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Ghost Canyon

'The Double'
(Richard Gere, Topher Grace, Martin Sheen, Stephen Moyer, Odette Yustman, et al / DVD / PG-13 / (2011) 2012 / IMAGE Entertainment)

Overview: Richard Gere, a retired CIA agent is called back from retirement to find a Soviet assassin believed to have been dead. A senator was murdered with the killer using the same MO as codename "Cassius," a former Russian agent assassin who was never caught.

DVD Verdict: My goodness, talk about a film with not only one but two red herrings AND a twist so never-saw-it-coming that you will be shaking your head! Early on Gere's character is paired with Topher Grace (That 70's Show), a young desk jockey from the FBI. You see, Topher studied "Cassius" and wrote his thesis on him. Indeed, he believes "Cassius" is still alive and retired in the US - and is the recent killer.

Gere claims it is a copycat killer and does not want to work with Topher. Well, we all know what happens in these kinds of films, they get paired together and fight crime as a beloved duo!

As pointed out, there is an early plot twist (that you won't see coming, trust me!), but it all comes powerfully full circle later in the film. And although there is that massive twist at the end, it truly could have had more dire consequences to both Gere and the plot - but lacked a razor's edge to it, sorry.

Anyway, even though Topher lacks field experience he is fairly savvy. And as they seek out "Cassius" bodies start to accumulate. The always-brilliant, and still looking young Martin Sheen plays the head of the CIA. While an early mystery is solved for us, there are others that exist, trust me!

There are action scenes, killings, and drama and along the way the acting was top notch throughout. I actually had two friends that were extras on the film, the sidewalk scene in particular, and they made me aware that most all the film was shot here in Detroit - nowhere near a) France or b) Washington, D.C.!

A great accompanying soundtrack, which had a mild Russian pagan metal vibe with a nice backbone drum beat included makes this whole visual undertaking so much more wonderful. Hence, 'The Double' is a very decent spy drama rental, unless you were an extra in it and then you need to add it to your personal collections, of course! This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.77:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

Producer Interviews
Trailer
Commentary with Michael Brandt (Director/Writer) and Derek Haas (Writer)

www.image-entertainment.com







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