“Double Threat” Theatrical Poster
Director: Shane Stanley
Cast: Danielle C. Ryan, Dawn Olivieri, Matthew Lawrence, Kevin Joy, Andrea Logan, Mo Gallini, David Castro, Aimey Beer, Val Barri, Dmitriy Karas
Running Time: 92 min.
By Henry McKeand
“What do you think this is? A Hallmark movie?”
This line from last year’s Double Threat, spoken by a cynical mob fixer, is supposed to indicate that, no, this is not a Hallmark movie. But with middle-of-the-road digital cinematography, long car conversations backgrounded by obvious green screen, and too-perfect C-list actors in clothes so unworn you can practically see the tags…it’s easy to forget. There may be a few more fight scenes here than in your average made-for-TV schmaltz fest, but the straight-to-streaming aesthetic places it roughly in the same quality tier as movies with titles like A Regal Romance or Holiday Kiss. *
The low budget alone shouldn’t scare off any self-respecting action fanatic. Some of the most original, exciting films ever made have been cobbled together with paltry budgets and washed-up actors. What really matters at the end of the day, regardless of poor color-grading or plot holes, is the ability to deliver thrills. If you’re on the hunt for 2022’s underseen genre gems, there’s a chance you’ve heard about Double Threat. It’s the kind of micro-budget thriller designed either for bored late night Amazon Prime browsers or the most dedicated action completionists. But pressing play on any movie with a sub-5 iMDB score and words like “double” and “threat” plugged into the title like madlibs is always a gamble, no matter how dedicated you are. So, does Double Threat deliver?
The plot certainly has potential. Jimmy (Matthew Lawrence) is on a journey to scatter his brother’s ashes when he gets wrapped up into the violent world of a mysterious criminal named Natasha (Danielle C. Ryan) after a bloody convenience store robbery. To add some extra juice, it turns out that Natasha has split personality disorder. “Nat” is sweet and awkward while “Tasha” is an ass kicking martial arts master and all-around daredevil. Soon, he’s getting to know both versions of her as they try to outrun the mob.
It’s a fun enough premise, and the split personality angle should be interesting. The problem is that “Nat” and “Tasha” aren’t very easy to tell apart. These two personalities speak and emote almost identically, and it even takes the other characters some time to realize who they’re talking to. A good twenty minutes goes by before it becomes clear to the viewer that there even are two personalities. The most obvious sign is that “Tasha” tends to grin and put her hair up in a ponytail when things get dangerous. It’s hard to know whether to blame the acting or the script, but it’s a problem that persists right up until the final scene.
To their credit, director Shane Stanley and screenwriter CJ Walley (who both helmed 2020’s similarly under-the-radar Break Even) understand that the focus should be on the relationship between the two leads, and there’s some real chemistry between Jimmy and Natasha. The unnecessary subplots and filler scenes that so often find their way into this kind of film are, for the most part, absent. In fact, the other notable characters come in the form of the villains: a mob boss’s cocksure son (Kevin Joy) and the aforementioned mob fixer (Dawn Olivieri) assigned to babysit him. Their dynamic gives the film its few moments of real humor, even if their scenes together take place almost exclusively in moving cars.
Yes, Double Threat harkens back to a cherished B-crime movie tradition: hardened criminals exchanging warmed over banter as they drive. Even without the obvious green screen, the film overdoses on these laidback scenes, and what should have the immediacy of a car chase instead feels relaxed and aimless. The few chase sequences that are peppered in are slow and too safe.
“Slow” and “too safe” could be used to describe most of the action, and this is the film’s cardinal sin. One action sequence, in which Natasha has to fight a group of killers using her hands, has some memorable choreography and a playful sense of humor, but every other set piece is limp and generic. The gunfire has all been added in post-production (if it’s been added at all), and the emptied-out roads and warehouses that serve as backdrops are all forgettable.
Towards the end of the film, Olivieri’s fixer has another line that serves as a reminder of the film’s shortcomings:
“Oh, I do love the setting. Dark, moody, ominous…this lingering atmosphere of complete dread.”
She says this during a scene shot so blandly that it wouldn’t feel out of place in a local car commercial. There’s very little atmosphere, or directorial vision at all, to be found in any of the scenes. This is a shame, as the actors have charm and the concept is good. Double Threat could have been a fun ride if more time was spent fleshing out the characters and crafting fight scenes that would leave a mark. As it stands, nothing here is strong enough to scratch a serious action fix.
*These may not be real movie names, but Danielle C. Ryan and Matthew Lawrence had already starred together in 2021’s Hallmark-lite Mistletoe Mixup, so there’s a good chance the “Hallmark” line is more self-aware than I’m giving it credit for.
Henry McKeand’s Rating: 4/10
