DOUBLE THREAT (2022)

DOUBLE THREAT (2022)

Tagline: Those who chase her will pay the price.

(Action, Comedy, Jimmy Just Wants a Snack) [PG-13]

Note: This movie was not given an MPA rating, but very likely would have landed a PG-13. 

Who sends a death squad to rob a cashier?

In this one, Jimmy is just trying to deliver his brother's ashes to the coast. He stops at a convenience store where the cashier Natasha ends up in a shootout with the mob. She had been working for them but was skimming off the profits while working at the store which was a cover. Natasha and Jimmy take off in Jimmy’s truck much to his dismay and discovers that Natasha has a split personality. Meanwhile, they are being chased by Natasha’s ex-boyfriend who is the mob boss’s son, and a dangerous killer named Ask. 

This thing kind of reminds me of RUN & GUN. It’s really not meant to be a serious action film. There is a little bit of heart hear with a twist. The main protagonist has a split personality so it gives this film a little depth that we don’t really get in most B-movie low-budget action flicks. I have read some complaints about the acting, but I am not sure what people were expecting here. It is what it is, there really isn’t any bad acting. It’s meant to be a light-hearted action comedy, at least until the final act. 

What I can understand is any complaints about Danielle C. Ryan’s (HAUNT) role as Natasha. She doesn’t really give me that split personality vibe and I have met a lot of them over the years. Just switching your tone doesn’t really tell the audience you have a split personality. It just tells you that when you want to be serious, you can be serious. That is literally just normal behavior. Imagine you are just taking it easy and talking normally at work, then your boss walks into the meeting, and your demeanor changes. That is pretty much what the director has Danielle doing here. What she does do well is pull off the action parts of this film with ease. Kevin Joy (NIGHT TRAIN) is fine in this as Ellis, but he seems to be going for a Ryan Reynolds feel at times, and other times he just seems agitated. I think he’s a decent villain when he needs to be. Matthew Lawrence is decent as Jimmy, but I have definitely seen him in better roles. The chemistry between Jimmy and Natasha is solid though. Unlike in HYDRA Dawn Olivieri does get some great lines in this as “Ask”. I am not always a fan of her stuff, but this was a really fun one out of her until the film gets more serious in the final act. 

I am not trying to trick you into thinking the acting was great. It’s not. It’s just “okay”, but it's definitely not bad. I also really liked the kind of quirky storyline. I am sure this movie isn’t going to blow up popularity-wise, but they did set up things for a second installment. 

What is pretty strong about this thing is the soundtrack. It’s got a little bit of everything. The pacing is really good. Where this thing pretty much fails is during the action sequences regarding the choreography. There are way too many scenes where the characters are practically standing right in front of each other and are supposed to be trained killers, but don’t hit anything? It’s like they went back in time and borrowed a bunch of Stormtroopers from the set of STAR WARS. There is also a sequence where Jimmy tells Tasha she shot at a truck and it exploded, but that never happened. Maybe that was supposed to be in the movie, but they just left it out? I have no idea. 

Overall this is actually a pretty fun movie that isn’t super over the top. In a crowded field of B-movie action flicks, this was very watchable. DOUBLE THREAT gets a 4 out of 7 in spite of its issues. The dialog alone is worth it. This is also another one of those films greatly aided by its soundtrack as I alluded to earlier.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF ROLLING THUNDER FILMS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.