Load of rubbish!!

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Disclaimer: If you are a viewer that mainly prefers art-house-type movies, then you might as well ignore this review. In addition, if you're not able to take an Van Damme underrated, bashed, hated solid action film, ignore this review, as well. We'll both be better off.Double Team (1997) alongside with Knock Off (1998) is very underrated, bashed and hated movie, mostly for Van Damme performance. This film has received a lot of negative reviews and was a box office fail. I understand why people does not like this movie, I understand and I like it! It is not one of my top 10 favorite Van Damme movies, but I like it, even more than Knock Off. I have always enjoyed this film more than Knock Off. Double Team was Van Damme's first time filming with Chinese film director Tsui Hark, because one year later, they both made together Knock Off another underrated action movie. In my opinion beside Van Damme, Mickey Rourke and Dennis Rodman both of the actors did a solid job and performance together playing their characters. There was a lot of explosions, a lot of action scenes, and a lot of martial arts shown from Van Damme and Mickey Rourke. I like the idea, When Jack Quinn (Jean-Claude Van Damme), a former counterterrorist agent fails to catch alive a terrorist leader Stavros (Mickey Rourke) and accidentally one of his Agent's kills Stavros 6.year old son, Jack Quinn is exiled to colony for dead agents on an empty deserted island and their is no escape from this island. Stavros plot's vengeance against Quinn and takes his wife Kathryn (Natacha Lindinger ) as a hostage and her unborn child now Quinn has to escape and team with Jaz (Dennis Rodman) to get his wife back and Stavros once and for all. I love the training sequences and the music score for the movie. I liked the performance from Van Damme and Rodman, I don't think they acted stupid in this movie, they did not! I bagged my aunt to tape me this movie on VHS, when I was a teen and she did. I like this movie a lot, I like the shoot outs. Double Team was also one of my favorite Van Damme movies. Dennis Rodman and Mickey Rourke co started in this movie. About an CIA agent who misses his target and finds him self on an island for a retired agents and he finds out that his target Stavros kidnapped his wife and his unborn baby and he plans to kill them both unless Quinn escapes. Training and action sequences are excellent and Double Team is also Van Damme's action movie that I like. It is an explosive, high-tech ride. Mickey Rourke was a good bad guy. I really had no idea Paul Freeman was in this movie, he was so awesome in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), I really had no idea he was in this movie as Quinn's guardian. I like when Van Damme fight's off the tiger in the coliseum, those scenes with the tiger where fantastic. I liked that Rodman helped Quinn saving his baby, when the baby case was standing on a mine filed and Rodman saved him. The fights between Mickey Rourke and Van Damme weren't that good, but they were not that bad either. Van Damme and Mickey Rourke both differently worked in The Expendables movies. Rourke in The Expendables and Van Damme in The Expendables 2. Double Team is a 1997 action film that marked the first American movie directed by Hong Kong director Tsui Hark (A Better Tomorrow III). The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Jack Quinn, a former counterterrorist agent who is exiled to a penal colony for disgraced operatives. Upon his escape, Quinn teams with an arms dealer to track down the terrorist who ruined his life. The film co-stars Dennis Rodman, Paul Freeman, and Mickey Rourke. Director Hark would later collaborate with Van Damme in 1998's Knock Off. This movie get's 6 by me, I wish I would have this movie on Blu-ray, I am probably the only one that just likes this movie. Much better than Knock Off! The training sequences from Van Damme where really kick ass and the action stunts from Van Damme where solid, so they weren't bad. Sorry Double Team is not your movie, that's okay I like it. 6/10 Grade: C- Studio: Columbia Pictures Corporation, Mandalay Entertainment Film Workshop Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dennis Rodman, Paul Freeman, Mickey Rourke, Natacha Lindinger Director: Tsui Hark Producers: Moshe Diamant, David Rodgers Screenplay: Don Jakoby, Paul Mones Rated: R Running Time: 1 Hr. 33 Mins. Budget: $30.000.000 Box Office: $11,438,337

I grew up with the movies of Jean Claude Van Damme, and I must say that not every movie he has been involved in has been all that great. And "Double Team" certainly was a swing and a miss.So what doesn't work here? Well the storyline for starters. It wasn't really all that interesting. Sure it was semi-entertaining for what it was; a mediocre action movie. And the misplaced attempts at humor didn't really work in favor of the movie.Jean Claude Van Damme delivers his usual action and martial arts, but the script didn't give him much to Work with. But the abysmal choice of Dennis Rodman to star alongside Van Damme was just wrong on so many levels. Dennis Rodman is devoid of anything that even remotely resembles acting talent. And the constant change of his hair color was just downright annoying.The action sequences are well-choreographed and equally so executed on the screen, but it is hardly enough to salvage this train-wreck of a movie.There are other far better Van Damme movies out there.

My first thought after I watched this movie was, that the cast were made before the storyline. It seems as if the focus is on showing the audience what a cool guy Rodman is and what a hard and powerful guy van Damme is. The story is therefor not so necessary. The main characters are even for a action-movie niggling. There are the supporting characters quit more interesting like a martial-arts fighter in the hotel with a knife between his toes or the character of Goldsmythe, awesome played by Paul Freeman. But as I said, this movie was made for van Damme and Rodman and not for actors.The action-scenes are moving between "already seen in other action-movies" and ridiculous. Especially the ending with a tiger and a product placement for a soft drink company appeals unwanted funny.

i can totally understand why some van damme fans don't like this movie, i mean apart from the cast, and the story, its a hong kong action movie, and anybody who knows anything about action cinema, know they are the kings of it. tsu hark is a brilliant director 'once upon a time in china', but i didn't think much of his other van damme collaboration 'knock off'. but gladly this movie is a lot better, and offers some top notch action, and fight scenes. sure dennis rodman looks out of place, but any movie with a smackdown vs van damme and micky rourke cant be anything but great. now a lot of the bad reviews commented on how far fetched it is, and believe me it is, but arnt most hong kong films. never the less i think its a brilliant action movie and one of van damme's best movies of the 90's i recommend