected. It was odd because during its opening credits you can see Tsui Hark’s name mentioned twice, which is a huge red flag. Naturally, right at that moment mainstream critics should have prepared to see a very different film. But it was not unexpected that they failed to do so because virtually all of them did not know who Tsui Hark was. I am sorry, but this is a fact that has to be stated because it explains precisely why they went on the warpath and tried to destroy the film. Indeed, while they did it in different ways, they all concluded that the film is so ridiculous that it cannot possibly be taken seriously, which was supposed to be an unforgivable flaw. The late and great critic Roger Ebert, for instance, called the film “preposterous” and “strange” at the very top of his review, and then proceeded to explain why it does not make any sense. Well, imagine viewing Mel Brooks’ History of the World: Part I and wondering why it does not behave like a serious documentary. Could it be that it was not conceived to be one? Now imagine viewing Tsui Hark’s Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain, Mad Mission 3: Our Man From Bond Street, All the Wrong Clues, and The Master and then concluding that Double Team is a humongous misfire. Folks, Double Team embodies absolutely everything that makes Tsui Hark’s work special, which begins with supersized excess and ends with complete disregard of conventional logic. This is the director’s modus operandi, and if you don’t get it, you can’t possibly judge his work.

Special agent Jack Quinn (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is summoned to neutralize Stavros (Mickey Rourke), a notoriously elusive international terrorist. Quinn reluctantly agrees and shortly after assembles a team of pros that successfully track down Stavros while he is getting ready to meet his little boy. When Quinn hesitates to pull the trigger, Stavros escapes, but during the chaos his boy is killed. Seriously injured and disgraced, Quinn is then “deactivated” and transported to a remote, heavily guarded island called The Colony, where he is asked to make a difficult decision: stay alive on the island and work with other “dead” special agents who solve terrorist acts on behalf of different governments, or die in peace. Quinn chooses life, but his wife and the rest of the world are told that he died while trying to nab Stavros. While recovering and working for his new employers, Quinn then accidentally discovers that Stavros knows that he is alive at The Colony and plans to avenge the death of his son by kidnapping and murdering his pregnant wife. At the right moment, Quinn escapes from the island and returns to civilization determined to foil Stavros’ plan, and while looking for him teams up with the seriously eccentric arms dealer Yaz (Dennis Rodman).

Believe it or not, one of the biggest compliments you can give Double Team is to say that it is actually one of the most coherent action films Tsui Hark has directed to date. Indeed, you can easily tell why its stars engage each other and why they risk their lives in all kinds of deadly situations. The action of course is beyond unhinged and this is the key reason why the mainstream critics trashed the film, but it is where Tsui Hark typically excels. He produces cinematic kitsch that is very colorful and attractive, and nine out of ten times seriously funny as well.

The Worm’s involvement with Double Team and the inevitable R-rating should have inspired Tsui Hark to shoot a lot more skin content of the type that made Andy Sidaris’ action thrillers famous, but unfortunately the focus of attention is strictly on the flashy shootouts and explosions. (It appears that at some point The Worm actually did expect that he would be contributing to precisely that kind of a wild and kinky action film because he teamed up with Crystal Waters for the very revealing track “Just a Freak”. His elves at the night club add plenty of credibility to the theory as well).

Double Team Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.36:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Double Team arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films.

The release is sourced from older master that was supplied by Sony Pictures. Its contrast is elevated a bit and this is the main reason why the film looks slightly harsher than it should, but this isn't the type of appearance that you would get from an older and problematic Universal master. Most close-ups for instance can look rather nice, and during darker footage the issue becomes difficult to spot. Daylight panoramic footage is usually where it becomes easy to see that depth and delineation can be better, but even there you won't encounter serious anomalies. The color scheme is stable. In certain areas highlights can be improved, but I think that if a proper new 4K master is created its color scheme will be very, very similar. Image stability is good. A few tiny dirt spots can be spotted, but there are no distracting large debris, cuts, marks, warped or torn frames to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Double Team Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

If the folks at Sony Pictures ever decided to remaster the film in 4K and produce a brand new Dolby Atmos track, you should be able to use their release to measure the muscles of your audio system. Why? Because Double Team offers more than enough action footage with the type of surround activity and other audio effects that can be used to test any modern system. The current 5.1 track is very solid, but perhaps it can be optimized to produce even superior sharpness because it just feels like it can be even more aggressive. Nevertheless, it serves the film really, really well.

Double Team Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - vintage U.S. trailer for Double Team. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Commentary - in this new audio commentary, action cinema aficionado and game producer Audi Sorlie and sports writer Chris Ling have a lot to say about Tsui Hark's career, the conception of Double Team, Dennis Rodman's involvement with the film and trends during the '90s involving athletes, the quality of the action, some of the problems with the narrative construction (and specifically the island sequence), Crystal Waters' music, etc. The commentary was recorded exclusively for 88 Films. A very nice commentary.

• Booklet - 20-page illustrated booklet featuring James Oliver's essay "Hoop Dreams: The Bonkers World of Double Team".

• Poster - mini-replica of the original theatrical poster for Double Team.

Double Team Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Double Team should have borrowed a bit of the NC-17 kitsch that defines Showgirls and together they would have been the undisputed trash masterpieces of the '90s. I am convinced that the only reason it did not turn out to be that kind of a kinky action film is because it was supposed to launch Tsui Hark's international career. I don't agree with the popular opinion that it is a giant misfire. I think that it embodies absolutely everything that makes Tsui Hark's work special, which begins with supersized excess and ends with complete disregard of conventional logic. 88 Films' release features a very nice exclusive new audio commentary by critic Audi Sorlie and sports writer Chris Ling, so if you like the film pick up a copy for your library. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.