The Double (2011)

“If the Russians used their women instead of missiles, we’d be wearing furry hats right now.” – Paul Sheperdson

Number of Times Seen – Twice (10 Jan 2012 and 15 Jul 2020)

Brief Synopsis – A retired CIA agent is brought back to help try and find a Russian assassin who has been off the radar for twenty years.

My Take on it – This is a film that I saw not long after it came out yet didn’t remember anything about, so I decided to refresh my memory.

I have always loved these kind of thrillers so I was expecting something quite entertaining.

The story starts off really well and works in the cat and mouse chase set up in the plot, yet, in order to try and feel too unique, they add in a few plot contrivances which ruin everything along the way.

Richard Gere and Topher Grace are both great actors, but the way that they create these characters just doesn’t manage to work well enough despite the fact that they both help keep the viewer’s hopes up that things will get better.

The story feels a bit too rushed in certain places and the fact that other scenes feel glossed over also make things even more confusing because it seems as if there are too many plot holes in the story.

In addition, there are a few scenes (like the baseball one) which seem completely extraneous and serve no purpose whatsoever and they end up raising the question as to why they were included even.

Overall, this is a great idea, but the kind of twists and turns added to the plot make things far too confusing and convoluted and that takes away so much from the potential that this story has.

Bottom Line – Intriguing thriller that starts off really well, but then it tries too hard to add in some twists and turns that make the story more convoluted and strange. Gere and Grace are both great actors and help keep this story afloat despite the various contrivances along the way. The story in certain places feels too rushed and there are plot points that seem glossed over which make things even more confusing. There are also scenes added to the story that make so little sense to the overall plot and make one question why they were even included.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Filming was halted for six weeks after Richard Gere dislocated his shoulder during a fight sequence with Tamer Hassan. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy (5/10)