Double Identity

Probably one of the lamest movies I have sat through in recent memory and only exhaustion kept me from finding something else. Val Kilmer has gotten so heavy I worried about him stroking out while trying to run through the woods in an early scene. Then when I realized the movie made no effort at real athletic stunts, I quit worrying. The so-called passion between the 2 stars was the most imaginary part of the whole movie. It was so imaginary, in fact, it was nonexistent. The plot was so convoluted that for awhile I was tricked into believing it was complex. By the end I realized it was just confused. The only reason I am wasting my time writing this review, is to keep you from wasting your time watching this movie. You have been warned.

A disappointing film. I actually enjoyed Val Kilmer's the Saint (pacy action, use of gadgets) however corny it may have been, so I hoped for something similar with this, ie a couple of hours of light relief. Sadly this film is unremarkable, a 'me-too' 80's thriller that covers ground that already so familiar from previous Eastern European / spy / cold war movies. The authentic settings catch your interest at the start but there is nothing in the plot to hold this. The girl is beautiful but the men are all clichés. I considered walking out and going for a pizza, several times, but hope kept me in my seat, mistakenly. At the end I walked out muttering about 2 hours of my life wasted.

Although this is low budget thriller with some little goofs, I found this movie extremely entertaining and surprising.

Val Kilmer might have become a slow and fat guy, but he is still a very charismatic and talented actor and is credible in his role as a hesitating and nervous doctor who becomes more and more determined to find the pieces of a mysterious and complicated puzzle even if he could have played his role with a little bit more emotions. The charming and beautiful Izabelle Miko does also a great job as a "femme fatale" and double-agent in troubles. Bulgaria is an interesting shooting place for this movie and presents us a little bit of a foreign culture and city.

Concerning the story line, this movie has several surprises and is sometimes difficult to follow with all its intrigues, conspiracies and double-agents. I think that the story is well elaborated and deserves us some surprises and twists. That's maybe why many people don't understand the goals of some organizations. But if you watch this movie with more attention again and do not concentrate on the question if the cars are more recent than 1992 when the story is settled (who really cares) or if several criminals speak in Russian (by the way, it is logical that especially the Russian criminals tried to get a better life elsewhere after the downfall of communism and the creation of many "new" countries), you might understand more and more all the details and connections in this well done agent movie.

This movie is surely nothing innovating or extremely suspenseful, but good entertainment and a twisted and surprising movie with two interesting main actors.

It doesn't seem that long ago that Val Kilmer was a big star appearing in major Hollywood movies - it's kind of sad to see that just about all of his recent work has been for the straight-to-DVD market. And in these films (and this one), he appears to have put on some weight, looking somewhat puffy and tired. Actually, aside from that, he doesn't have much to be ashamed about for this particular straight-to-DVD movie. It has its faults - the story is set in 1992 for no apparent reason, Kilmer's character is not properly introduced, and for a thriller, the movie is surprisingly calm - it could have used with a bit more juice in its narrative and a few exciting action scenes. Still, the movie is professionally filmed, a trademark of Millennium Films/Nu Image, and it's nice to see one of their shot-in-Bulgaria movies actually set in Bulgaria! And while the movie could have been more engaging, it does manage to set up a mystery that keeps you watching - there's never a time I could consider anywhere near boring. No, don't seek it out, but if it comes on TV during a slow day, you could do worse.

Val Kilmer, looking nice and swank, heavier... but I still miss the old days when he played roles like the Saint. Then, we saw a much sharper, expressive, and exciting Kilmer. In this movie, Kilmer plays a doctor who becomes mistaken for a secret agent/diamond dealer, with the usual nefarious consequences. The story does try to keep you interested till the very end, but I felt Kilmer was a bit of a letdown.

The movie takes place in Bulgaria, not Chechenya, and from there, moves to Prague. Most of the supporting actors seem to be slavic, but they all acted well. I could find no fault there. The girl, Katrine (Izabella Miko) is beautiful and acted well too.

The main plot is not about saving anyone mysterious, nor protecting her from assailants. The girl is a secret double agent, working both for a British group seeking to control a diamond cartel, and the Bulgarian/Czech people who also want control of the same. The girl bumps into Kilmer, while running from being captured taking pictures for the Brits, kiss to make believe it was intentional to shake them off, and that begins a love affair, so strong, both were willing to risk their lives for the other. Whether or not you believe this is highly improbable depends on your definition of the word, but that is the plot, in a nutshell.

This is not to say that the movie is just a frivolous jamboree of hastily made-up story lines. No, it was OK, considering the story is nothing new, and similar plots have been used many times before. It would be a mistake to compare this movie with older ones of similar ideas, such as 007 Diamonds Are Forever. Such movies were a tour de force. It would be an injustice to make such comparisons, so the best thing to do, I guess, is just to take this one as a standalone, and judge it by its own merit. Doing so, it is not a shining accomplishment, but neither does it fail miserably.

So, bottom line: "will I like it?" If you like this kind of plot, it will keep you interested, but you'll have to follow the story carefully to avoid becoming confused. I know I did until I started doing some facial recognition. Despite the blasé storyline, it's not a bad waste of time.