Double Tap

It doesn't sound like much. A direct-to-video flick with a generic title, starring Heather Locklear. However, Stephen Rea -not the type of actor you would expect in this kind of movie- gives a full-fledged characterization of a hit-man with a conscience and idiosyncratic habits (and I don't mean the double tap to the head of each of his victims; his other skills include gardening...). His relationship with the FBI agent played by Heather Locklear rings true. Add to this a flamboyant directorial style and a good soundtrack, and you get one of the better B movies of the year. Rating: 7.

Double Tap was a film relegated to HBO's cheesy Friday night premieres and that's a shame because it deserved so much more. It stars Heather Locklear (!), no I did not stutter, as a FBI agent involved in a sting operation who gets caught in the middle of a hitman's grocery list, seemingly he's taking down all the drug dealers in town. Along for the ride is Kevin Gage and Mykelti Williamson from Heat and the great Peter Greene. What distinguishes this effort is its terse dialogue, vivid characterizations, and stylish camera moves (loved the score by Moby). Double Tap should be held as a model for what a B movie low on cash but high on content can do. And Premiere magazine liked Montana, ha! This is the real deal folks.

So I came back after a fulfilling Thursday night, only to sit down for one of the best movies I've seen (regardless of the budget) in quite some time. Locklear fits the role to a tee...and this is coming from a guy whose mother tortured him by watching General Hospital after baseball practice EVERY SINGLE time! Rae demonstrates a keen role that made me shiver and relate at the same time. Even the cinematography was exceptional. A little over the edge at times with the one-liners, this mind-game of a flick still let's you laugh at the dark-humored, though deeply plotted, script. If you're going to watch this, watch it for the dialogue as much as you watch it for the action...and Heather, that's a really neat tatoo... <3

DOUBLE TAP features Heather Locklear in a much grittier than usual role. As FBI agent, Katherine Hanson, she finds herself up against a mysterious hitman whose signature is that of the title.

Hanson and her team must track this person, before every other criminal in town winds up dead! This gets complicated when Hanson gets a bit too close to her quarry.

This is a surprisingly effective thriller, and Ms. Locklear is far better than one might, at first, expect.

Actually, the only complaint is due to the lighting. The late 1990's ushered in the whole every-scene-must-be-dark phenomenon. This film is no exception. So, unless the characters are outside, in full sunlight, they're always cloaked in smoky, shadowy dimness! Even in the daytime! Ugh!

In spite of this, the movie is recommended...

Yet another movie that I had never heard about prior to sitting down to watch it. So I suppose writers Erik Saltzgaber, Alfred Gough, Miles Millar and director Greg Yaitanes had every opportunity to entertain and impress me with this 1997 crime thriller.

The writers put together a fair enough script that started out nicely and actually kept a good pace throughout the course of the movie. It was an interesting storyline, though it was a bit generic. I am not saying that it was a bad thing, but I just could have wished for a couple of twists to the storyline along the way, to thrown a curveball at the audience and thus make it less generic. But it definitely was an entertaining enough movie and watchable movie.

The cast ensemble in the movie is quite good. I have to say that I didn't believe that Heather Locklear was capable of carrying a movie such as this with her acting talent. But she proved me wrong, because she definitely carried the role and the movie quite nicely. The movie also has the likes of Mykelti Williamson, Stephen Rea, Terrence Howard, Peter Greene, Robert LaSardo and A Martinez on the cast list. So you have some familiar faces on the screen. The acting performances in "Double Tap" were good.

While "Double Tap" was watchable, I have to say that I doubt that the movie will ever grace my screen a second time. Why? Well, because there just simply wasn't enough meat on the storyline, and the generic aspect of the narrative just doesn't support more than a single viewing.

My rating of director Greg Yaitanes's 1997 movie "Double Tap" lands on a five out of ten stars.