DRIBBLE OF HUMOR NOT ENOUGH FOR `DOUBLE TEAM'.Byline: David Hunter David Hunter (July 21 1802 – February 2 1886) was a Union general in the American Civil War. He achieved fame by his unauthorized 1862 order (immediately rescinded) emancipating slaves in three Southern states and as the president of the military commission trying the Hollywood Reporter Badly in need of more humor and humanity, like that found in his best Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. pop. 6,899,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Guangdong prov. features, Tsui Hark's long-awaited big-budget debut, ``Double Team,'' is doubly problematic. Beyond a few sequences with some of the Hark hark intr.v. harked, hark·ing, harks To listen attentively. Idiom: hark back To return to a previous point, as in a narrative. magic and the formidable presence of NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= superstar Dennis Rodman, the Sony Pictures release is not exactly an airball, but it bounces around the rim and finally fails to go in. The track record of emergent Hong Kong filmmakers working with Jean-Claude Van Damme and producer Moshe Diamant is anything but inspiring - John Woo's ``Hard Target'' and Ringo Lam's ``Maximum Risk'' were both tepidly received by fans and failed to generate much heat. The same will happen to ``Double Team.'' Hark has made some of the finest Hong Kong features of the past 20-odd years (``Peking Opera Blues,'' ``Once Upon a Time in China''), and he's been involved with more than 50 features as director, producer, writer and/or actor. But Hark struggles with the material here, and Van Damme plays another cold, barely articulate hero. There is a halfhearted half·heart·ed adj. Exhibiting or feeling little interest, enthusiasm, or heart; uninspired: a halfhearted attempt at writing a novel. attempt to personalize the mayhem, with Van Damme's crack counterterrorist coun·ter·ter·ror adj. Intended to prevent or counteract terrorism: counterterror measures; counterterror weapons. n. Action or strategy intended to counteract or suppress terrorism. on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of retirement and looking forward to quieter days with his wife (Natacha Lindinger). ``Double Team'' tips off with a big chase scene as Quinn (Van Damme) drives a ``super truck'' with stolen plutonium through and over numerous obstacles. Not long after, by the pool with his pregnant mate, Quinn is called upon to vanquish a ruthless international terrorist and is told: ``You can't retire until he dies.'' This perfunctory setup leads to an early showdown with said terrorist Stavros (Mickey Rourke) at an amusement park amusement park, a commercially operated park offering various forms of entertainment, such as arcade games, carousels, roller coasters, and performers, as well as food, drink, and souvenirs. , after Quinn visits a funky arms dealer played by Rodman. In the elaborate firefight fire·fight n. An exchange of gunfire, as between infantry units. with Stavros, the villain's wife and child are killed and Quinn is nearly blown to bits. The bad guy lives on and the good guy is sent to the Colony, a think tank/prison for spies who are removed from active service but deemed too dangerous to be left alone in the world. Unhappy with the turn of events - his wife thinks he's dead and she's vulnerable to Stavros' revenge - Quinn sets out to escape from the Colony. He accomplishes this by hitching a ride on a C-130 cargo plane in a wild sequence that's arguably the best in the film. Hooking up again with Rodman's character, the duo agree that the ``best defense is offense.'' Jokes alluding to basketball and Rodman's colorful costumes and comic asides are the extent of the film's stabs at humor. THE FACTS The film: ``Double Team'' (R; nonstop action, violence). The stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dennis Rodman, Mickey Rourke and Paul Freeman. Behind the scenes: Directed by Tsui Hark. Written by Don Jakoby and Paul Mones. Released by Sony Pictures. Running time: One hour, 33 minutes. Playing: Citywide. Our rating: Two Stars. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Jack Quinn (Jean-Claude Van Damme, left) enlists his friend Yaz (Dennis Rodman) to battle an international terrorist in ``Double Team.'' |
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