Double Bang

This movie comes nicely packaged with a particularly fine cast, superb production design and a wonderful jazz score. It's actually a convincing take on the methodologies behind both criminal and law-enforcement corruption. While it's not an original concept, it's one well handled here, with an adult sensibility and emotional honesty that makes it worthwhile viewing. Jon Seda shines.

This is an example of the latter-day version of the "B" movie -- the direct-to-video/cable job. As such, if you don't mind cheapness (New York City seems to be portrayed by a small town in Canada) or occasional silliness, it's pretty good. William Baldwin is noble as a cop contending with a corrupt partner (an effectively scary Adam Baldwin) and a murderous joker of a bad guy (Jon Seda having a heck of a time). He falls for a threatened witness, a shrink played with soulful intelligence -- no kidding -- by Elizabeth Mitchell. There's even a nasty hit man haunted by the memory of his musician father. The Baldwin/Mitchell dialog scenes are quite acceptable, and Seda makes your heart race whenever he's on camera. This movie stretches to encompass a theme of redemption and loss, film-noir style, and just about manages it. The action scenes, such as they are, suffer from budget stretching. A bad guy is running away from cops; after he runs half a block, nobody's chasing him anymore. But the conviction of the actors makes it work. Warner Brothers might have produced something like this to play on double bills, and the audiences would've come away satisfied.

The character played by Jon Seda was believble, and I think he did an excellent job. I like Bill Baldwin, and tuned in because of him. However, I feel Jon Seda stole the whole show. He is a very talented actor, and I hope he receives the credits he deserve in the very near future.

"Double Bang" is a B-flick now buried in channel clutter on cable. The film has the usual cop flick ingredients including a good cop, a bad cop, a babe, some heavies, drugs, murder, yadayadayada. Although the story is nothing new, the flick dose manage to muster a kind of personality...a sort of likability as it doesn't take itself too seriously, doesn't always do what's expected, passes on opportunities to titillate, and the bad guy laughs all the way to the grave. An okay watch for channel surfers into crime flicks if expectations are kept within reason. (C)

Direct to video faster than a speeding cliche, "Double Bang" lumbers along its inevitable, well-worn path with an equal measure of indignation and gratuitous foreplay for what must have been its intended audience- Japanese recluses of WWII who stumbled out of the jungle- unfamiliar with this beaten beyond recognition convoluted plot structure. The film reeks suspiciously as being a "deal-slammer", employment contracts are satisfied as long as 90-minutes of old-hat noir goulash is smeared across the small-screen. The cast, especially the reliable Baldwins, radiate a smugness that neither appeals, or convinces. This tale was stale when Charles Ogle was headlining around America in the 1910 version of "Frankenstein". Hard to imagine less "bang" for your video store buck.