The Double

THEN THAT'S ALL YOU'LL EVER BE...
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 code name "Cassius" a former Russian agent assassin who was never caught. Gere is paired with Topher Grace, a young desk jockey from the FBI. Topher studied Cassius and wrote his thesis on him. He believes Cassius is alive and retired in the US and is the recent killer. Gere claims it is a copy cat killer and does not want to work with Topher.

There is an early plot twist, something we get enough hints to clue us in. Even though Topher lacks field experience he is fairly savvy. As they seek out Cassius, bodies start to accumulate. Martin Sheen plays the head of the CIA. While an early mystery is solved for us, there are others that exist. There are action scenes, killings, and drama. I felt the acting brought the film down. Gere was wrong for that role. I really would have liked a hipper Travolta...

Entertaining, But Far-Fetched
THE DOUBLE is an entertaining, at times far-fetched, espionage thriller in which retired CIA operative Richard Gere joins forces with rookie FBI agent Topher Grace to catch "Cassius," a Cold War-era Soviet assassin who has resurfaced and is now killing more people, including a U.S. Senator.

That's all I'm going to tell you about the plot of THE DOUBLE, because if I reveal more, I will be a Spoiler. There are a couple of surprising plot twists in this film, one of which even surprised me. That's not an easy thing to do.

On the other hand, that final twist is where the believability factor comes into play, but I won't say more.

The cast, which includes Stephen Moyer, and Martin Sheen, is very good and director Michael Brandt, who wrote the screenplay with Derek Haas, keeps the film, apparently shot in Washington, D.C., moving along at a nice pace.

Extras on the DVD from Image Entertainment include producer's interviews, plus audio...

The Double
Richard Gere is certainly one of the good old time movie stars that we still have around. His career has had ups and downs, and I don't know how he will be judged in cinema's history. But he has a charisma that is difficult to ignore, and you wish he could reach greater heights. This is what I felt when I watched "The Double," an electrifying and intriguing film that will keep you glued to your seat until the very end.

The film opens with the assassination of US Senator Dennis Darden (Ed Kelly), who we briefly see earlier on TV arguing with another senator about Russia's resurgence. We then meet Paul Shepherdson (Richard Gere), a retired CIA agent who is an expert on an extremely dangerous Russian spy by the codename of Cassius, who is suspected to be the senator's assassin. Shepherdson is informed by Tom Highland (Martin Sheen) that he will be partnered with Ben Geary (Topher Grace), who happens to be an FBI expert on Cassius, too. Shepherdson...

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